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Malibu Burn Help
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Getting startedAdd a library and choose a timelineBuild your layoutShow clip rolesManage presetsValidate a timeline against FCPXMLUpdate the Final Cut Pro pluginReferenceTroubleshooting

Getting started

What MalibuBurn does

MalibuBurn burns clip metadata into the Final Cut Pro viewer and into your exports: source timecode, clip and file names, reel, scene and shot, markers, roles and more. It has two parts. The MalibuBurn Host app decides what is shown and where. The MalibuBurn effect inside Final Cut Pro draws it.

Before you start

You need macOS 14 or later, Final Cut Pro, and the MalibuBurn plugin installed with the MalibuBurn installer. The plugin provides the effect that you add in Final Cut Pro.

The first launch asks for your email address. It is required: the Host shows only this screen until you enter one. The address identifies your trial.

Start the trial

Enter your email address and click Start Trial. The button stays disabled until the address looks like an email address. A short guide opens afterwards; you can reopen it at any time with How MalibuBurn Works in the Help menu.

Add your library and pick a timeline

Drag your Final Cut Pro library (the .fcpbundle) into the MalibuBurn Host window. Then click the timeline you are working on in the sidebar. The guide on adding libraries lists the other ways to add a library and explains how the timeline is chosen automatically.

Choose what to show

Pick a preset in the preset list at the top of the main column, or build your own by adding elements with Add element…. Changes reach Final Cut Pro within a moment; there is nothing to export or save.

Add the effect in Final Cut Pro

In Final Cut Pro, connect an adjustment layer above your timeline and stretch it over the full length. Open the Effects browser, go to Studio Malibu and drop the MalibuBurn effect onto that adjustment layer.

Check the result

The burn-in follows the playhead in the viewer and in every export. If the viewer shows a status line instead of metadata, the line names what is missing; the troubleshooting page lists the common lines. The Diagnostics section in the settings has everything support needs.

Add a library and choose a timeline

Drag the library into the window

Drag a Final Cut Pro library (a .fcpbundle) onto the MalibuBurn Host window. Anything that is not a .fcpbundle is ignored without a message.

Use the plus button

Click the plus button at the top left of the window (tooltip Add Library...), or click Add Library... in the empty sidebar. In the file panel, select the .fcpbundle. To look inside a folder, open it with a double click. To choose the bundle, click it once and then click the panel's Open button.

Detect the open libraries

With Final Cut Pro running and the library open, click Detect from Final Cut Pro. The button is in the empty sidebar and, as a wand icon, in the top row. One new library is added directly. If several are open, a list titled Multiple libraries are open in Final Cut Pro offers each library and Add All.

The first time, macOS asks whether MalibuBurn Host may control Final Cut Pro. Allow it. Libraries that are already added are skipped. If nothing new is open, nothing happens.

Fix a failed detection

If detection fails, the reason appears under the button in the empty sidebar (in the top row it is the tooltip). When macOS blocks the permission, the message in the empty sidebar gains two actions: Open Automation Settings opens the Automation pane in System Settings, where MalibuBurn Host must be allowed to control Final Cut Pro. Copy Reset Command copies a Terminal command that resets the stuck permission; run it, make sure Final Cut Pro is open, then click Detect from Final Cut Pro again.

Choose the timeline

Once a library is read, its Events appear in the sidebar as collapsible cards. Click a timeline to make it active; it then shows burning in. Click the active timeline again to deselect it. Events that contain no project or compound clip are not listed.

When the MalibuBurn workflow extension is open in Final Cut Pro, the Host follows the sequence that is active there. A timeline you pick in the Host replaces the extension's earlier choice.

Switch between the compact and the full list

While a timeline is active, the sidebar shows a compact card with the sequence name, library and event. Click Show All Libraries to see the full list again and Hide Library List to go back to the card.

Remove a library

Hover over a library row in the full list and click the circled x. The library is only removed from MalibuBurn; the file is not touched. There is no confirmation.

