Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Workaround to import Sony XDCAM MXF to After Effects CC by format transcoding

Read this awesome guide to learn how to convert and transcode Sony XDCAM MXF file for further editing with After Effects CC without hassle.

After Effects allows users to animate, alter and composite media in 2D and 3D space with various built-in tools and third party plug-ins. But for beginners, using .mxf footage from Sony XDCAM camcorder in After Effects CC is not as easy as we think.

import Sony XDCAM MXF to After Effects CC

Why? From Adobe official website, Adobe After effects CC can render to the part of MXF format, but it can’t handle all raw MXF files, that depends on what's inside the MXF, which is capable of holding a great variety of audio and video types. And Sony XDCAM can record a lot of different formats into an MXF container that can't be added into AE CC for working with.

Solution: To import other type Sony XDCAM MXF files to After Effects CC for editing smoothly, a better way is to transcode MXF files from Sony XDCAM to MPEG-2/WMV/MOV at first, which is a standard format for AE CC.

See also: Adobe After Effects CS6: Sony XDCAM EX Readability Glitch

Right app tool: And to perform this format shifting, a professional Mac MXF to After Effects Converter tool- Pavtube iMixMXF is the best choice for you.

Overall, it can not only transcode Sony XDCAM MXF files to After Effects editable format, but also generates best editing format/codec for filmmakers and video enthusiasts to use in different NLE apps, such as Adobe Premiere Pro CS4/CS5/CS6, iMovie, Final Cut Express, Final Cut Pro 6/7/X, and more, which means it can solve all the MXF incompatibility issues on Mac OS X. For Windows user, please turn to MXF MultiMixer.


Step 1. Install and run this MXF to AE Converter. Just copy the MXF files from Sony XDCAM right to your hard drive, import the XDCAM MXF files to the software.

Step 2. Click “Format” bar to choose the output format. You can choose “Format > Adobe Premiere/Sony Vegas > MPEG-2 Video (*.mpg)” as output format for editing Sony XDCAM MXF files in Adobe After Effects CC.

MXF to AE Converter

Step 3. You can click “Settings” button to adjust the parameters, such as resolution, bitrate, etc.

For example, To get a perfect video for editing in After Effects CC, you’d better press the Settings icon to set the video size as 1920*1080, frame rate as 30fps in the Profiles Settings panel.

Step 4. Click “Convert” button to start converting Sony XDCAM MXF to MPG for importing to After Effects CC on Mac. The Mac MXF Converter for AE will convert Sony XDCAM MXF videos to MPG with the original video resolution.

After the conversion is finished, just run Adobe After Effects CC and import the .mpg for editing. You will find the output video work perfectly on Adobe After Effects CC.

Click Edit button and you can trim, crop or adjust the video with the built-in video editor to get the very part and effect of the DVD movie you want.

Additional editing features of the MXF to After Effects Converter: 
  • Combine files together- check the files to be merged in file list and check ‘Merge into one’ box beside ‘Settings’ button. 
  • Deinterlace- click ‘Editor’, switch to ‘Effect’ tab, find ‘Deinterlacing’ box, and check it to eliminate interlacing lines. 
  • Thumbnail- click ‘Snapshoot’ button when previewing the video. Click ‘Option’ to set the image format of screenshots. 
  • Trim a section of the movie- click ‘Editor’, switch to ‘Trim’ tab, and input time point in start and end box. 
What's more, to get more fun, just add your MXF files to VLC Player for viewing, to Premiere Pro CS6 or FCP for further editing.

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