Exporting your soundfiles out of the AVID
A smooth transition from picture edit on AVID to sound edit on ProTools (and then to mix)
can be achieved if you use the handy checklist below:

AVID DESKTOP

• First, we need to make room to consolidate your sound files.
  
• Empty an ENTIRE hard disk partition. -OR- Hook up an empty external ProTools drive.
  Jaz cartridges are unstable and risky, but OK if you are using them just to move files
  from one system to another.
  

AVID SYSTEM

• Make a new bin.
  
• COPY your final edited sequence into this new bin.
  
• DELETE the video tracks.
  
• Render all effects in-out. (all tracks)
  
• Verify that all sound is on-line by:
  -clicking in the bin so that the sequence is NOT selected and go to "bin menu>select offline items"
  -if the sequence becomes selected, then investigate what's offline by cutting the
  sequence in half until you find the piece(s) that are offline
  
• Turn on "show offline items" in the timeline menu (if your avid has that option)
• -DELETE the pieces that are offline (or try to re-link them)
  -check "bin menu>select offline items"
  -the sequence should stay UNSELECTED!
  
• CONSOLIDATE the sequence to the partition that you emptied.
  HANDLE-LENGTH 150 frames (this is important for future sound editing).
  This process takes a few minutes as the files are re-written to the drive.
  
• Select the new sequence in the bin and choose "File>EXPORT"
  In the box select:
  -OMF composition
  -SDII
  -OMF 2.0
  
• Save to the drive with the consolidated files.
  
• Quit AVID software.
  

OMF TOOL
You will need to get a copy of Digidesign OMF Tool, version 2.08.

• Double click the application to start OMF Tool.
  
• Choose "File>Open any" and open the exported OMF sequence.
  
• Save as a ProTools 4 file on the same partition.
  
• OMF Tool now converts the file into a ProTools session.
  This process takes a few minutes.
  
• QUIT omf tool after each conversion (this is a workaround a bug)
• If an error occurs or the computer freezes, your sequence can be too big and will have to be split in half, and later merged in ProTools.
  

If you experience any difficulties when converting Media Composer Sequences to ProTools Sessions via OMF Tool, check your OMFTool.log file in the root volume of your System Folder. The Logfile will list error messages from the last application failure. Additionally, check to see if a solution to your situation is described below:

1.
OMF Tool creates the Audio Files folder and the Fade Files folder, but no Pro Tools Session file. And the OMFTool.log file says ERROR Reference to external AIFC media encountered. Not Supported
This probably means that OMF Tool is attempting to translate an OMF file that was incorrectly exported from Media Composer. This can happen if you selected the OMFI compositions Only option in Media Composer Export dialog, but did not check the SD2 Formatcheckbox. This creates an OMF file that references external AIFF media files, and this kind of translation is not supported by OMF Tool.

2.
When I launch OMFTool and try to convert, it can’t find the OMF file.
Check to make sure that you exported the sequence from Media Composer. In other words, don’t get confused and think that OMF Tool can open a Media Composer file of any kind. OMF Tool can only open OMFI files which are created via Media Composer Export command.

3.
I clicked the SD2 Format Audio box, but it still made a big OMF file (ostensibly with all the media in it). This can happen if there is a misunderstanding regarding the two different Pro Tools-related export options in Media Composer. In the Media Composer Export dialog, there are two export options which you will use with OMF Tool: OMFI Compositions Only and OMFI Audio Only (radio buttons). Below the OMFI Compositions Only radio button is a checkbox labeled SD2 Format Audio. The SD2 Format Files checkbox has no effect when the OMFI Audio Only item is selected; therefore, the OMFI Audio Only item creates the file with all the AIFF media in it. The OMFI Compositions Only option (with the SD2 Format Files checkbox checked) creates the small OMFI file that references the original media files.

4.
When converting an OMF file to a Pro Tools Session, OMF Tool displays a Not enough Memory error message.
Make sure that the OMF file exists on a drive or partition with enough room available to do the conversion. This is necessary even when attempting to create the Pro Tools Session file on another, larger drive or partition. Workaround: move the OMF file to the drive where the Pro Tools Session is to be created.

5.
OMF Tool converts the OMF file incorrectly, or cannot convert it or open it at all.
In the same version of Media Composer that generated the OMF file, import the OMF file into a new bin in a new project. Confirm that it imports correctly and can be played back correctly. If it cannot playback, go back to the original project and bin in Media Composer, duplicate the Sequence, make a new bin, and drag the duplicated Sequence to the new bin. Now try exporting the duplicated Sequence from the new bin and confirm that it can be imported into the Media Composer system that just exported it. (This is best to do with Composition Only/SDII OMF files as it could be very time consuming using the Audio Only method.)