Set the project start timecode

If the burn-in shows a timecode that does not fit your timeline, type the project's start timecode into Project start TC (optional) at the bottom of the sidebar; it is shown while a timeline is active. Use HH:MM:SS:FF, or HH:MM:SS;FF for drop frame. Clear the field to go back to the value Final Cut Pro reports. An invalid entry is ignored and the hint under the field says which value is used instead.

Build your layout

Add an element

Click Add element… below the preset list and choose a field. The element is added to the active preset and selected. If an element was copied before, Paste element is listed first.

Select, hide and remove elements

Each element is a chip. Click the check mark to show or hide it, click the name to select it for editing (click the only selected chip again to deselect it), and click the x to remove it. Hold Shift and click to add to the selection. The Delete key removes the selected elements. There is no confirmation and no undo.

Copy an element

Click a chip with the right mouse button and choose Copy. Then choose Paste from the chip menu or Paste element from Add element…. The pasted element is added at the end of the active preset, also across presets.

Change the field and the label

Select an element. In the Editor tile, choose another Field or type a Label. For most fields the label is a prefix in front of the value; with stacked layers it appears in a tag such as [label V1]. For Custom Text the label is the text itself.

Place an element

In the Editor tile, choose an Anchor in the 3×3 grid, then set X and Y with the sliders or by typing a number. For a left, right, top or bottom anchor the value is the distance from that edge of the visible picture (0 to 1). For a centre anchor it is the offset from the centre (−0.5 to 0.5). Changing the anchor keeps the element where it is on screen.

You can also drag the element in the Position Preview. It snaps to the frame's edges and centre and to other elements. After a drag, on each axis you moved the anchor becomes the nearest edge or centre and X and Y are updated to match. Hold Shift to lock to one axis (pressing Shift at the start of a drag also toggles the element in the selection) and Option to move without snapping.

Style the text and background

Under Text set Text size (12 to 72), Text color, Text opacity and Alignment. Alignment only matters for content with more than one line. Under Background switch Show background and set Background color and Background opacity.

Restyle all elements at once

Open the Bulk Style tile with the header icons above the preset list. Set the text, background or anchor draft and click Apply to all. The text and background drafts overwrite every element of the preset immediately; duplicate the preset first to keep the old state. The anchor draft converts the positions to the new anchor, so elements stay where they are on screen. New elements take size, colors, opacity, background and anchor from the draft, but not alignment.

Open the Position Preview in its own window

Click the icon at the top right of the preview to open Position Preview as a separate window. Selection is shared with the main window. The separate window has the preview with its toolbar (Grid, Snap, Crop); the Editor, Settings and Bulk Style tiles stay in the main window.

Show clip roles

Add a Role Text element

Click Add element… and choose Role Text. The element starts in Role Name mode. It shows nothing until at least one role is picked; the Editor says so with the message "None selected yet — this element won't show anything until you pick one below."

Pick the roles

Select the element and open its Roles list in the Editor tile. Roles are grouped under Video Roles, Audio Roles and Caption Roles. Tick every role that should trigger the element. A main role covers all of its subroles and the clips assigned to the main role itself; open its arrow only to pick individual subroles. All sub-roles ticks just the named subroles of that main role.

The list is filled from the libraries you have added. When no roles are available it says "No roles found — pick a library/timeline first."

Choose what the element shows

Set Show to one of three modes. Custom Text shows the Label while a clip with a picked role is active. Media Filename shows the active clip's name, which the app uses in place of a file name. Role Name shows the role's own name. In the last two modes the Label is a prefix when it is not empty.

Check roles after importing a preset

The role selection of a preset belongs to the project it was made for, so a preset you import or share may not match the roles of your project. Check the picked roles after importing a preset.

Manage presets

Choose a preset

Use the list at the top of the main column. MalibuBurn comes with built-in presets, among them Netflix QC Layout, Conform, Colorist, Conform Playout 1920x1080 and Netflix Playout 1920x1080. Built-in presets can be edited in place, but they cannot be renamed or deleted. A Host update adds a built-in preset you do not have yet and never overwrites one you already have, so your changes stay. Reset to factory default… brings back the shipped version.

