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Elements Catalog

This chapter describes all the elements of the Final Cut Pro XML Interchange Format.

Information about the elements of the Final Cut Pro Interchange Format is presented in the following sections:

Major Elements
Clips
Video and Audio
Common Elements
Rate and Timecode
Effects
The Time Remap Effect
Application Specific Data
Film Data
QuickTime Metadata
Import Options

Major Elements

xmeml
Description: Root element for an XML Interchange Format document.
Attribute: version (for example: version = "5")
Subelements: importoptions, project, bin, clip, sequence
Notes: You can encode multiple xmeml elements in a single document, as long as there is an xmeml document type declaration at the top of the file.

project
Description: Encodes a Final Cut Pro project.
Parent: xmeml
Subelements: +name, +children

bin
Description: Encodes a bin, a named container within a project.
Parents: xmeml, children
Subelements: +*name, +*children, *labels, *comments, uuid, updatebehavior

children
Description: Encloses a collection of elements within a bin or project.
Parents: bin, project
Subelements: clip, sequence, bin

sequence
Description: Encodes a collection of clips and generators sequenced in relation to each other by time, layer, and position.
Parents: xmeml, children, clipitem
Subelements: +name, +duration, +rate, in, out, *timecode, media, *marker, sequence, *labels, *comment, *masterclipid, *ismasterclip, *descriptionlogginginfo, filmdata, file, pixelaspectratio, uuid, updatebehavior
Attribute: id

media
Description: Encodes specific media tracks for a clip or a sequence.
Parents: clip, sequence, file
Subelements: *video, *audio

track
Description: Encodes data specific to one or more video or audio elements for a track.
Parents: video, audio
Subelements: *clipitem, *generatoritem, *transitionitem, enabled, locked, *outputchannelindex

locked
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not a track is locked.
Parent: track
Notes: If TRUE, the parent track is locked and cannot be modified in the Timeline. The default is FALSE.

outputchannelindex
Description: An integer specifying the output channel index for a track.
Parent: track

link
Description: Encodes a link between different clips in a sequence.
Parent: clipitem
Subelement: +linkclipref or (+mediatype, +trackindex, +clipindex, +groupindex)

linkclipref
Description: A string specifying a clip id attribute that encodes a link between sequence items sharing the same clip reference.
Parent: link
Notes: You cannot use linkclipref with multiple clips in a track with the same id.

clipindex
Description: An integer specifying the clip index.
Parent: link

groupindex
Description: An integer specifying the index of a group of audio outputs.
Parent: link
Notes: A groupindex element specifies a subset in an audio link array. (A video link should not have a groupindex subelement.) Items sharing a groupindex are part of a stereo pair. The groupindex should never exceed the number of audio items specified in the link array.

uuid
Description: A unique identifier.
Parents: clip, sequence, bin, itemhistory
Notes: Valid entries are in the standard UUID format. For the hex characters A through F, case is ignored. Note that UUID’s for clips, sequences, and bins are guaranteed to be unique only within a single project. If you copy or import a clip from one project to another, the uuid entry remains the same. Note also that the UUID element, which is a subelement of data, is distinct from uuid.

updatebehavior
Description: Allows an imported interchange format document to modify an open project or metadata in a QuickTIme file.
Parents: clip, sequence, bin, metadata
Notes: Valid entries are replaceiffound, replaceoradd, addifnotfound, add, remove. (Only add is a valid entry for PSD files and multiclips.) See Managing Project Components The default entry is add. If you use updatebehavior and add with a clip, and if there is clip with the same UUID already in the project, then Final Cut assigns a new UUID to the clip you’re importing.

itemhistory
Description: A list of UUIDs associated with a clipitem.
Parent: clipitem
Subelements: uuid
Notes: Final Cut generates a UUID for a clipitem when the item is first exported, and subsequently whenever the item is modified and exported again. The top UUID in the list is the current UUID for the item and is guaranteed to be unique. The rest of the list is a historical record of the UUIDs associated with the item. (The bottom UUID item in the list is the initial UUID generated for the clipitem or the UUID of the original item from which the current item was derived.). See itemhistory

Clips

clip
Description: Encodes a clip in the Browser.
Parents: xmeml, children
Subelements: +name, +duration, +rate, in, out, *masterclipid, *subclipmasterid, *ismasterclip, *logginginfo, *enabled, *file, *timecode, *media, marker, *anamorphic, *alphatype, *alphareverse, *labels, *comments, sourcetrack, *compositemode, subclipinfo, filter, stillframe, *stillframeoffset, *startoffset, *endoffset , defaultangle, subframeoffset, start, end, pixelaspectratio, filmdata, uuid, updatebehavior
Attribute: id

clipitem
Description: Encodes a clip in a track.
Parent: track
Subelements: +*name, +duration, +rate, +*start, +*end, link, syncoffset, *enabled, *in, *out, *masterclipid, *subclipmasterid, ismasterclip, *logginginfo, file, *timecode, *marker, *anamorphic, *alphatype, *alphareverse, *labels, *comments, sourcetrack, *compositemode, subclipinfo, *filter, stillframe, *stillframeoffset, *sequence, multiclip,mediadelay, subframeoffset, *mixedratesoffset,filmdata, pixelaspectratio, fielddominance, gamma, primarytimecode*itemhistory
Attribute: id
Notes: Note that start, end, link, syncoffset, and enabled are subelements of clipitem, but not of clip.

