Once a storyboard is done, there are several reasons to send it to a Non Linear Editing system. It could be to complete the animatic in a real editing suite with a direct return on TV, or it could be to use it as a pre editing map to replace the storyboard scenes by the final materials (shot in live action or rendered from a 2D or 3D software).

It is possible to export your storyboard project and preserve the timing, motions and sounds edited with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro, and export this directly to Apple Final Cut Pro using EDL format or to Adobe Premiere, Avid Xpress or Sony Vegas using AAF format.

This article will explain how to export your storyboard in EDL or AAF format, then how to import your project into major NLE system.

Export your storyboard to EDL or AAF

Open the Export to EDL/AAF dialog panel in top File menu, sub menu Export to EDL/AAF.

There are several options available in the Export to EDL/AAF dialog panel. First, select where you would like to save your storyboard project on your drive in destination path. You can type in the exact path or use the folder icon to browse a specific place on your system. You should create a folder to place your export project since Storyboard Pro will generate several files during the export.

In Export Type, select which format should store the timing information (timecode for panels and audio tracks). The format will be chosen depending on the destination application:

If your editing system is not in the list, check its specifications to verify which format can be imported in.

The storyboard scenes are exported in QuickTime format. Click on XXX to configure the video settings (codecs, quality).You can also define the output resolution since you might not always need to export the storyboard at full resolution (you change select Full, Half or Quarter project’s resolution).

The one clip per panel option is useful if you want to export more than one QuickTime movie clip per scene (which might contain more than one panel) e.g. to obtain better granularity during the editing since the storyboard will have smaller movie clips

Select if you want to export the entire storyboard project or only a section.

Click Export to start the rendering of the QuickTime movie clips.

Import your storyboard into Apple Final Cut Pro (Using Final Cut Pro 6.0.2 provided with Final Cut Studio 2)

Open the application and create a project with settings that match the storyboard project.

In File menu, select Import/EDL, or in project browser, do a RMB and select Import/EDL in the contextual menu to open the Import Option dialog box.

In Import option, select Reconnect in menu, then click OK.

A sequence and a folder with the media are created in the project browser. At this stage, the timeline contains all the correct timing and locations for the media, but the media are offline (not connected).

Open the folder Master Clips for Project created previously and select all the offline media. Then select in File menu, choose Reconnect Media or do a RMB over the media and select Reconnect Media in the contextual menu to open the Reconnect Files dialog box.

In Reconnect Files, click Locate to open the Reconnect Finder box.

In Reconnect finder, uncheck Matched Name and Reel only and select the first media in the list. Click Open to return in the Reconnect Files dialog box. You might see a warning message about File Attribute Mismatch. Ignore it, and click Continue.

Back in Reconnect Files, Files to connect list shall be empty and all media should be in the Files located list. Click on Connect. Error messages might be displayed if you used the same audio elements several times. Ignore it and replace those audio media manually.

Import your storyboard into Adobe Premiere Pro  (Using Premiere Pro 3.0.0 provided with CS3)

• Open the application and create a project with settings that match the storyboard project.

  In File menu, select Import or do a RMD in the Project windows and select Import in contextual menu to open the Choose an object finder dialog box.

  Select your EDL file and click Import to open the EDL information dialog box.

  In EDL information, select the format which fits with your project settings (NTSC, PAL or 24P), then click OK.

  A folder should be added to your Project windows containing the sequence and the media. At this stage, the timeline contains all the correct timing and locations for the media, but the media are offline (not connected).

  Select the all the media then select Link Media in Project menu or do a RMB over the media and select Link Media in the contextual menu to open the Link Media To Finder dialog box.

  The Attach Which Media dialog box appears in turn for each file you selected. Pay attention to the offline file name in the title bar of the dialog box so that you link the correct source file to each offline file.

• Open the application and create a project with settings that match the storyboard project.

  In File menu, select Import or do a RMD in the Project windows and select Import in contextual menu to open the Choose an object finder dialog box.

  Select your AAF file and click Import.

  Premiere Pro should link automatically the media files based on the path stored in the AAF files. Please note that Toon Boom Storyboard Pro saves the absolute path to media files. If you wish to open your AAF project on another machine, make sure the paths are at same location (export the storyboard in AAF using generic path such as C:/XXX ).

Import your storyboard into Avid XPress Pro (Using Avid XPress Pro 5.7.4)

Open the application and start a project with settings that match the storyboard project.

Select project Bin and select Import in File menu or do a RMB over the SuperBin windows and select Import.

Select your AAF file and click Import.

Media list and timeline will be added to the project bin, but the media are offline.

In the Bin menu, select Batch Import.

If the AAF file has been exported on the same machine (or in a similar location than the place it was originally exported), then Avid XPress shall automatically located the source media files. If the AAF files are located in a different place than where they were exported originally, select all the media in the list, then click Set File Location. Select the file requested by the file browser and click Ok.

Select the import parameters and click Import to close Batch Import and start the media import process.

All media will become online and available for editing.