As of Beta 40 we decided to remove this functionality, as very few people were actually using it.
You can still continue to use Beta 40 if you want to sync Final Cut Pro with Logic.
If you disagree with our decision, please get in touch.
It's currently possible to synchronise Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro using MIDI Machine Control within CommandPost.
MIDI Machine Control, or MMC as it's commonly referred to, is a subset of the MIDI specification and provides specific commands for controlling recording equipment such as multi-track recorders.
MMC messages can be sent along a standard MIDI cable for remote control of such functions as Play, Fast Forward, Rewind, Stop, Pause, and Record.
These are "System Exclusive" (SysEx) messages, specifically Real Time Universal SysEx messages.
The way we currently sync Final Cut Pro and Logic currently is fairly basic and not "true" synchronisation.
For example, if you set CommandPost to "Listen to MMC Input", when you send CommandPost a PLAY command, Final Cut Pro will start playing. CommandPost supports the GOTO, PLAY and STOP commands.
If you set CommandPost to "Transmit MMC", the opposite will occur. If you start playing in Final Cut Pro, it will send a MMC message to whatever device you specify, causing any external MIDI devices to start playing. Before it sends the play signal it sends the current timecode value, to keep things in sync. But once playing, there's not accounting for lag or dropped frames, so things may drift over time.
To give you some geeky backstory first, MIDI time code (MTC) embeds the same timing information as standard SMPTE timecode as a series of small 'quarter-frame' MIDI messages.
There is no provision for the user bits in the standard MIDI time code messages, and SysEx messages are used to carry this information instead.
The quarter-frame messages are transmitted in a sequence of eight messages, thus a complete timecode value is specified every two frames.
If the MIDI data stream is running close to capacity, the MTC data may arrive a little behind schedule which has the effect of introducing a small amount of jitter. In order to avoid this it is ideal to use a completely separate MIDI port for MTC data.
Larger full-frame messages, which encapsulate a frame worth of timecode in a single message, are used to locate to a time while timecode is not running.
Unlike standard SMPTE timecode, MIDI timecode's quarter-frame and full-frame messages carry a two-bit flag value that identifies the rate of the timecode, specifying it as either:
- 24 frame/s (standard rate for film work)
- 25 frame/s (standard rate for PAL video)
- 29.97 frame/s (drop-frame timecode for NTSC video)
- 30 frame/s (non-drop timecode for NTSC video)
MTC distinguishes between film speed and video speed only by the rate at which timecode advances, not by the information contained in the timecode messages; thus, 29.97 frame/s dropframe is represented as 30 frame/s dropframe at 0.1% pulldown.
MTC allows the synchronisation of a sequencer or DAW with other devices that can synchronise to MTC or for these devices to 'slave' to a tape machine that is striped with SMPTE. For this to happen a SMPTE to MTC converter needs to be employed. It is possible for a tape machine to synchronise to an MTC signal (if converted to SMPTE), if the tape machine is able to 'slave' to incoming timecode via motor control, which is a rare feature.
Now, whilst all this sounds great, and in theory CommandPost can fully support MTC, the issue is, currently the only way we know how to control the playhead position in Final Cut Pro is by "clicking" the Viewer's timecode value and entering in a timecode value. This makes it impractical for controlling Final Cut Pro from an external device transmitting MTC on a regular interval.
Also, the only way we can "read" the current timecode from Final Cut Pro is by monitoring either the Viewer Timecode Display or the Playhead Timecode Value (using the Accessibility Framework), however, as of Final Cut Pro 10.4 it doesn't seem like the Timecode Viewer nor the playhead accurately "keeps up" with realtime playback.
Given these issues, even though we have check boxes for MTC in the CommandPost MIDI Preferences, and we are actually "watching" for these MTC triggers in CommandPost behind the scenes, currently we haven't implemented any functionality that allows Final Cut Pro to be triggered or trigger other applications via MTC... yet. We're actively exploring possible solutions and workarounds, so fingers crossed we come up with something clever.
However, if you are developing your own plugins for CommandPost (I'm looking at you Sarah), you do now have full access to this incoming and outgoing MTC data, so you can do what you want with these callbacks.
MIDI Monitor is an app to display MIDI signals going in and out of your Mac. CommandPost users will find it handy for tracking down confusing MIDI problems, and plugin developers can use it to test MIDI drivers and applications.
MIDI Monitor is free to download and use.
There seems to be a known bug with Apple's IAC Driver that means it doesn't correctly pass through MMC messages.
To get around this we use MidiPipe 1.4.6.
Firstly, let's enable and rename the IAC Driver:
- Open Audio MIDI Setup.app from Spotlight.
-
Press CMD + 2 or goto "Window > MIDI Studio" to open the MIDI Studio.
-
Double click the IAC Driver icon.
- Make sure "Device is Online" is checked, and change the Device Name to CommandPost to make it easier to find later if needed.
- Close "Audio MIDI Setup".
MidiPipe is freeware that can be useful in a music studio, live on stage or in this case, in an edit suite, to route, map, filter, convert, display, input and output MIDI messages in real-time.
We'll be using MidiPipe to get around the IAC Driver bug.
-
Download MidiPipe 1.4.6.
-
Open MidiPipe.
-
Create a new Pipe (let's call it "Pipe 1") that has the MIDI Out set to MidiPipe Output 1. Make sure Pass Through is selected.
- Set the Midi In to MidiPipe Input 1.
- Create a new Pipe (let's call it "Pipe 2" that has the Midi In set to MidiPipe Input 1.
- Set the Midi Out to CommandPost - Bus 1 and make sure Pass Through is selected.
This section will explain how to trigger Logic from Final Cut Pro.
- Open the CommandPost Preferences via the Preferences... bottom near the bottom of the menu bar.
- In the MIDI Tab, enable "Transmit MMC" and set the device to "Bus 1" (which is the Virtual MIDI Device for the IAC Driver).
-
Open up a new or existing Logic Pro project making sure your starting timecode matches what you have in Final Cut Pro.
-
Go to "File > Project Settings > Synchronisation..." from the menu bar.
- On the MIDI Tab, make sure Listen to MMC Input is ticked, then close this window.
That's it! Now when you press play in Final Cut Pro, it will jump to the correct timecode in Logic and start playing.
This section will explain how to trigger Logic from Final Cut Pro.
- Open the CommandPost Preferences via the Preferences... bottom near the bottom of the menu bar.
- In the MIDI Tab, enable "Listen to MMC Input" and set the device to "Bus 1" (which is the Virtual MIDI Device for the IAC Driver).
-
Open up a new or existing Logic Pro project making sure your starting timecode matches what you have in Final Cut Pro.
-
Go to "File > Project Settings > Synchronisation..." from the menu bar.
- On the MIDI Tab, make sure Transmit MMC is ticked, then close this window.
That's it! Now when you press play in Logic, Final Cut Pro will become active, jump to the correct timecode and start playing.