file
Description: Encodes a media file reference for use within a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Subelements: +duration, +rate, +*name or +pathurl (or both), *timecode, *media, width, height, mediaSource
Attribute: id

pathurl
Description: A UTF-8 string specifying a pathname for a file.
Parent: file
Notes: A file referenced by pathurl must be on a local volume. The URL must start with file://localhost or file:///.
: A character that is not a legal URL character according to the RFC 2396 standard needs to be escaped by writing it in hexadecimal notation preceded by the % character. (To process URL strings programmatically, you can use functions such as CFURLCreateStringByAddingPercentEscapes in the Carbon library.)

mediaSource
Description: A string describing a media source (such as a slug) built in to Final Cut Pro.
Parent: file

anamorphic
Description: A Boolean value characterizing a piece of video used in a track.
Parents: clip, clipitem, generatoritem, samplecharacteristics
Notes: If TRUE, video has a 16:9 aspect ratio. If FALSE, video has a 4:3 aspect ratio.

alphatype
Description: A string specifying the alpha mode for a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, generatoritem, media, video
Notes: Valid entries are none, straight, black, or white. Note that these entries are always in English, even for versions of Final Cut Pro in other languages.

alphareverse
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not Reverse Alpha is set.
Parents: clip, clipitem

compositemode
Description: A string specifying the composite mode for a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Notes: Valid entries are normal, add, subtract, difference, multiply, screen, texturize, hardlight, softlight, darken, lighten, mask, or lumamask. Note that these entries are always in English, even for versions of Final Cut Pro in other languages.

masterclipid
Description: A string specifying the master clip id.
Parents: clip, clipitem, sequence
Notes: You do not have to encode a masterclipid element before you encode any affiliate clips. (In a sequence, all clips are affiliate or independent clips. Independent clips have no masterclipid element.)

subclipmasterid
Description: A string specifying the id of the parent clip for a subclip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, generatoritem

ismasterclip
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not a clip is a master clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, sequence
Notes: If ismasterclip is not encoded, the clip is assumed to be an affiliate or independent clip.

logginginfo
Description: Encodes logging information for a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Subelements: *description, *scene, *shottake, *lognote, *good, scenenote, shotnote, takenote

description
Description: A string describing a clip or sequence.
Parents: logginginfo, sequence

scene
Description: A string specifying a scene identifier or name for a clip.
Parent: logginginfo

shottake
Description: A string specifying a shot or take identifier.
Parent: logginginfo

lognote
Description: A string specifying the logging note for a clip.
Parent: logginginfo

good
Description: A Boolean value specifying the state for a clip.
Parent: logginginfo

scenenote
Description: A string with scene information from the Cinema Tools database.
Parent: logginginfo

shotnote
Description: A string with shot information from the Cinema Tools database.
Parent: logginginfo

takenote
Description: A string with take information from the Cinema Tools database.
Parent: logginginfo

labels
Description: Encodes Label and Label 2 information for a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, bin, sequence
Subelements: *label, *label2

label
Description: Specifies Label information for a clip.
Parent: labels
Notes: Since the user can modify label names in User Preferences, the system matches imported information for this element against the current Label settings in Final Cut Pro.

label2
Description: A string specifying Label 2 information.
Parent: labels

comments
Description: Encodes comment information for a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, bin, sequence
Subelements: *mastercomment[n], *clipcommenta, *clipcommentb
Notes: Four masterComment subelements, and two unique comment subelements are available.

mastercomment[n]
Description: A string specifying a master comment.
Parent: comments
Notes: Valid elements are mastercomment1 through mastercomment4. The mastercomment[n] element specifies text stored inside a clip definition. This information is shared between master and affiliate clips and is kept consistent if modified inside Final Cut Pro.

clipcommenta, clipcommentb
Description: A string specifying a unique clip comment.
Parent: comments
Notes: The elements clipcommenta and clipcommentb contain comment text stored inside a clip definition. This information is unique to each clip instance.

sourcetrack
Description: Encodes details of the media connected with a clip.
Parents: clip, clipitem, generatoritem
Subelements: mediatype, trackindex
Notes: The designated media can be a specific piece of media or a nested sequence with multiple types of media.

