Category: Workflow / Avid Media Composer

You are setting up a project. You bring your Arri Alexa or RED footage directly into Avid Media Composer to transcode. You check the bin columns. Scene: Empty. Take: Empty. Lens Info: Empty. ISO: Empty.

Avid is notoriously bad at reading "sidecar" metadata from modern raw camera files during a direct import/transcode. If you lose this data, your Editor (and the VFX team) will hate you later.

To keep that rich metadata, you need to use the ALE (Avid Log Exchange) workflow. It involves a quick pit-stop in DaVinci Resolve.

Step 1: Ingest in DaVinci Resolve

Resolve is the king of reading metadata.

1. Import your raw camera files into the Media Pool.

2. Check the Metadata tab—you should see everything (Lens, Shutter, Scene, Take, etc.).

3. Sync your audio here if needed (optional, but recommended).

Step 2: Export the Media (MXF)

Go to the Deliver Page.

1. Format: MXF OP-Atom.

2. Codec: DNxHR LB (for proxies).

3. Render: Individual Clips.

4. Filename: "Source Name" (Crucial! Do not change the filenames).

5. Render these files to a folder named "1" (so Avid can scan them).

Step 3: Export the Metadata (ALE)

Still in Resolve:

1. Select all your clips in the bin.

2. Right-click > Timelines > Export > Avid Log Exchange (.ale).

3. Save this file. It is a tiny text file that contains all that juice metadata (Scene, Take, Description, Lens, etc.).

Step 4: The "Merge" in Avid (The Magic Step)

Now, move to Avid.

1. Bring in the Media: Drop your MXF files into the Avid MediaFiles/MXF/1 folder. Let Avid scan it. Drag the .mdb file into a bin. You now have clips that play, but have no metadata.

2. Set Import Settings: Go to Settings > User > Import.

3. Click the Shot Log tab.

4. Select: "Merge with known master clips." (This is the secret sauce).

5. The Merge: Select all your Master Clips in the bin. Go to File > Input > Import Media and select your .ale file.

Result: Avid takes the data from the ALE and "injects" it into your existing Master Clips. Suddenly, your "Scene," "Take," and "Lens" columns populate instantly.

Summary

Don't let Avid strip your metadata. By using Resolve to generate an ALE and "Merging" it into your Avid clips, you ensure that every piece of camera data follows the footage all the way to the final cut.