Apple Cinema Tools 3 - Manual (Page 172)

172 Chapter 10 Working With External EDLs and ALE Files
Working With ALE Files
The Avid Log Exchange (ALE) file format was created so that the contents of film-based
databases could be transferred between systems. Cinema Tools supports importing
and exporting ALE files, making it possible to share databases with other systems.
As with EDL files, ALE files are plain text files that can be opened and edited with any
text editor. A difference is that they are tab-delimited, making them a bit more difficult
to read. Also, while it is possible to edit the contents with a text editor, you must use
great care to avoid corrupting the file by accidentally deleting a tab character.
Supported ALE Fields
Each line in an ALE file corresponds to one database record. Cinema Tools supports the
following ALE fields:
 Name: When exporting, contains the filename of the connected clip (if there is one),
or a Cinema Tools–created name combining the scene and take numbers (if they
have been connected), or as a last resort, the video reel and timecode values
separated by a hyphen.
Film-Related Fields
 Camroll: Contains the number used for the Cam Roll field.
 Labroll: Contains the number used for the Lab Roll field.
 Daily roll: Contains the number used for the Daily Roll field.
 Ink number: Contains the Ink field values.
 KN Start: Contains the Key field values.
Video-Related Fields
 Tape: Contains the Video Reel field value.
 Start: Contains the Video Timecode field value.
 End: Within Cinema Tools, this is a calculated value created by adding the Duration
field to the Video Timecode field.
 Duration: Contains the contents of the Video Duration field. (Note that some systems
compare the Duration value to the KN Duration value to ensure they are the same
length—use the Cinema Tools Identify feature to ensure the two durations match.)
Audio-Related Fields
 Tracks: Cinema Tools inserts “VA1” into this field during export.
 Soundroll: Contains the contents of the Sound Roll field.
 Sound TC: Contains the contents of the Sound Timecode field, representing the
timecode of the first frame.
UP01101.Book Page 172 Thursday, March 10, 2005 3:16 PM