start
Description: An integer specifying the relative starting point for a clip in a track. (See Timing Values.)
Parents: clipitem, generatoritem
Notes: A value of -1 indicates that a clipitem in a sequence is preceeded by a transition. The actual value of start is computed from the beginning of the transition.

end
Description: An integer specifying the relative ending point for a clip in a track. (See Timing Values.)
Parents: clipitem, generatoritem
Notes: A value of -1 indicates that a clipitem in a sequence is followed by a transition. The actual value of end is computed from the end of the transition.

subclipinfo
Description: Encodes offset information for a subclip.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Subelements: *startoffset, *endoffset

startoffset
Description: An integer specifying the offset in frames from the start media value, calculated using the In point of the clip from which the subclip was created.
Parents: subclipinfo, clip, clipitem

endoffset
Description: An integer specifying the offset in frames from the end media value, calculated using the Out point of the clip from which the subclip was created.
Parents: subclipinfo, clip, clipitem

stillframe
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not a clip is a still frame.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Notes: Photoshop PSD files, jpeg files, tiff files, or other still images imported into Final Cut have stillframe set to TRUE.

stillframeoffset
Description: An integer specifying the offset in frames from the start media value to the frame to use as a freeze frame.
Parents: clip, clipitem

syncoffset
Description: An integer specifying the offset in frames from the beginning of the first track in a group of linked tracks that have been marked in sync.
Parents: clip, clipitem

multiclip
Description: Encodes a multiclip.
Parents: clipitem
Subelements: +name, +angle, collapsed, synctype

angle
Description: Encodes an angle is a multiclip.
Parents: multiclip
Subelements: activevideoangle, activeaudioangle, +clip

activevideoangle
Description: A Boolean value specifying if an angle is the active angle in a multiclip.
Parents: angle
Notes: Only one angle in a multiclip can be active at a time. Default setting is FALSE. If no angles are specified as active, the first angle is assumed to be the active angle.

activeaudioangle
Description: A Boolean value specifying if an angle is the active angle in a multiclip.
Parents: angle
Notes: Only one angle in a multiclip can be active at a time. Default setting is FALSE. If no angles are specified as active, the first angle is assumed to be the active angle.

collapsed
Description: A Boolean value specifying if a multiclip is collapsed or not.
Parents: multclip
Notes: Default is FALSE.

synctype
Description: An integer specifying the synchronizatrion for the multiclip.
Parents: multclip
Notes: Valid entries are 1 (In point), 2 (Out point), 3 (timecode), 4 (aux 1 timecode), and 5 (aux 2 timecode).

mediadelay
Description: Integer specifying the starting offset (in frames) for a clipitem used in a multiclip or subclip. (See Figure 4-3).
Parents: clipitem

defaultangle
Description: A string identifying the angle of a clip in the Browser.
Parents: clip

subframeoffset
Description: Specifies the offset when a track is slipped by less than a frame.
Parents: clip, clipitem

mixedratesoffset
Description: An integer specifying an offset for footage played at mixed rates
Parent: clipitem
Notes: In points are stored in the frame rate of a sequence. Before the introduction of mixedratesoffset in version 6 of Final Cut, this could cause problems. For example, if you edited a 60fps clip with an in point of 3 into a 30fps sequence, the in point became 1 and Final Cut played frame 2 instead of frame 3. Final Cut 6, however, uses mixedratesoffet to handle these mixed rates situations. In this example, the value of mixedratesoffset would be set to +1 and the sequence would play correctly from frame 3. Note that mixedratesoffset is only available in version 4 of xmeml.

gamma
Description: Number specifying the gamma setting for a still.
Parents: clipitem
Notes: Specifies a still gamma setting when a gamma setting is supported by the codec. The entry is a decimal with three digits of precision. The thousandths place is rounded up. For example, an entry of 1.2345 becomes 1.235. If gamma is unspecified, Final Cut Pro uses the source gamma setting.

Video and Audio

video
Description: Encodes data specific to video media.
Parent: media
Subelements: track, *duration, format, *samplecharacteristics, in, out, stillframe, *layerindex, *alphatype , trackcount (version 1 only)
Notes: Video data that you can encode for specific video tracks includes In and Out points, video format, and rate information.

layerindex
Description: An integer specifying a layer in source media such as a PhotoShop PSD file.
Parent: video
Notes: Valid entries are from 1 to the number of layers in the media.

audio
Description: Encodes data specific to audio media.
Parent: media
Subelements: *in, *out,track, format, outputs, *channelcount,channeldescription, rate, *samplecharacteristics,*duration, layout, audiochannel,trackcount (version 1 only)
Notes: Audio data that you can encode for specific audio tracks include In and Out points and audio format information.

