Workaround for Final Cut Pro 7 Importing Bug

Update: this bug is fixed in the 2.1 beta. Get the beta here.

If you’re using Final Cut Pro 7 and importing InqScribe-generated FCP XML files, you’re probably pulling your hair out. As of FCP7, any imported subtitles beyond the two minute mark show up with a duration of only one frame.

The problem is twofold. First, InqScribe is setting incorrect values for the in and out points for each generated subtitle. In prior versions of FCP, these values were essentially ignored on import, because in and out points for a static subtitle don’t really mean that much. (The start and end points for the subtitle, which determine where the subtitle goes in the sequence, were and are correct.)

Unfortunately, FCP7 is interpreting those values differently, and any subtitle with an in point greater than the subtitle’s stated duration ends up with a frame length of 1. Since InqScribe was setting every subtitle’s duration to 3600 frames (because this value shouldn’t really matter: effective duration of the subtitle is based on the start and end values), most users will find that subtitles that start at the two minute mark or later are affected.

We’re working on a fix for the next beta release. In the meantime, there is a workaround.

Here’s an excerpt from an InqScribe-generated FCP XML file:

<generatoritem id="Text">
    <name>Text</name>
    <duration>3600</duration>
    <rate>
        <ntsc>TRUE</ntsc>
        <timebase>30</timebase>
    </rate>
    <in>7540</in>
    <out>7610</out>
    <start>7540</start>
    <end>7610</end>

Note that InqScribe sets the duration to 3600 (regardless of the actual duration, which is based on the start and end values). InqScribe also sets the in and out points to the start and end values. The problem is that in and out values should technically never be greater than the duration.

So the fix is to change every instance of in and out to this:

<in>100</in>
<out>3600</out>

With this change, in and out stay within duration’s range, and FCP7 won’t clip the resulting subtitle.

To make this change easily, use a tool that supports regular expressions to find all instances of the in and out tags. Here’s a solution that uses sed, which comes installed on OS X.

1. Export the FCP XML file from InqScribe as usual (let’s say it’s called export.xml).
2. In the Terminal, navigate to the directory containing export.xml, and issue this command (which is one long line, make sure to copy the whole thing):

sed -e 's_\(<in>\)[0-9]*\(</in>\)_\1100\2_g' -e 's_\(<out>\)[0-9]*\(</out>\)_\13600\2_g' < export.xml > export_fixed.xml

3. Import the resulting export_fixed.xml into FCP7.

If you want to dig into sed so you understand what that command is doing, here’s a solid sed tutorial. It’s a very powerful tool.

TIP: How can I convert my “[00:01:23.29]” timecodes to “00:01:23.29″ (remove brackets)?

I have an existing InqScribe transcript that uses bracketed timecodes: [00:01:23.29]

I want to use unbracketed timecodes: 00:01:23.29

—

Here’s how you can do the conversion:

1. Open the existing transcript in InqScribe.

2. Select “Transcript->Transcript Settings…” from the menu bar.

3. Under the “Inserted Time Code Format:” select “00:01:23.29″ from the popup menu.

4. Check the “Recognize Unbracketed Time Codes” checkbox.

5. Click “OK” to close the window.

6. Select “Transcript->Adjust Time Codes…” from the menu bar.

7. Leave the “Adjustment:” field blank, and click “Adjust.”  This will reformat all of your time codes to the unbracketed format.

—

To change ALL of your future transcripts to use the unbracketed time codes…

…On a Mac:

1. Select “InqScribe->Preferences…” from the menu bar.

2. Click on the “New Document” tab at the top of the “InqScribe Preferences” window.

3. Under the “Inserted Time Code Format:” select “00:01:23.29″ from the popup menu.

4. Check the “Recognize Unbracketed Time Codes” checkbox.

…On Windows:

1. Select “Edit->Options…” from the menu bar.

2. Click on the “New Document” tab at the top of the “InqScribe Preferences” window.

3. Under the “Inserted Time Code Format:” select “00:01:23.29″ from the popup menu.

4. Check the “Recognize Unbracketed Time Codes” checkbox.

By the way, there are a number of other formats that you can use as well.

TIP: How to bold timecodes in Microsoft Word

InqScribe currently does not support bold text.  However, you can use Microsoft Word’s “Find and Replace” feature to bold text.  Here’s how you can do that:

1. Export your transcript to Microsoft Word.  (You can just cut and paste.)

2. Select “Edit->Replace…”.

3. Click on the triangle next to the “Replace All” button to reveal the advanced options.

4. Check the “Use wildcards” option.

5. Under “Find what:” enter this:

[^#^#:^#^#:^#^#.^#^#]

NOTE this assumes that you’re using the default timecode format.  If you’re using another timecode format, just format the colons and periods accordingly.  Each “^#” matches a digit.  For example, if your timecode looks like “<00:00:00.00>” use “<^#^#:^#^#:^#^#.^#^#>”.

6. Click in the “Replace with:” field.

7. From the popup menu at the bottom of the window called “Format” select “Font…” and then click on “Bold”, then click “OK”.  The “Replace with:” field should say “Format: Font:Bold” underneath it.

8. Click on “Find Next” to make sure it works — does Word find the first timecode?  If so, then try clicking “Replace” to see if it bolds it.  If it does, then you can use “Replace All” to bold all of the timecodes.