Avid AAF preset not creating AAF file

Hi all,
I'm trying to send my Resolve timeline to Avid using the Avid AAF preset. It creates all the MXF files correctly but doesn't seem to create an AAF file. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks
Nick

Ran a test in Studio 18.1.3 on Windows 10.

I got the clips and an .aaf file.

Hmm.
Trying to export a 45 min timeline. I might try a short few clips and see if that works.

Works on a short sequence. I'll try again on the longer one

How long?

just tried a 15minute section of my timeline with the same settings as the test file and no .aaf created.

My timeline has 3 video tracks. (I'm exporting audio separately for Protools).
I've just tried exporting one track at a time copying the video into a new timeline and that seems to work for a short timeline. Just trying on the full 45min timeline.

I'm wondering whether there is some corruption somewhere in the 3 video tracks that is causing the AAF to fail.

Unfortunately it takes a while to export each track (30mins or so) so I wont know for a while.

I just tested a 20 minute timeline with two video tracks and four audio tracks.

Same result. No issues.

It seems to be a bit random. Sometimes it will export an AAF fine. Other times it misses the AAF file.
Haven't quite nailed down what is causing it yet but it is slowly driving me crazy!

Even the AAF I have managed to export are not happy in Avid. I'm getting all sorts of PMM-Mismatch_media_wrong_Format errors.

Arrrgh!

Thank you, I just tried it as well to import the FCP XML to Logic Pro.
The audio just does not match up with what I have place in Resolve.

Please correct me, it seems like PT is better with the aaf arrangement as it is.

I managed to export my timelines to Avid eventually but it was a laborious process.
The lack of an AAF file at the end of the export process seemed to be a random problem. I even tested exporting a couple of clips in a 10sec timeline and got the same problem. After installing the new 18.3 the problem at first went away but then randomly reappeared. Doing a full restart seemed to clear the problem sometimes. I never really got to the bottom of what was causing it but I would presume some corruption in the script that runs the export process.

On top of that there were lots of problems with the AAF that caused PMM errors in Avid and took a long time to sort out. I know that this is more a problem with Avid reading the AAF than Resolve creating it since the same AAF would load into a clean Resolve project with no problem, however since this is an Avid AAF preset it would be good if BM ironed out the problems.

These are the problems I managed to identify that cause errors in the Avid Timeline that ultimately cause a crash:
Any compound clips in the timeline.
Any Multicam clips in the timeline.
Some speed changes particularly -100% reverse clips. Normally where the speed change might take the new clip outside the bounds of the original clip I think.
Some clips with framerates different to the timeline framerate. Again this seems to cause problems where it is a short clip or close to the end of a clip where miscalculation of the FPS would take the clip out of clip bounds.

Some of these problems can be rectified in Avid by doing a Refresh All on the timeline before opening it. But this doesn't solve all the problems. The Avid AAF preset needs to filter for some of these problems or at least flag them up to the user before an export. I won't suggest Avid gets its act in order since having used it for almost 30 years I know how slow Avid development is sadly.

One addition that would be useful in Resolve would be to add a filter by Multicam clips in the Edit Index in the same way as you can for Compound clips (Multicams are after all a type of Compound clip). I missed a few in my 45min timeline and had to manually go through and find them.

and maybe a filter for different frame rates. At the moment you can filter for a specific frame rate (eg. 25fps here in the UK) but it would be good to be able to reverse that filter so you can find everything that is not 25fps.

I should prob post this in the feature requests section!

Thanks all

Have a look at the Conforming AAF Files section, starting at page 1062, of the Resolve Reference manual.

Have a look at the Conforming AAF Files section, starting at page 1062, of the Resolve Reference manual.

Thanks Charles. Unfortunately this only really covers an Avid>Resolve>Avid roundtrip workflow. Whilst this is the most common workflow it does not help where the project was started and offlined in Resolve and then needs to be moved to Avid (which is my situation). As I said before it is more a problem with how Avid reads AAF's however it would be good to iron out some of the problems from the Resolve end if possible.

Thanks
Nick

I'm still on v17.
I, too, have trouble sometimes with the aaf not being written in an Avid export. Seems to only happen when doing so from a actual timeline and not from an aaf timeline (see the difference in the icons.) So the full roundtrip (Avid->Resolve->Avid) works. A new timeline in Resolve then sent to Avid may not create the aaf file.
This usually happens on a second/subsequent export from Resolve. Selecting the Avid export and resetting it (via the ... option) often helps. A warning sign for me is if I call up the Avid export preset and everything is set the way I set it for an earlier export, then it may cause the problem. If I reset the export settings or restart Resolve completely, then the Avid preset will start in its usual way and I can make my changes and the export will create the aaf media & file.

As to the error messages in Avid from your Resolve export, I and others on v17 who do the complete roundtrip (Avid-Resolve-Avid all via aaf) have tested v18 and found that the return aaf (from Resolve to Avid) breaks the clips that have motion effects in them. It renders out the correct pieces of media including handles but the effect in Avid places the motion effect against the wrong source timecode, often causing it to try to use media/timecode that doesn't exist. Was always fine in v17; seems to have been broken in v18. (The Avid into Resolve aaf works fine.)
That's what I've found so far, in my tests and from discussions with others.

I haven't had the opportunity to find anyone who has succesfully roundtripped Avid-Resolve-Avid using Resolve 18. So, chime in if you have!

Neil.