channelcount
Description: An integer specifying the number of audio channels.
Parent: audio

trackcount
Description: For version 1 of the interchange format only. An integer specifying the number of tracks defined for the parent media type.
Parents: video, audio
Notes: The trackcount element is required when explicitly encoding the subelements of a file element where there is more than one track of a particular media type. It is optional for clips or sequences, where trackcount is implied by the number of track elements encoded.

channeldescription
Description: A string specifying the audio channels.
Parent: audio
Notes: Valid entries are mono, stereo, A1, A2, or A1+A2.

layout
Description: A string specifying the layout of an the audio channels.
Parent: audio
Notes: Valid entries are mono, and stereo. Default is stereo.

audiochannel
Description: Encodes information about an audio channel.
Parent: audio
Subelements: channellabel, sourcechannel

channellabel
Description: A string labelling the channel
Parent: audiochannel
Notes: Valid entries are left, right, and discrete.

sourcechannel
Description: An integer specifying the source channel.
Parent: audiochannel
Notes: Valid entries are 1 or greater.

outputs
Description: Encodes information about audio outputs.
Parent: audio
Subelement: *group
Notes: The information corresponds to the outputs tab of the sequence settings.

group
Description: Encodes information about a group of audio output channels.
Parent: outputs
Subelements: index, numchannels, downmix, channel

index
Description: An integer specifying the index of a group or channel.
Parents: group, channel

numchannels
Description: An integer specifying the number of channels in a group.
Parent: group

downmix
Description: An integer specifying the amount of volume adjustment, in decibels, to apply to each channel when performing a downmix for the specified group.
Parent: group
Notes: Valid entries are +10, +6, +4, +2, 0, -2, -4, -6, or -10.

channel
Description: Encodes the output device index of a channel in a group.
Parent: group
Subelement: index

format
Description: Encodes format information for video or audio media in a track.
Parents: video, audio
Subelements: samplecharacteristics, appspecificdata

samplecharacteristics
Description: Encodes characteristics of video or audio media.
Parents: video, audio, format
Subelements: Video: *width, *height, anamorphic, pixelaspectratio, fielddominance, rate, colordepth, codec
: Audio: depth, samplerate

width
Description: An integer specifying the width, in pixels, of video media.
Parent: samplecharacteristics, file

height
Description: An integer specifying the height, in pixels, of video media.
Parent: samplecharacteristics, file

pixelaspectratio
Description: A string specifying the pixel aspect ratio.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Notes: Valid entries are NTSC-601, PAL-601, square, DVCPROHD-720P or HD-(960x720), DVCPROHD-1080i60 or HD-(1280x1080), DVCPROHD-1080i50 or HD-(1440x1080).

fielddominance
Description: A string specifying the field dominance.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Notes: Valid entries are none, lower, upper, odd, or even.

colordepth
Description: An integer specifying the color depth.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Notes: Valid entries are 8, 6, or 24.

codec
Description: Encodes details about a codec.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Subelements: name, appspecificdata

depth
Description: An integer specifying the bit depth of audio media.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Notes: Valid entries are 8 or 16.

samplerate
Description: An integer specifying the audio sample rate.
Parent: samplecharacteristics
Notes: Valid entries are 32000, 44100, or 48000.

Common Elements

Common elements are subelements of more than one parent element.

name
Description: A string specifying a name.
Parents: project, bin, sequence, clip, clipitem, multiclip, generatoritem, file, marker, effect, interpolation, source, transitionitem

duration
Description: An integer specifying duration in number of frames. (See Timing Values.)
Parents: sequence, clip, clipitem, generatoritem, file, video, audio, transitionitem
Notes: The number is interpreted based on the frame rate in effect at the time. Note that in the case of still frames, the value for duration represents minutes rather than frames.

enabled
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not the parent element is enabled.
Parents: track, clipitem, clip, generatoritem, sequence, filter
Notes: If you do not specify enabled, the default setting is TRUE.

marker
Description: Encodes a named time or range of time in a clip or sequence.
Parents: clip, clipitem, sequence
Subelements: +*name, +in, +out,*marker, *comment, color

color
Description: Encodes the color value of a marker.
Parent: marker
Subelements: red, green, blue, or alpha.

comment
Description: A string describing a marker.
Parent: marker

in
Description: An integer specifying a starting time. (See Timing Values.)
Parents: sequence, clip, clipitem, generatoritem, marker, effect
Notes: The valid range is from 0 to the duration of the component. The value must be less than the value of out. A value of -1 indicates that no in point is set for a browser clip or a sequence. Also, you can use -1 to override an existing encoding with an undefined or default value. Like duration, the value of in is interpreted based on the frame rate in effect at the time.

out
Description: An integer specifying an ending time. (See Timing Values.)
Parents: sequence, clip, clipitem, generatoritem, marker, effect
Notes: The valid range is from 0 to the duration of the component. The value must be greater than the value of in. A value of -1 indicates that no out point is set for a browser clip or a sequence. Also, you can use -1 to override an existing encoding with an undefined or default value. Like duration, the value of out is interpreted based on the frame rate in effect at the time.

mediatype
Description: A string defining the media type.
Parents: link, sourcetrack, effect
Notes: Valid strings are video or audio.

trackindex
Description: An integer specifying the track index in a link element or in a media source.
Parents: link, sourcetrack
Notes: If the media has a single video track and no audio tracks, specifying trackindex may cause an error.

