7 min read
AAF export to Pro Tools: handles, media and the checklist that avoids a redo
The AAF is the contract between picture and sound. Getting it wrong wastes a mix day that nobody budgeted for.
When picture is locked, the sound mixer needs your timeline, not your mixdown. AAF is the interchange format that carries clip positions, names, levels and the underlying media across from Premiere, Media Composer or Resolve into Pro Tools.
Embedded or linked media
Embedded AAF packs the audio inside the file, which is simpler to send and heavier. Linked AAF references a media folder that must travel with it. Embedded is safer for anyone who has ever lost a folder in a transfer, and most mixers prefer it under a few gigabytes.
Handles, and why two seconds is the minimum
Handles are the extra audio kept beyond each clip boundary. Without them, an editor cannot lengthen a crossfade or find a breath. Two seconds is the working minimum, five is generous and costs almost nothing in file size compared with a redo.
What to strip before exporting
- Disable rubber band level automation you do not want baked in, or warn the mixer it is there.
- Remove temp music from dialogue tracks and put it on its own clearly named track.
- Delete muted tracks that no longer serve the cut, rather than leaving them for someone to guess about.
- Keep track names descriptive: BOOM, LAV MARIE, ATMOS, TEMP MUSIC. Numbers are not names.
Send the reference video too
An AAF without a picture reference is unusable. Export an H.264 with burned in timecode, matching the exact length of the AAF, plus a 2 pop or an audible sync clap at the head. The reference audio should be your latest cut mix so the mixer hears the intent.
Verify before you send
Extract the audio from the reference video and inspect it: 48 kHz, correct duration, no drift at the tail. If the sound in the reference drifts from the AAF, the frame rate of the export does not match the sequence. That check takes two minutes here in the browser and saves a full round trip.