About the cinematools database, Using cinematools with finalcutpro, About the cinema tools database – Apple Final Cut Pro 6 User Manual
Page 1649: Using cinema tools with final cut pro, P. 166)

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About the Cinema Tools Database
A Cinema Tools database is the heart of any Final Cut Pro film editing project. The
database is similar to a spreadsheet in which each row represents a single clip shot on
film and transferred to video. Each row contains columns such as name, edge code
start, edge code end, timecode start, timecode end, film roll number, video reel
number, scene number, take number, camera information, and so on. These numbers
map your Final Cut Pro clips and media files back to the original film footage so you
can create film cut lists from video footage edited in Final Cut Pro.
Using Cinema Tools with Final Cut Pro
You can edit most projects directly in Final Cut Pro without needing to open
Cinema Tools. When necessary, Cinema Tools may open in the background to create or
update a database file. If necessary, you can always open Cinema Tools to directly
manage specific fields in a database, such as to correct inaccurate edge code numbers.
Steps Performed from
Final Cut Pro
How Cinema Tools
Is Involved
Process clips (if needed)
• Reverse telecine
• Conform (25 @ 24)
Synchronize captured clips
with Cinema Tools database
Edit clips
Import a log into the
Final Cut Pro project,
creating the offline clips
for capture
Batch capture clips
Export lists
Cinema Tools
creates the lists
Cinema Tools
does the processing
A new Cinema Tools
database is created
The clips are connected to
the Cinema Tools database
Create a new
Final Cut Pro project