Rate and Timecode

rate
Description: Encodes a time scale to interpret time values for a clip, sequence, timecode, or other component.
Parents: sequence, clip, clipitem, generatoritem, timecode, audio, effect
Subelements: +timebase (for video: ntsc)

timebase
Description: An integer specifying the timebase of the frame rate.
Parent: rate
Notes: You use timebase in conjunction with ntsc to define the time scale. See Table B-1

ntsc
Description: A Boolean value specifying the NTSC rate reduction.
Parent: rate
Notes: If you set ntsc to TRUE, the NTSC rate reduction (0.01%) is applied to timebase. See Table B-1

timecode
Description: Encodes a timecode value for a clip, sequence, or file.
Parents: sequence, clip, clipitem, file, value, generatoritem
Subelements: +*string or (+frame and +displayformat), +rate, field, reel, source, format
Attribute: id
Notes: A timecode represents the address of a particular video frame on a time-based media storage device, such as a videotape recorder. Note that timecode requires a rate definition (local or inherited), and either a string subelement, or frame and displayformat subelements. (You can also specify all three subelements.) For example, a string set to 01:00:2;05 with a rate of 29.97 fps translates to a frame count of 107657 formatted using drop frame notation.

string
Description: A string specifying a timecode.
Parent: timecode
Notes: The value is based on an SMPTE timecode string, with a semicolon indicating that the drop frame format is being used. The application uses the current frame rate to interpret this value. (If you specify string, you do not need to specify frame and displayformat.)

frame
Description: An integer specifying the frame count.
Parent: timecode
Notes: This element defines a frame count that Final Cut Pro interprets into a timecode using the parent rate and format definitions. Note that frame contains an actual frame count, not simply a time index. For a drop frame timecode, the skipped numbers are taken into account. The frame count starts at zero, and rolls over at 23 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds, and n frames (where n is the frame rate).

displayformat
Description: A string specifying the format modifier to use for the parent timecode element.
Parent: timecode
Notes: Valid values are DF (for drop frame) or NDF (for non-drop frame) Note that values other than NDF are valid only for a timecode with a rate of 30 frames per second. If not specified, non-drop frame timecode formatting is used.

field
Description: An integer specifying the field offset for a timecode.
Parent: timecode
Notes: Valid values are 0 or 1, with a default to 0 if field is not specified.

reel
Description: Encodes the source identifier for a timecode.
Parent: timecode
Subelement: +*name
Notes: In common usage, reel identifies the source archive device or media (videotape) from which the timecode was taken.

source
Description: A string specifying either the timecode source or the track identifier.
Parent: timecode
Notes: Valid entries are source, aux1, aux2, or sound. If not specified, source is assumed.

Effects

generatoritem
Description: Encodes information about a generator in a track.
Parent: track
Subelement: +name, +duration, +rate, in, out, start, end, enabled, anamorphic, alphatype, effect, sourcetrack, filter, timecode, primarytimecode, alphareverse, link, logginginfo, labels, comments, mediadelay, fielddominance, filmdata, subframeoffset, masterclipid, compositemode, syncoffset, marker, subclipmasterID

primarytimecode
Description: A string specifying the default timecode to display for this item.
Parents: generatoritem, clipitem

transitionitem
Description: Encodes a transition in a track.
Parent: track
Subelements: rate, *start, *end, *alignment, effect, *name

alignment
Description: A string specifying an alignment for a transition.
Parent: transitionitem
Notes: Valid entries are start, center, end, end-black, or start-black.

filter
Description: Encodes a filter effect.
Parents: clip, clipitem
Subelements: *enabled, *start, *end, effect

effect
Description: Encodes an effect or processing operation.
Parents: transitionitem, filter, generatoritem
Subelements: +*name, +*effectid, +*effecttype, +*mediatype, *effectcategory, parameter, keyframe, appspecificdata, wipecode, wipeaccuracy, rate, startratio, endratio, reverse, duration , privatestate, multiclip, effectclass
Notes: You should encode an effect so that the importing application can accurately find the matching effect. If the effect is not found, the application may use a generic proxy effect.

effectid
Description: A string providing a language-independent constant identifier for an effect.
Parent: effect

effectcategory
Description: A string specifying the category of an effect.
Parent: effect

effecttype
Description: A string specifying the type of an effect.
Parent: effect
Notes: Valid entries are filter,transition, motion, or generator.

