Session Interchange Formats
What survives when a session moves between DAWs, and why positions, levels and fades travel better than plug-ins.
Related
When a session leaves its DAW, time and level usually survive. Instruments, plug-ins and routing mostly do not.
The problem
A collaborator uses another program, or the picture editor needs the music in their timeline. The file opens, but clips have shifted, fades have vanished and half the processing is gone. Rebuilding by ear costs a day.
The practice
Decide what must remain editable. If the other side only needs balance and timing, deliver stems. If they need to move clips, use an interchange format such as AAF, OMF or XML, which carries positions, names, volume, fades and basic automation. Print instrument and plug-in processing first, and keep handles at both ends.
Settings and judgement
Embed media when the other side cannot reach your drives, and reference it when files are large and shared. Use 48 kHz and 24 bit for picture work, and confirm the start timecode and frame rate. Check pan law and track order after import, because both can change the balance silently.
What to listen for
Compare the imported session with the original, group by group. Check sync at the head and at the tail, not only in the middle. A null test between matching stems is the fastest way to hear what the transfer changed.
Common misunderstandings
An interchange file is not a backup, because it drops what it cannot represent. Stems are not worse than a session; they are simply a different promise. A successful import does not prove the mix survived, and only listening does.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- 交换格式能携带与不能携带的内容，依通行 DAW 文档核查，未抄文本
- 时间码、帧率与媒体嵌入的交付做法，依影视后期流程通识核查，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.