Importing XML project files from Final Cut Pro

You can import entire projects, selected clips, or selected sequences that you export from Final Cut Pro as XML files. In Premiere Pro, bins and clips have the same hierarchies and names that they have in the Final Cut Pro source projects. Also, Premiere Pro retains the sequence markers, sequence settings, track layout, locked tracks, and sequence timecode start points of Final Cut Pro source projects. Premiere Pro imports text from the Final Cut Pro Text generators into Premiere Pro titles.
Note: You cannot import native Final Cut Pro project files, only XML files exported from Final Cut Pro. You can export Final Cut Pro XML files from Premiere Pro. The effects that are tranlated from Premiere Pro are the same as those that are imported from a Final Cut Pro XML f ile.

Joost van der Hoeven provides a video tutorial on the Adobe website that demonstrates exchanging information between Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro using XML projects.

For a list of items in Premiere Pro that are translated from a Final Cut Pro XML file, see Final Cut Pro clip data, Final Cut Pro effects and transitions, Final Cut Pro composite modes, and Final Cut Pro Multiclips. Also, see the PDF, “Appendix D: Working with Final Cut Pro from the Editor’s Guide to Premiere Pro,” by Richard Harrington, Robbie Carman, and Jeff Greenberg for more information.

See this blog post about the Premiere Pro CS5 (5.0.2) updates, which features several improvements to Final Cut Pro XML export.

Robbie Carman explains the process of exporting a Final Cut Pro project and then importing it into Premiere Pro in this video tutorial on AdobeTV. Information about reading errors in the Translation Report is included.

Additional resources about importing Final Cut Pro projects are linked to from this article on the Adobe website.

    Import an XML file from Final Cut Pro

    1. Export an XML file from Final Cut Pro. For more information, see Final Cut Pro Help.
    2. In Final Cut Pro, close the source project.
    3. In Premiere Pro, select File >Import.
    4. Browse to the XML file, and click Open.

    Final Cut Pro clip data

    Clip data in the Description, Scene, ShotTake, and LogNote fields in Final Cut Pro appear in the clip metadata fields with the same names in Premiere Pro.

    Final Cut Pro effects and transitions

    Premiere Pro retains the basic motion and opacity effects, and motion and opacity keyframes, from Final Cut Pro source projects. Additionally, Premiere Pro converts some Final Cut Pro effects and transitions according to the following tables:
    Conversion of Final Cut Pro video effects

    Final Cut Pro effect

    Premiere Pro effect

    Crop

    Crop

    Eight-Point Garbage Matte

    Eight-Point Garbage Matte

    Four-Point Garbage Matte

    Four-Point Garbage Matte

    Gaussian Blur (provided the channel selection in Final Cut Pro is Alpha+RGB.)

    Gaussian Blur

    Luma Key

    Luma Key

    Three-Way Color Corrector

    Three-Way Color Corrector
    Conversion of Final Cut Pro video transitions

    Final Cut Pro transition

    Premiere Pro transition

    Dip To White

    Dip To White

    Dip to [color]

    Dip To Black

    Edge Wipe transitions

    Wipe, with the wipe direction rounded to the closest of the eight Premiere Pro supported directions.

    Other video transitions

    Cross Dissolve
    Conversion of Final Cut Pro audio effects

    Final Cut Pro audio effect

    Premiere Pro audio effect

    Audio level values and keyframes

    Audio clip volume values and keyframes

    Audio pan values and keyframes

    Track pan values and keyframes

    Low Pass Filter

    Lowpass

    High Pass Filter

    Highpass

    Band Pass Filter

    Bandpass
    Conversion of Final Cut Pro audio transitions

    Final Cut Pro audio transition

    Premiere Pro audio transition

    Cross Fade (0 dB)

    Constant Gain

    Cross Fade (+3 dB)

    Constant Power

    Other transitions

    Constant Power

    Final Cut Pro composite modes

    Premiere Pro retains the basic motion and opacity effects, and motion and opacity keyframes, from Final Cut Pro source projects. Premiere Pro converts Final Cut Pro composite modes according to the following table:

    Final Cut Pro mode

    Premiere Pro mode

    Normal

    Normal

    Add

    Linear Dodge (Add)

    Subtract

    Not supported

    Difference

    Difference

    Multiply

    Multiply

    Screen

    Screen

    Overlay

    Overlay

    Hard Light

    Hard Light

    Soft Light

    Soft Light

    Darken

    Darken

    Lighten

    Lighten

    Travel Matte Alpha

    Not supported

    Travel Matte Luma

    Not supported

    Final Cut Pro Multiclips

    Premiere Pro converts uncollapsed Final Cut Pro Multiclips, with as many as four inputs, to Multi-camera sequences. Premiere Pro converts collapsed Multiclips to individual clips.

    Note: Premiere Pro issues a warning when you try to import a Multiclip with more than four inputs.