XML Translation was aborted due to a critical error

You may be having a problem with the Motion clip if you deleted it from the COLOR timeline -- the XML re-edit is probably corrupt as a result. At this point, if nothing else works, you may need to create a new project without the Animation clip, insert a placeholder clip in its stead, and somehow fake the export back to FCP. Whether you have to re-render everything or not depends on whether you can re-link the new project back to the original renders or not. That will take some cleverfness. Otherwise "Import Color Corrections" may be the route with a full re-render and supposedly back to normal after that.

The underlying issue is that COLOR does not create a new XML -- it always uses the exported file created in FCP as the root. Change that and all bets are OFF. Apple makes a point of underlining the need to avoid changing anything on the timeline. It is locked for a reason.

You may want to upgrade to COLOR 1.0.4 which apparently fixed the XDCam issues, but I rarely work with that format.

jPo

Message was edited by: JP Owens

I'm chiming in with my support for the "Import Color Corrections" route that JP mentioned.

Essentially, you'll re-export out of FCP and a create a new Color project WITH A DIFFERENT NAME (you must not delete your original Color project).

Before you re-export out of FCP, replace all Motion clips with a dummy clip. It's important that you have the exact same number of clips as you had before - and on the exact same tracks. Don't change anything else.

Then, in your new Color project select "Import Color Corrections". Navigate to your original project and all your corrections will be applied to this new project. Note: This Import is completely unsophisticated. It'll apply the correction on the first clip from your original project to the first clip on your new project - all the way down the line; starting with V1 and then moving up the layers. It does NOT do any fancy name matching or clip matching. Which is why you can't just delete the Motion clip - but it must be replaced with a placeholder.

Then, re-render and Send to FCP and hopefully you'll be good to go.

HTH

- pi

Maybe an illegal file name? See if you can open the original XML under Text Edit... if you understand some HTML you might see something.... When Import Color Corrections fails, it means the original XML is the one that was corrupt, because you now have a clip-to-clip mismatch that COLOR can't copy the grade to.

jPO