Audition Session Import/Export Translator - Now with PT support

For those that are into this sort of thing.

There has been a bit of chatter around importing & exporting session data between AA and a range of other DAWS.
While it is not something that ordinarily would interest me but a post by John Lundsten in the UK prompted me to re-examine AA's XML file.

While the XML output from AA probably resembles the dead sea scrolls the AA programmers have provided all the info you need iits just not easy to interpret - probably for nartional security reasons 

Well I have been working with John on this problem for a few weeks (it seems much longer).

While not finished yet and our list of features keeps increasing we finally have a beta version (not yet for release) which will allows us to:-
Export from AA an XML session to an AES formatted file which can be read by the free EDLTranslate app and converted so that it could be imported in to Reaper & Samplitude. Additionally for those who have ProConvert (but that aint free) our output can be converted for use in ProTools 7.x and a whole heap of other applications.

Got the following functions to write:-

• AA session merge facility
• Fade & Pan events
• Import via an AES formatted file which can originate from all those other apps via either EDLTranslate or Proconvert
• Assorted bells & whistles

Still early days but we are getting there - keep you posted.

For those too lazy to read to the end and find out how many more features have been added since this post here is the web site http://www.aatranslator.com.au

Edit: See last post for massive price cut details!   http://audiomastersforum.net/amforum/index.php?topic=7339.91

Hi there,

This sounds interesting! At my work (the World's best employer!), we have a fully fitted music studio in the basement, complete with instruments, effects, and, unfortunately, a Pro Tools mixer and a PC with PT software.
I have offered my services as producer and engineer as I am the only one with any experience at all (and mine is mainly theoretical when it comes to recording live music). I have taught myself the basics of PT, but still feel far more comfortable with AA.

So to the point - will your utility be able to convert in both directions? (I am sure I can get my company to buy the Proconverter if necessary) - it would make my life much easier!

will your utility be able to convert in both directions?

The short answer - At present we can export from AA and we are currently building the import functionality.

Is it easy - no otherwise everybody would be doing it

Are there stumbling blocks - yes but not with AA.  Some issues are that some of the other DAWs don't adhere to specs and also don't have equivalent functionality that is found in AA.  Eg AA can handle stereo & mono clips on the same track - most others can't so we have had to build functionality to split stereo wavs and the list goes on, FXs & midi won't be covered but neither are they covered with any other DAW in regards to import export.

So the bottom line is that once completed you will be able to take a session back & forth from AA.  Some things just aren't going to export/import (this is not an AA problem) but if you have a session with any number of clips and level, fade & pan points plotted it will disassemble/reconstruct it.

Lots more testing to do (thanks John) but we are too far down the track to stop now. 

prior to EDL's conversion to SSL I had some success using it with AA 1 & 1.5 (rather obviously it works best when you need it least and when you plan in advance and know limitations of both session applications)

while SSL is promising big things there is a heft price tag just to discover whether it might be a required tool

the thing you are working on here could easily be exactly what I need . . . not panacea but a tool so that I don't loose 'gestures' executed in one environment (requiring time and focus to make exhaustive notes to counter) when moving among applications . . . something not likely to change soon

importing into AA is still my primary need

as the SSL price is (i think) neighborhood of $700 this is a tool towards which even my scotish genes could be persuaded to contribute

unfortunately after PT the 2nd most common session app I run into is Garage Band
 

I will be pretty straight about this.  Have we bitten off more than we can chew?

I didn't think so until we really go started and the hole we started to dig our way out of just seemed to get bigger.

Most of the stumbling blocks are that each DAW has a lot in common with every other DAW but they each have their special thing that they do.  There is a spec/standard that most DAWS (try to) comply with,  But this is a bit dumbed down in order to have 'common' ground in order to pass back & forward.

Myself & John have already spent weeks on this thing and I mean lots of hours almost every day and there is still lots to do.

The current plan is that we will provide a donationware version (mind you to date this hasn't been real succesful and I'm sure that not everyone who owns AA is Scotish  ) and a version that has all the bells & whistles for a (modest) price. 

What features are in each, what price etc are really of little concern at the moment as we try to pump in as many features and get around all the crazy things that some of the other convertors & DAWS do.

Garage Band is certainly not on our current list and I'm pretty sure that GB doesn't import OMF or XML projects?

It might help us if others AA users gave an indication which other DAWS they have to interact with.

Ideally Iwe would like a version out there which didn't need to communicate with any other app including ProConvert which requires a lot of $$$ but in the short term that is just way too much work.  Besides that I'd rather not be sending business their way.