effectclass
Description: A string specifying an FxPlug effect.
Parent: effect
Notes: The only valid entry is FxPlug. For any other effects, you should leave this element unspecified.

wipecode
Description: An integer specifying the SMPTE wipe code.
Parent: effect

wipeaccuracy
Description: An integer specifying the SMPTE wipe accuracy.
Parent: effect

startratio
Description: For a transition effect, a number specifying what fraction of the effect has been executed at the start of the transition.
Parent: effect
Notes: Valid entries in the range 0.0 to 1.0. The default is 0.0.

endratio
Description: For a transition effect, a number specifying what fraction of the effect will have been executed at the end of the transition.
Parent: effect
Notes: Valid entries in the range 0.0 to 1.0. The default is 1.0.

reverse
Description: For a transition effect, a Boolean value indicating whether or not an effect should be reversed, with the end result applied to the start and vice versa.
Parent: effect
Notes: The default is FALSE.

privatestate
Description: Data for an After Effects plug-in effect.
Parent: effect

parameter
Description: Encodes a parameter for an effect.
Parent: effect
Subelements: +name or +parameterid (or both), +value or +keyframe (but not both), parameterspecifier, valuemin, valuemax, valuelist, interpolation, appspecificdata, privatestate, parameterspecifier

parameterid
Description: A string providing a constant identifier for an effect parameter.
Parent: parameter
Notes: For an AudioUnits effect, you should use both parameterid and parameterspecifier.

parameterspecifier
Description: A string providing a constant identifier for an AudioUnit effect parameter.
Parent: parameter
Notes: The parameterspecifier element is only supported for for AudioUnit effects. When combined with the effectid element, it unambiguously identifies a particular parameter for an AudioUnit effect. The value of parameterspecifier is a combination of the values AudioUnitParameterID, AudioUnitScope, and AudioUnitElement. It is packaged as a string with colon-separated decimal numeric values. For example, if an AudioUnit parameter has an ID of 42, a scope of kAudioUnitScope_Global, and an element of 1, the encoding for the parameterspecifier element would be the string 42:0:1.

valuemin
Description: A number specifying the minimum value for a parameter.
Parent: parameter

valuemax
Description: A number specifying the maximum value for a parameter.
Parent: parameter

valuelist
Description: Encodes information about a pop-up list in a parameter.
Parent: parameter
Subelements: valueentry

valueentry
Description: Encodes information about the choice in a pop-up list in a parameter.
Parent: valuelist
Subelements: name, value
Notes: The entry for value indicates the ordinal position of the item in the pop-up list.

value
Description: Encodes or specifies a fixed value for an effect parameter or a keyframe.
Parents: parameter, keyframe, valueentry, timecode, (metadata)
Subelements: red, green, blue, alpha, horiz, vert, timecode, clip, sequence
Notes: For some parameters, the subelements red, green, and blue are required. For others, the horz and vert subelements are required. In some cases, you can directly specify a numeric or Boolean value in value and not use any subelements.

keyframe
Description: Encodes a keyframe for an effect.
Parent: parameter
Subelements: +*when, +*value, interpolation, *inscale, *outscale, *inbez, *outbez,*speedvirtualkf, *speedkfin, *speedkfout, *speedkfstart, *speedkfend, *origvalue, *hadbezierin, *hadbezierout

when
Description: An integer specifying the time location for a keyframe.
Parent: keyframe

inscale
Description: A number specifying the incoming magnitude value for a keyframe.
Parent: keyframe
Notes: The value is specific for keyframes using the FCPCurve interpolation.

inbez
Description: Encodes the incoming handle value for a keyframe.
Parent: keyframe
Subelements: horiz, vert

outscale
Description: A number specifying the outgoing magnitude value for a keyframe.
Parent: keyframe
Notes: The value is specific for keyframes using the FCPCurve interpolation.

outbez
Description: Encodes the outgoing handle value for a keyframe.
Parent: keyframe
Subelements: horiz, vert

red, green, blue
Description: A number specifying color information for an effect parameter.
Parents: value, color

alpha
Description: An integer specifying the alpha value of a channel.
Parents: value, color
Notes: Valid entries are from 0 to 255. 0 is transparent; 255 is opaque.

horiz, vert
Description: A number specifying the horizontal or vertical coordinate. When these values specify the Center parameters in the Motion settings, they are scale values ranging from -100 to 100. This allows the size of the image to change at import time while still maintaining the positioning.
Parents: value, inbez, outbez
Notes: The value is specific for keyframes using the FCPCurve interpolation. When used as subelements of inbez and outbez, these elements represent polor coordinates. The horiz element is the radius and the vert element is the angle in radians.

interpolation
Description: Encodes the type of curve interpretation and data to use in the parent element
Parents: keyframe, parameter
Subelement: +*name
Notes: The interpolation element only occurs in an effect parameter with keyframes. For Final Cut Pro, the interpolation method is FCPCurve. See Keyframe Interpolation for more information about this method.

