CustomTools.App
Support

Red Pen Tools Support

Help for Red Pen Tools 2.0 and the classic apps on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

Get help

Email us and we will get back to you.

ron@customtools.app

Email support

To help us help you, please include:

  • The app and the tool you were using
  • Your device: iPhone, iPad or Mac
  • Your iOS, iPadOS or macOS version
  • The file type you opened: EDL, ALE, AAF, Avid bin or SubCap

Getting started with Red Pen Tools 2.0

The same app runs on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

  1. Open a file from Files or the Finder, or drop it on the app.
  2. Pick a tool.
  3. Exports land in the Out folder. AAFs from Auto Cut-In and saved ALEs land in To Avid.

Where your folders are

  • iPhone and iPad: iCloud Drive > Red Pen Tools. When iCloud Drive is off, look in On My iPhone or On My iPad > Red Pen Tools.
  • Mac: the folders live inside the app. Use Share to copy a file somewhere else, or link a folder of your own.

You can link a Dropbox, LucidLink or shared folder.

AAF and Avid bin files are read on your device. Nothing is uploaded.

The 19 tools

Four groups, in the order the app lists them.

EDL

  • Shot Lister: EDL to the VFX shot list, TSV or CSV
  • EDL Inspector: title, frame rate, events, dissolves, speed changes, markers, CDL
  • ALE Inspector: columns and rows of an ALE; merge, CSV, shot list
  • Change List: what changed between two EDLs
  • Pull List Generator: source pulls with handles
  • Vendor Assignment: shots by scene to vendors, per-vendor lists
  • Sequence Markers: VFX IDs and markers for every shot
  • Version Updater: versions from clip names into a tracker

SubCaps and Titles

  • EDL to SubCap: EDL markers and clips to Avid SubCap
  • SubCap to Markers: SubCap to an Avid marker list
  • VFX Title Maker: VFX markers to SubCap titles, XML and CSV
  • Status SubCap: pipeline status on SubCap IDs

AAF and Avid

  • VFX Lineup Maker: AAF clips to a lineup with effects
  • AAF Inspector: tracks, markers and clips inside an AAF
  • EDL + AAF Check: an EDL against the AAF of the same sequence
  • Auto Cut-In: comps placed on the timeline as an AAF

Trackers and Utilities

  • Shot Merger: timecodes from an update into the master
  • VFX Shot Puller: ffmpeg commands to cut shots by VFX ID, run on a computer; plus Pull Slips PDF and CSV
  • Speed Calculator: speed effects, TC to frames, TC math

The classic apps

VFX Shot List Maker, VFX Shot Puller and VFX Title Maker each carry one of the three original tools: Shot List, Shot Puller and Title Maker. They work the same way as the matching tools in Red Pen Tools.

The same support email covers them: ron@customtools.app

Try it with sample files

A short sample sequence with three VFX shots. No real show material.

Quick start: Shot Lister

  1. Download RPT_101_SAMPLE.edl.
  2. Open Red Pen Tools and pick Shot Lister.
  3. Choose File, then pick RPT_101_SAMPLE.edl.
  4. Generate Shot List.
  5. Save CSV.
  6. Find the CSV in the Out folder.