Make your own preset

Click the plus button next to the list. It duplicates the current preset under the name <name> Copy and opens the Settings tile so you can rename it. Click the pencil to rename a preset of your own later.

Export and import

In the Settings tile, open Preset actions and choose Export preset… to write the preset as a JSON file, or Import preset… to read one. An import always becomes a regular preset and is activated. If the name exists, " (Imported)" is appended; nothing is overwritten.

Reset or delete

For a built-in preset, Preset actions offers Reset to factory default…, which discards your changes after a confirmation. For your own presets it offers Delete preset, which acts immediately; the last remaining preset cannot be deleted.

Set the visible picture

Under Canvas, Visible picture sets the picture area that element positions refer to: Full Frame, 2.39:1, 2.35:1, 1.85:1, 4:3 or Custom. Changing it moves elements, because X and Y are fractions of that area. The Position Preview shows it as a slightly lighter rectangle. Custom takes a width and a height, for example 1920 and 1080; a comma or a dot works as the decimal separator. You can still place elements in the bars around it unless Keep inside visible picture is on, which is off by default; elements never leave the frame itself.

Changes save themselves

Presets are saved automatically on every change. There is no save button.

Validate a timeline against FCPXML

Export the timeline

In Final Cut Pro, export the same timeline you selected in MalibuBurn as FCPXML.

Run the check

Select the timeline in the sidebar and open the Validate tile with the header icons, or the expanded Validate Against FCPXML window. Drop the .fcpxml or .fcpxmld file onto the zone, or click Choose FCPXML.... Without a selected timeline the tile asks you to pick one in the sidebar first.

Read the result

The check compares the clip list that MalibuBurn resolved with the FCPXML. PASS means every compared clip matched on timeline position, duration and name (and, for plain clips, on the source start), with no dropped or extra entries. FAIL means there are differences. The tile shows PASS or FAIL, a summary line and two counts; the window lists the differences, grouped as clips only in the FCPXML, clips only in MalibuBurn's list, and field mismatches on matched clips, up to 200 rows per group.

Use the right timeline

If the FCPXML contains no timeline with the selected name, MalibuBurn compares a fallback timeline from the file, and the window warns that it is not the timeline selected here. The tile shows no such warning. Export the FCPXML for the selected timeline for a valid comparison.

Update the Final Cut Pro plugin

Know what updates what

The Host app checks for its own updates with Sparkle; Check for Updates… in the app menu checks on demand. The Final Cut Pro plugin is updated by the Host: when the installed plugin is older than the Host, a banner at the top of the window reports it and installs the matching plugin.

Restart Final Cut Pro afterwards

After the banner reports "Final Cut Pro plugin updated to build", restart Final Cut Pro. It keeps the old version loaded until then.

Enter your password when asked

If the plugin was installed by the installer, click Update Plugin… in the banner. macOS asks for your password once; later updates install by themselves.

Allow App Management

If the banner says macOS won't let MalibuBurn Host replace the plugin, click Open App Management Settings, turn the permission on for MalibuBurn Host, then relaunch the Host. If it is already on, use the full installer.

Install or repair with the installer

Download Installer or Download Full Installer downloads the current MalibuBurn installer in your browser; run it afterwards. Use it when the plugin is not installed at all or an automatic update failed.

Restore a missing effect

If the banner says the effect is missing from the Motion Templates folder, click Open MalibuBurn once to reinstall it, then restart Final Cut Pro.

Reference

Requirements

  • macOS 14 or later.
  • Final Cut Pro with the MalibuBurn plugin installed. The effect is called MalibuBurn and sits in the category Studio Malibu.

Window and tiles

  • The Host window opens at 1200 × 760 and cannot be made smaller than 840 × 640.
  • Editor: the selected element with the sections Element, Position, Text and Background, plus one more section for some fields. Open by default.
  • Settings: the preset's own settings in the sections Preset, Canvas, Stacked layers and Visibility. Open by default.
  • Bulk Style: text, background and anchor drafts with Apply to all. Closed by default.
  • Validate compares the timeline with an exported FCPXML. Closed by default.
  • Tiles open and close with the icons in the header above the preset list. When the content area becomes narrower than 860 points, open tiles are closed; tiles you open while it is narrow float over the main column.