The Time Remap Effect

The Time Remap effect allows you to set the constant speed, variable speed, and playback direction for a clipitem. When you use this effect, Final Cut automatically creates two “virtual” keyframes in the graphdict parameter at the beginning and end of the item. For keyframes in this parameter, value encodes the frame in the media file to be remapped to a time encoded by when. Virtual keyframes in the graphdict parameter also use these additional elements:

speedvirtualkf
Description: A Boolean value indicating whether a keyframe has been created by Final Cut (TRUE) or by the user (FALSE).
Parent: keyframe

speedkfin
Definition: A Boolean value indicating whether a virtual keyframe is at the setting for in.
Parent: keyframe

speedkfout
Definition: A Boolean value indicating whether a virtual keyframe is at the the setting for out.
Parent: keyframe

speedkfstart
Definition: A Boolean value indicating whether a virtual keyframe is at the setting for start.
Parent: keyframe

speedkfend
Definition: A Boolean value indicating whether a virtual keyframe is at the setting for end.
Parent: keyframe

origvalue
Definition: An integer indicating the original value of the value element.
Parent: keyframe

anchoroffset
: An optional double value that specifies an offset from a keyframe for playback. See The anchoroffset Element.
Parent: keyframe

hadbezierin
: A Boolean value indicating whether keyframe once had an in Bezier handle.
Parent: keyframe

Notes: Not required, not inherited.

hadbezierout
Definition: A Boolean value indicating whether a virtual keyframe once had an out Bezier handle.
Parent: keyframe

Application Specific Data

appspecificdata
Description: Encodes application-specific data.
Parents: format, codec, parameter
Subelements: appname, appmanufacturer, appversion, data

appname
Description: A string specifying the application name.
Parent: appspecificdata

appmanufacturer
Description: A string specifying a manufacturer.
Parent: appspecificdata

appversion
Description: A string specifying a version number.
Parent: appspecificdata

data
Description: Encodes data about an application or codec.
Parent: appspecificdata
Subelements: fcpimageprocessing, qtcodec , qteffectid, UUID

fcpimageprocessing
Description: Encodes information about image processing.
Parent: data
Subelements: useyuv, usesuperwhite, rendermode

useyuv
Description: A Boolean value specifying the use of YUV color space.
Parent: fcpimageprocessing

usesuperwhite
Description: A Boolean value specifying the use of super-white.
Parent: fcpimageprocessing

rendermode
Description: A string specifying the color space to be used for rendering.
Parent: fcpimageprocessing
Notes: Valid entries YUV8BPP, RGB, Float10BPP, or Float

qtcodec
Description: Encodes QuickTime-specific codec identification and configuration information.
Parent: data
Subelements: codecname, codectypename, codectypecode, codecvendorcode, spatialquality, temporalquality, keyframerate, datarate

codecname
Description: A string specifying the registered name for the codec.
Parent: qtcodec

codectypename
Description: A string specifying the registered short name (type name) for the codec.
Parent: qtcodec

codectypecode
Description: A string specifying the registered fourCC (4-byte) type code for the codec.
Parent: qtcodec

codecvendorcode
Description: A string specifying the registered fourCC (4-byte) vendor or manufacturer code for the codec.
Parent: qtcodec

spatialquality
Description: An integer specifying the spatial compression quality.
Parent: qtcodec
Notes: Valid entries are in the range 0 through 1023. This property may not be supported by a particular codec.

temporalquality
Description: An integer specifying the temporal compression quality.
Parent: qtcodec
Notes: Valid entries are in the range 0 through 1023. This property may not be supported by a particular codec.

keyframerate
Description: An integer specifying the keyframe rate for the codec.
Parent: qtcodec
Notes: A value of 0 indicates that keyframes should not be used. This property may not be supported by a particular codec.

datarate
Description: An integer specifying the data rate limit for a codec and QuickTime.
Parent: qtcodec
Notes: A value of 0 indicates that no data rate limit should be used by QuickTime. This property may not be supported by a particular codec.

qteffectid
Description: An integer specifying a QuickTime effect id.
Parent: data

UUID
Description: A string specifying a unique identifier for an application or codec.
Notes: The UUID element is distinct from the uuid element.
Parent: data

Film Data

filmdata
Description: Encodes metadata imported from Cinema Tools.
Parent: clip, clipitem
Subelements: appspecificdata, filmslate, cameraroll, labroll, keycode, dailyroll, inknumber, filmstandard, telecinespeed
Notes: You cannot enter or edit this data from Final Cut Pro, but you can import it.

filmslate
Description: Encodes information about the scene and take.
Parent: filmdata
Subelements: scene, take, slate
Notes: The Cinema Tools database has separate text field for Scene and Take, which appear concantenated as Slate in the application.

