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93 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
93 lines
3.6 KiB
Markdown
# How To Use `ptulsconv`
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## Theory of Operation
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[Avid Pro Tools][avp] exports a tab-delimited text file organized in multiple
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parts with an uneven syntax that usually can't "drop in" to other tools like
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Excel or Filemaker. `ptulsconv` will accept a text export from Pro Tools and,
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by default, create a set of PDF reports useful for ADR reporting.
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## Tagging
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### Fields in Clip Names
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Track names, track comments, and clip names can also contain meta-tags, or
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"fields," to add additional columns to the CSV output. Thus, if a clip has the
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name:
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`Fireworks explosion {note=Replace for final} $V=1 [FX] [DESIGN]`
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The row output for this clip will contain columns for the values:
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|...| Clip Name| note | V | FX | DESIGN | ...|
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|---|------------|------|---|----|--------|----|
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|...| Fireworks explosion| Replace for final | 1 | FX | DESIGN | ... |
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These fields can be defined in the clip name in three ways:
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* `$NAME=VALUE` creates a field named `NAME` with a one-word value `VALUE`.
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* `{NAME=VALUE}` creates a field named `NAME` with the value `VALUE`. `VALUE`
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in this case may contain spaces or any chartacter up to the closing bracket.
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* `[NAME]` creates a field named `NAME` with a value `NAME`. This can be used
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to create a boolean-valued field; in the CSV output, clips with the field
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will have it, and clips without will have the column with an empty value.
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For example, if two clips are named:
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`"Squad fifty-one, what is your status?" [FUTZ] {Ch=Dispatcher} [ADR]`
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`"We are ten-eight at Rampart Hospital." {Ch=Gage} [ADR]`
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The output will contain the range:
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|...| PT.Clip.Name| Ch | FUTZ | ADR | ...|
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|---|------------|------|---|----|-----|
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|...| "Squad fifty-one, what is your status?"| Dispatcher | FUTZ | ADR | ... |
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|...| "We are ten-eight at Rampart Hospital."| Gage | | ADR | ... |
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### Fields in Track Names and Markers
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Fields set in track names, and in track comments, will be applied to *each*
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clip on that track. If a track comment contains the text `{Dept=Foley}` for
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example, every clip on that track will have a "Foley" value in a "Dept" column.
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Likewise, fields set on the session name will apply to all clips in the session.
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Fields set in markers, and in marker comments, will be applied to all clips
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whose finish is *after* that marker. Fields in markers are applied cumulatively
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from breakfast to dinner in the session. The latest marker applying to a clip has
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precedence, so if one marker comes after the other, but both define a field, the
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value in the later marker
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An important note here is that, always, fields set on the clip name have the
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highest precedence. If a field is set in a clip name, the same field set on the
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track, the value set on the clip will prevail.
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### Using `@` to Apply Fields to a Span of Clips
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A clip name beginning with "@" will not be included in the CSV output, but its
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fields will be applied to clips within its time range on lower tracks.
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If track 1 has a clip named `@ {Sc=1- The House}`, any clips beginning within
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that range on lower tracks will have a field `Sc` with that value.
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### Using `&` to Combine Clips
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A clip name beginning with `&` will have its parsed clip name appended to the
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preceding cue, and the fields of following cues will be applied, earlier clips
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having precedence. The clips need not be touching, and the clips will be
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combined into a single row of the output. The start time of the first clip will
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become the start time of the row, and the finish time of the last clip will
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become the finish time of the row.
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## What is `ptulsconv` Useful For?
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The main purpose of `ptulsconv` is to read a Pro Tools text export and convert
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it into PDFs useful for ADR recording.
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## Is it useful for anything else?
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