Timecode mismatches when importing AAF created in Avid

We are using DaVinci Resolve to finish a project that was edited in Avid. It has been in the works for 10 years, originally in Final Cut Pro, and I inherited it from another editor. The source files are a mix of resolutions, frame rates, and codecs, all in MXF wrappers that were imported in their native resolutions and frame rates.

I exported an AAF with links to the media. I then imported that as a timeline in DaVinci Resolve, linking to the source camera files. Not surprisingly, Resolve had trouble locating the media, which originally was scattered over more than a dozen drives. (The contents of those drives have since been copied to two G-RAID 16 TB drives, which I asked Resolve to search.)

DVCPro clips and RED camera clips show up perfectly on the Resolve timeline because they have accurate timecodes, but about one-quarter of the clips are offline in Resolve. Those clips are mostly documentary footage, such as Getty Images files. Resolve reported lots of timecode mismatches.

I should mention that I changed the project settings in Resolve to take the reel name from the file name and the timecode from the frame count, so the timecode mismatches leave me baffled.

Scrubbing through the timeline in Resolve, I noticed lots of offline clips for media that I know is there. I imported a few of them into the Media Pool. They linked up with the clips on the timeline, but the in-and-out points were off. Apparently the timecodes of our stock footage and documentary clips don’t match the timecodes that Resolve is looking for.

None of the clips are offline in Avid. And yet, when I tried importing the AAF without links to the source camera files, Resolve still could not locate 170 clips (out of nearly 3,500). Is there a setting or some method that will enable Resolve to find more of our media?

--
Michael

Mixed frame rates are a nightmare with any editing system. My advice would be to really analyze and test the workflow carefully, and pre-convert any mis-matched frame rates to something that will work in common with the rest of the project.

For example: if you have a mix of 25fps, 23.98fps, 24fps, and 29.97fps, but have to deliver 29.97fps, then I would convert everything to 29.97fps first, adjust the edit accordingly, and use that for final color. Image files -- particularly if they're still-frames -- have to be done manually. At worst, set the Avid system to your final delivery format (say, DNxHD 444 or DNxHR HQ), and render out all the still-frame sequences as single clips, then drop those clips into Resolve and line them up.

I have seen the stock footage clip timecode issue, particularly when the editor attempts to use H.264 material (which does not support timecode very well). My advice would be to convert all those clips to a more robust format like ProRes or DNxHD, and then use those for the final edit.

BTW, not finding 170 clips out of 3500 is trivial (to me). From my perspective, I would just hire an assistant editor and say, "hey, find all these missing clips and drop them into the Resolve timeline tonight, match them to the Avid reference file, and make sure it's ready for me in the morning." 170 clips is not a big deal. If they can fix each one in less than 2 minutes, that's less than six hours of work. For a major documentary with a lot of mixed-media, it's par for the course.

The best way to understand what is wrong with the offline clips is to compare their occurrences in the edit index with the media pool. Very often the reel name embedded in the xml or aaf is different from the one in the mediapool. You can then force the reel name in the media pool via clip attributes. There is also often an offset of 01:00:00:00 in the timecode when coming from Avid when the original source was not carrying timecode. Again, you can force the offset in the media pool. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your insights and ideas. Another editor suggested exporting the sequence as a single Apple ProRes 444 file, and then importing that into Resolve with a preconformed EDL. Any clips that are missing on the AAF imported timeline can then be dropped in from the EDL imported timeline. If we decide on this route, should I use the “Split and Add” technique?

For footage that is not camera original, it seems that Avid assigns a start timecode of 01:00:00:00 to the clip. However, a documentary source file will often have a different timecode. A Getty Images file may have an embedded start timecode of 05:18:16:01, for example, but Avid sees it as 01:00:00:00. If the mismatch is too great, Resolve will be unable to find the media. At least, that's what I think is happening.

As a workaround, I'm going to import all the source footage I can find into the Media Pool first, and then try importing the AAF. Whenever I encounter a clip that is offline in the Resolve timeline, I'll right-click on it and choose “Conform Lock with Media Pool Clip” from the contextual menu. Hopefully, Resolve will be able to find the correct in points. Conforming each missing clip individually will take time, but I think it can be done.

—
Michael