Menus and shortcuts

  • MalibuBurn Help (Help menu) opens these help pages in the browser.
  • How MalibuBurn Works (Help menu) reopens the guide.
  • Send Feedback… (Help menu, ⌘?) opens the feedback dialog.
  • Check for Updates… (app menu, not in Mac App Store builds) checks for a new Host version.
  • Buy MalibuBurn (app menu) opens the purchase page. It is shown until a license is confirmed.
  • The menu bar icon opens a popover with the status, the active timeline and the libraries (a library gets a check mark once it is read), a small icon in the top row that opens MalibuBurn Host (its tooltip is Open MalibuBurn Host), and a footer with Settings (⌘,) and Quit (⌘Q).
  • The Delete key removes the selected elements.

Settings

  • Appearance: Preset offers color presets for the window. Default: Claude Colors.
  • Window: Window Transparency goes from 0 to 100 percent in 5 percent steps; higher values make the window darker and more opaque. The default comes from the selected appearance preset.
  • Beta: license state, device ID, Enter License Key… and Deactivate This Device….
  • Feedback: Send Feedback….
  • Diagnostics: Show Diagnostics… and Copy Diagnostics.
  • Credits & Legal: a note on the components used (Sparkle and swift-timecode) and a link to the privacy policy.
  • The settings open from the gear at the bottom of the sidebar.

Field types

There are 23 field types. They are listed in this order in Field and in Add element…:

  • Source TC: source timecode at the playhead.
  • Project TC: timeline timecode at the playhead.
  • Clip Name.
  • Source File: media file name.
  • Reel.
  • Scene / Shot: scene and shot, joined with a dash.
  • Speed / Retime: FREEZE, a percentage (with REV when reversed) or RAMP; nothing at 100 percent, also when reversed.
  • Notes.
  • Angle: multicam angle name.
  • Resolution: width and height, written like 1920x1080.
  • Marker (Note or Name): the first marker of a ticked type on the clip.
  • Resize / Transform: the average of horizontal and vertical scale in percent, only when a scale is not 100 percent.
  • Stacked Video Clips: one line per video layer.
  • Role Text: see the roles guide.
  • Custom Text: the Label itself.
  • Marker Name, Marker Note, Marker Name + Note: name, note, or both of the first matching marker. The marker types follow the element's setting; the Marker types list is shown for these three fields and for Marker (Note or Name).
  • Source Frame: frame number counted from the first frame of the media file, starting at 0.
  • Stacked Layers — Reel/File + Frame # Block and Stacked Layers — Slate/Timecode Block: blocks with two columns and one row per layer.
  • Stabilization: shows the text Stabilized only when stabilization is on.
  • Position / Rotation: position and rotation of the clip, only when not zero.

An element draws nothing when its value is empty. Resize, position and stabilization are only displayed. The speed of a retimed clip is also used to compute Source TC and Source Frame.

Element defaults

  • A new element takes size, text color and opacity, background and anchor from the Bulk Style draft. The draft starts at: Text size 24 (range 12 to 72), Text color white, Text opacity 1, Alignment left, Show background on, Background color black, Background opacity 0.7, Anchor bottom left.
  • X is 0.05 and Y is 0.05 plus 0.05 for each element already in the preset (step 0.01); with a centre or middle anchor the respective value starts at 0.
  • Marker types: Chapter is on; To-Do and Standard are off.

Preset settings

Defaults of a new preset; individual built-in presets can differ.

  • Visible picture: default Full Frame. Keep inside visible picture: off.
  • Show stacked layers: off. When on, Source TC, Source Frame, Reel, Scene / Shot and Source File get one extra line per stacked layer.
  • Stack order: Default, V1 on top, V1 on bottom.
  • Layer tag: Name and Number.
  • Hide on generator clips: off. When on, all elements are hidden while the playhead is over a title or generator with no real source clip.

