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101 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
101 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# How To Use `ptulsconv`
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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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### 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. This project implements a simple Mac OS X application that
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accepts a text export from Pro Tools and converts it into a [CSV][csv] of the
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clips, unfolding track and session data in the process, and also parsing
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additional columns from the clip, track, and session name.
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Importing a normal text export outputs a CSV with one row for each clip, like
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this:
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| PT.Session.Name | PT.Track.Name | PT.Clip.Number | PT.Clip.Name | PT.Clip.Start | PT.Clip.Finish | PT.Clip.Muted | ... |
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|-----------------|---------------|----------------|--------------|-----------------|-----------------|---------------|-----|
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| Test Session | Track 1 | 1 | Audio 1-01 |01:00:00:05 |01:01:00:12 | Unmuted |...|
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| Test Session | Track 1 | 2 | Audio 1-02 |01:01:00:12 |01:01:00:20 | Unmuted |...|
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etc... Each clip has a column for the track name of the clip in addition to the
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session name. A column for the track comments is also included. The first row
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of the output *always* contains column headings.
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[avp]: http://www.avid.com/pro-tools
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[csv]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4180
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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} $V=1 [FX] [DESIGN]`
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The row output for this clip will contain columns for the values:
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|...| PT.Clip.Name| note | V | FX | DESIGN | ...|
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|---|------------|------|---|----|--------|----|
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|...| Fireworks explosion| Replace for final | 1 | FX | DESIGN | ... |
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These fields can be defined in the clip name in three ways:
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* `$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* clip on that track. If a track comment
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contains the text `{Dept=Foley}` for 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 whose finish is *after* that marker. Fields
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in markers are applied cumulatively 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 value in the later marker
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An important note here is that, always, fields set on the clip name have the highest precedence. If a field is set in a clip
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name, the same field set on the 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 fields will be applied to clips within
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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 that range on lower tracks will have a
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field `Sc` with that value.
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### Using `[AP]` to Combine Clips
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A clip name setting the `[AP]` field will have its parsed clip name appended to the following cue, and the fields of
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following cues will be applied (earlier clips having precedence). The clips need not be touching, and the clips will
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be combined into a single row of the output. The start time of the first clip will become the start time of the row,
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and the finish time of the last clip will become the finish time of the row.
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## Is it useful for anything else?
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