scene
Description: A string describing the scene.
Parent: filmslate

take
Description: A string describing the take.
Parent: filmslate

slate
Description: A string specifying the Cinema Tools Slate information.
Parent: filmslate

cameraroll
Description: A string describing the camera roll.
Parent: filmdata

labroll
Description: A string describing the lab roll.
Parent: filmdata

dailyroll
Description: A string describing the daily roll.
Parent: filmdata

keycode
Description: Encodes information about the keycode for a film.
Parent: filmdata
Subelements: +prefix, +feetframes, perfoffset, reversed

prefix
Description: Prefix information for the keycode.
Parent: keycode,inknumber
Notes: Appers in Browser concatenated with feetframes.

feetframes
Description: A string representing feet (four digits) and frames (two digits).
Parent: keycode, inknumber
Notes: Appers in Browser concatenated with prefix.

perfoffset
Description: A string describing the 3-perf offset.
Parent: keycode

reversed
Description: A Boolean value set to TRUE if the keycode runs backwards.
Parent: keycode

inknumber
Description: Encodes information about the keycode for a film.
Parent: filmdata
Subelements: +prefix, +feetframes

filmstandard
Description: A string specifying a supported format: 35mm4p, 35mm3p, or 16mm20.
Parent: filmdata

telecinespeed
Description: A string specifying the telecine speed: 24, 25, or 30.
Parent: filmdata

QuickTime Metadata

metadata
Description: Encapsulates metadata in a QuickTime file.
Parents: file, video, audio
Subelements: +storage, +key, updatebehavior, size, type, value
Notes: A metadata specification, regardless of it's purpose, requires storage and key subelements. To add or remove metadata from a QuickTime file, use the updatebehavior subelement with add or remove. See About master clips

storage
Description: A string defining the storage container for a specified metadata.
Parent: metadata
Notes: The only valid entry is QuickTime.

key
Description: A reverse-dns string identifying the metadata.
Parent: metadata
Notes: Reverse-dns strings (such as com.mycompany.myid.md1) help ensure uniqueness.

size
Description: A number defining the size in bytes of the metadata.
Parent: metadata
Notes: While not absolutely required for strings, this specification is important for numbers and binary data blocks.

type
Description: A string defining the type of metadata.
Parent: metadata
Notes: Valid entries are binary, UTF8, UTF16, MacRoman, signed, unsigned,float32, and float64.

value
Description: The data stored as metadata in the QuickTime file.
Parents: metadata, (parameter, keyframe, valueentry, timecode)
Notes: All data values are stored as plain text, with the exception of binary data elements. These are uuencoded and wrapped in a CDATA scope.

Import Options

importoptions
Description: Encodes import options specific to Final Cut Pro.
Parent: xmeml
Subelements: *createnewproject, *targetprojectname, *defsequencepresetname, *filterreconnectmediafiles, *filterincludemarkers, *filterincludeeffects, *filterincludesequencesettings, *displaynonfatalerrors,*createfcpprojectatxmlfilepath, *deletethisxmlfileatimport
Notes: Using importoptions allows you to bypass the Import XML dialog shown in Figure 2-3 and import an interchange format document directly into Final Cut Pro. (You must specify the subelements createnewproject and defsequencepresetname to do this.) The subelements specify the same choices as those in the dialog.

createnewproject
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to create a new project.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: If TRUE, the system creates a new project with the name "Untitled Project [n]."

targetprojectname
Description: A string specifying the target project.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The components specified in the interchange format document are imported into the target project.

defsequencepresetname
Description: A string specifying the name of a sequence preset.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: For a list of valid entries, see the pop-up list on the XML Import dialog. Using the entry useFirstClipSettings or any invalid entry is the same as using the Auto setting in the Import XML dialog. (See Importing Documents.)

filterreconnectmediafiles
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to reconnect clips to media files on import.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The default setting is TRUE.

filterincludemarkers
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to import encoded markers.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The default setting is TRUE.

filterincludeeffects
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to import encoded effects.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The default setting is TRUE.

filterincludesequencesettings
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to imported encoded sequence settings.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The default setting is TRUE.

displaynonfatalerrors
Description: A Boolean value specifying whether or not to display nonfatal errors.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: The default setting is TRUE.

createfcpprojectatxmlfilepath
Description: A Boolean value indicating whether a project file should be created at the same location as the imported xml file.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: If this element is set to TRUE, importing the xml file /foo/bar/clouds.xml would create the file /foo/bar/clouds.fcp.

deletethisxmlfileatimport
Description: A Boolean value indicating whether an xml file should be deleted at the end of import.
Parent: importoptions
Notes: By default, the value for this element is FALSE. If critical errors are encountered during import, the file is not deleted.

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