Malibu ConformCut in Final Cut Pro.
Conform into Resolve.
Malibu Conform takes a Final Cut Pro project exported as FCPXML (1.10 to 1.14) and prepares it for DaVinci Resolve Studio: an FCPXML ready for Resolve, a manifest and a conform report. Optionally it imports the timeline into Resolve and applies the transforms there. Picture only.
Illustration of the workflow, not a screenshot.
Four steps
From a Final Cut Pro project to a timeline in Resolve.
Export the project
In Final Cut Pro, select the project (the assembled timeline, not an event or the library) and choose File ▸ Export XML. FCPXML 1.10 to 1.14 is read, as a .fcpxml file or a .fcpxmld bundle.
Conform the file
Drag the file onto Drop FCPXML or .fcpxmld here and click Conform for Resolve. If the preflight check has findings, a sheet lists them first; Conform Anyway continues.
Resolve imports and checks
With Drive Resolve after export on, Malibu Conform starts Resolve if it is not running, imports the timeline into the project that is open, applies the transforms and reads the values back.
Read the report
View Report opens ConformReport.pdf from the output folder; the same report is also written as Markdown. By default the files land in Movies/MalibuConform in your home folder.
What's inside
What the current beta (0.1.11) actually does.
Files ready for Resolve
Each run writes <input name>_Conform.fcpxml, which keeps the version of the input, manifest.json with the transforms and removed filters, and the conform report as ConformReport.md and as an A4 ConformReport.pdf. If the PDF cannot be written, the Markdown report is still there.
Multicam, sync clips, compounds
Multicam clips are replaced by their active angle and sync clips are unwrapped to their primary video clip. A compound clip is flattened when it reduces to a single clip; a compound with several clips stays a compound and is recorded as information. A few cases, such as a retimed wrapper that carries connected video, stay as they are and get a warning.
Aggressive compound inlining
Off by default. Switch it on to flatten compounds with several clips: the first inner clip is kept if it is an asset clip and the rest is dropped. Nested clip arrangements can be lost, so use it only when your compounds are plain wrappers.
Resolve step
Starts Resolve if it is not running and waits up to 180 seconds for it to answer. The timeline arrives in the project that is open in Resolve, named after your file with the suffix _Conform; a project is never created. Drive Resolve after export is on by default.
Filters removed and reported
Video filters on clips are removed, color filters included; none is translated to Resolve. Removed filters are reported, and custom LUT filters are also listed under Custom LUTs Detected.
Conform report
View Report opens the PDF. It holds a summary and sections such as Warnings, Removed Effects, Multicam Resolutions, Transforms Applied and Source Media Rasters, and closes with notes for the colorist.
Markers in Resolve
A red marker Effect Removed with the filter name shows a removed filter. A red marker Malibu Conform: Transform Check lists transform values that did not arrive as intended; each value is read back after it is set. A yellow marker Keyframed Transform means the clip has more than one transform keyframe and was left as Resolve imported it. Adjustment Layer: <name> marks the first clip an adjustment layer covers.
Proxies with bars burned in
For edits cut on dailies proxies that have extra rows with data burned in: under Proxies in Settings, click Add Proxy Raster and enter the Proxy size and Original size. The bars are worked out from the two sizes, or set by hand under Bars (px). Relink to the camera originals in Resolve before you check the picture.
Reference movie
Include reference movie takes a movie with a video track into the output folder and lists it in the report. Burn in timecode if missing adds the timeline start timecode as a text overlay unless the file name suggests it already has timecode.
Manual import
With Drive Resolve after export off, or after a Resolve error, import the file yourself with File → Import → Timeline…. Enable Use color information, Mixed frame rate format: Final Cut Pro X and Automatically import source clips into media pool.
Preflight check
A sheet lists the findings before the run. A hard block means the file cannot be conformed; export the project again and retry. Errors and warnings continue with Conform Anyway, information only with Conform.
Good to know
What you need, what it does not do, and what to watch for.
Requirements
- macOS 14.0 or later
- A Final Cut Pro project exported as FCPXML 1.10 to 1.14, as a .fcpxml file or a .fcpxmld bundle
- DaVinci Resolve Studio for the automatic Resolve step; the free edition does not include the Python scripting API. Without Resolve you still get the conformed files and can import them yourself
- In Resolve, External scripting using set to Local
- Python 3.10 or 3.11 for the Resolve step: a Python 3.11 bundled with the build when it contains one, otherwise an installed 3.10 or 3.11
- A project open in Resolve; Malibu Conform imports into it and never creates one
- Verified against DaVinci Resolve Studio 21.1.0.17 only; other Resolve versions are untested
What it does not do
- Picture only. Audio is out of scope; connected audio of a flattened wrapper is dropped, and for audition clips only the active pick reaches Resolve.
- Transforms are applied to clips on video track 1 only. Connected clips are conformed in the FCPXML but not touched in Resolve.
- Video filters are not translated to Resolve. On connected clips they are reported as a warning only and get no marker in Resolve.
- It cannot write keyframes: a clip with more than one transform keyframe keeps what Resolve imported and gets a yellow marker; connected keyframed clips get no marker.
- Adjustment layers are not applied to the clips they cover. Only a title that is an adjustment layer with a transform, on the main storyline, is removed, marked on the first clip it covers and listed in the report; adjustment layers elsewhere are not detected.
- A compound whose only content is a title is not flattened.
- Pan and Tilt units were measured only for Resolve's Crop and Fit scaling modes.
Worth knowing
- Select the project in Final Cut Pro, not an event or the library. An event export is blocked by the preflight check or reported as nothing conformed.
- If you conformed dailies proxies with bars burned in, relink to the camera originals in Resolve; until then the proxies look too small.
- The Studio check looks for Resolve and its scripting library in the default location in the Applications folder, not for a license; a copy installed elsewhere is reported as not installed.
- A Resolve that is already running but does not answer is not restarted. Set External scripting using to Local and run the conform again.
- The result window shows the first ten warnings; the rest are in the report.
- A manual import has none of the Resolve markers (Effect Removed, Transform Check, Keyframed Transform). Without the three import options the conform looks correct in the Inspector but drifts visually.
- The preflight check warns about assets with names in the style Sony cameras use that start at 0: Final Cut Pro may have failed to read the camera timecode, and cuts may land on the wrong source frame in Resolve. Relink the media in Final Cut Pro before you export.
- On first launch a screen asks for your email address before you can continue. A license key can be entered under License in Settings with Redeem License Key....
Download Malibu Conform
Beta 0.1.11 for macOS 14 or later, as a notarized DMG (48 MB, Developer ID). The Resolve step needs DaVinci Resolve Studio. Choose Check for Updates… in the Malibu Conform menu to look for a newer version.