Position Preview

  • Black canvas in the timeline's own aspect ratio; 16:9 if unknown.
  • Grid: off by default; shows an N×N grid (2 to 8, default 3). Snap appears while the grid is on.
  • Crop: the same picker as Visible picture.
  • Shift locks a drag to one axis, Option moves without snapping. A dragged chip stays inside the canvas.
  • Blocks of stacked layers show placeholder sample data, so their size and position are only illustrative.

Limits

  • Live updates are not instant: Final Cut Pro can hold an edit back for a while before it writes it to disk. The refresh button in the status bar (tooltip "Re-scan now") scans again.
  • The Position Preview is approximate; the real text layout happens in Final Cut Pro.
  • Fields with a single value come from the primary clip of the storyline. Clips stacked above appear through the options for stacked layers, and Role Text also reacts to roles of connected clips.

Troubleshooting

The viewer shows "start Host app + select a timeline"

The effect has no data from the Host. Start MalibuBurn Host, add your library and click a timeline. If the Host is running and a timeline is active, click the refresh button in the status bar (tooltip "Re-scan now").

The viewer shows "doesn't fit this timeline"

The playhead could not be matched to the clip list, usually because the project start timecode is wrong. Type the project's start timecode into Project start TC (optional) in the sidebar. The message can also appear when the playhead is parked after the last clip.

The viewer shows "isn't a valid timecode"

The Host's start timecode has a valid format but does not exist at the timeline's frame rate, for example a frames value at or above the frame rate, or drop frame at a rate without drop frame. Correct Project start TC (optional) in the Host.

The viewer shows "gap (no clip at playhead)"

No clip covers the playhead position. This also happens when Hide on generator clips is on and the playhead is over a title or generator without a real source clip.

The viewer shows "no clips found"

The selected timeline has no clips in the data the Host wrote. Select the timeline in the Host again.

The viewer shows "reinstall the MalibuBurn plugin"

The plugin is older than the Host. See the guide on updating the plugin.

The viewer shows "unsupported timeline frame rate"

The timeline uses a frame rate MalibuBurn does not support, so no burn-in is drawn. The message names the rate.

The viewer shows a message about the Host's data

Messages such as "the Host's data file is missing or too large", "can't read the Host's data file" or "can't read the Host's data — update both the Host app and the plugin" mean the effect cannot read what the Host wrote. Select the timeline in the Host again. If the message says to update or reinstall, update the Host and the plugin.

An element shows nothing

An element draws nothing when its value is empty, for example Reel on a clip without a reel name. Role Text also draws nothing until a role is picked; the chip shows a warning. Custom Text needs a Label.

Resize, position, stabilization or speed show nothing

These elements only draw something when the clip has a value other than the default: Resize / Transform when a scale is not 100 percent, Position / Rotation when position or rotation is not zero, Stabilization when stabilization is on, Speed / Retime for a freeze frame, a speed ramp, or a speed other than 100 percent (a reversed clip at 100 percent shows nothing).

Source Frame is empty

Source Frame is blank when the clip's source frame rate cannot be resolved, for example offline media, and on a gap in the primary storyline.

Detect from Final Cut Pro does nothing

Final Cut Pro must be running with the library open. If an error is shown, follow it; for a permission error see the guide on adding libraries. If the open libraries are already added, nothing happens.

The Host says the license is expired or blocked

A dialog names the reason and offers five buttons: Buy MalibuBurn (purchase page), I Already Have a License (key entry), Download Update (starts the installer download and quits the app), Lost Your License Key? and Quit. While blocked, the viewer shows only the message instead of the burn-in. If the app has been offline too long to verify your license, or has no saved license check yet, it asks you to connect to the internet.

The burn-in looks out of date after an edit

Final Cut Pro can hold an edit back for a while before it writes it to disk. Click the refresh button in the status bar (tooltip "Re-scan now") to scan the library again.

Send diagnostics to support

Click the gear at the bottom of the sidebar and click Copy Diagnostics, then paste the report into your message. Send Feedback… attaches a diagnostics block automatically.

Written for version 0.3.64.