We are keen to get a working version out asap hopefully with the AA merge & AA import functions in the first version

Anyway there's more code to cut, more testing and more bourbon to be consumed and its only 5am 

PS If I can get a Scotsman to part with some pennies then I'm impressed 

The current plan is that we will provide a donationware version (mind you to date this hasn't been real succesful and I'm sure that not everyone who owns AA is Scotish  ) and a version that has all the bells & whistles for a (modest) price. 

PS If I can get a Scotsman to part with some pennies then I'm impressed 

I'm not Scottish (although SWMBO has 50% Scottish ancestry) but I think it's only fair to point out that the Scots are noted for being thrifty, not tight - and that this has regularly been misinterpreted around the globe. So I'm sure that if you provide a version that is cost-effective and does what a Scotsman or woman wants, they will part with the money for it. Why shouldn't they?

And I have also to say that recently, I've come across some very generous Scottish folk who don't live up to the stereotype at all.

And I have also to say that recently, I've come across some very generous Scottish folk who don't live up to the stereotype at all.

Can't rely on anyone anymore! 

Another quick update

Export facility is all but done - a little bit more refinement with the fades.
Rewrote some routines in C/C++ for increased speed.

I have finally worked out the minimum that needs to be supplied to AA without crashing (I am essentially lazy after all).

Still to go (apart from further feature creep)

• Session Import
• Session Merge (serial and/or parallel merge)
• Re-assembling Left & Right Mono wavs back into Stereo wav
• Incorporate track mutes (already cater for clip mutes)
• Possibly provide direct EDL output
• User guide
• Annoy JL with even more testing 

Feel free to offer feature suggestions or ask any questions.

Whatever you do don't try this at home

Finally got a complex session to import to AA!!

Still some work to do but we are making very promising headway.

Keep you posted.

Got past a few major hurdles with splitting stereo wav types (why do there have to be so many) .....

Status:-

• Session Import pretty well finished
• Some issues importing a video clip in to the session - hope to get past that but audio, gain, markers etc come in ok
• Some features held over to version 2 (assuming enough interest)
  Things like Session Merge/Append, maybe track mutes (clip mutes are fine) and (probably) native EDL output probably won't make v1

I suspect that the feature list for version 2 is already growing 

Just have a heap more testing (thanks John Lundsten) and some fine tuning on some of the UI features etc.

Starting to get really sick of this and want to have version 1 finished real soon!

I think I'd rather a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy - Tom Waits

Well its probably a good thing that me & John are thousands of miles away - its a lot harder to slap each other over the back of the head 

The import facility for v1 is now in the mopping up stage (someone one left a mess in there and it was probably me) 
We have had a lot of trouble making adjustments for other apps which don't seem to adhere to the spec.

The export facility has been pretty well fine for some time.
Had lots of trouble again having to cater for other DAWs.

It is really only now doing a 'where's wally' for any bugs/undocumented features.

We have already planned a swag of additional features for v2 and a list of DAWs to provide translation functionality but a v2 depends on demand of course.
 
One thing I know I have learned from this exercise is don't believe all that marketing hype - PT is one the biggest marketing cons (apart from NS10s) ever pulled off.  It is not a patch on AA where it really counts.  I suspect that there will be many scurrying across to AA (without letting their workmates know 'cause that wouldn't be cool) 

Anyway - JL has more testing (and no doubt cursing of me) and there are easter eggs to eat and a manual/user guide (for JL) to cobble together (although, like error messages,  I don't think anyone reads these things anymore). 

More shortly...

The only positive thing about NS10s was that if your mix sounded good on those speakers it would sound good on anything. 

You should read Scott Dorsey's article in "Recording" June 2007 pg 96 - very interesting....

That JL is a slave driver 

Program is done except for:-

• User Manual
• Last minute testing
• Late UI changes

Just when you think its safe to hit the release button and another feature gets added....

Just finished the import facility for Samplitude EDLs v1.5 & 1.6
Gonna try and do the AA export to same before release of version 1

Which of course means more testing for JL - sigh

I'm sure I'm just updating this thread so that I know where we are up to.

Well the program is 'finished' so to speak - except for some GUI mods and the user manual (testing never seems to finish)

We were held up for a little while with working out just how differently Reaper and Samplitude interpret the same EDLs and then making AA happy with importing and exporting to and from this pair - Sigh

But that's all nailed now.

I have had dstdean from this forum send me some EDLs & XMLs and successfully converted them for him (given the limitations of what Reaper could handle) so that's a good thing I guess

Have already got a fair way down the track with a number of conversions to/from other DAWs but they will surface after version 1.0