What to Check Before Using an ALE for Matching

Before using an ALE for matching or ingest, verify what each row refers to, where its time position came from, and how missing values were represented. SlateX writes ALE rows per camera, so one take can appear on more than one row, and some missing values can be replaced by strings that look valid. A file that opens cleanly is only syntactically readable; it does not remove the receiver's need to verify reel, clip identity, timecode, frame rate, and whether a value was actually present.

Valid syntax is not the same as verified truth: establish who the row belongs to before trusting where it says the media is in time.

First understand why one take can occupy several rows

SlateX generates the ALE one row per camera. If a take has several cameras, the receiving side should not read “one take equals one row.” Instead, the same take is split into camera-specific rows. Read Scene, Take, and Camera together, then use fields such as Reel and Name to confirm the media identity for each row. Counting rows as takes will overcount a multicamera take.

The current column names and order are fixed as Name, Tracks, Start, End, Duration, Scene, Take, Reel, Sound Roll, FPS, Description, Comments, Tape, Camera, Camera Notes, VFX_Count, VFX_Type, Shoot Day, and Director. Check the literal strings that are present in the file rather than assuming a receiving system will map a similar-looking label to the field you intended.

Verify identity with reel, clip context, and camera—not one name alone

Before matching or ingest, compare Reel, Name, Camera, Scene, and Take against the on-set record or the media itself. SlateX derives reel and clip identifiers from the current camera record using a fixed numbering pattern. That gives the receiver something concrete to check, but it does not replace verification against the actual media naming. At present, Reel and Tape are populated from the same source value, so they should not be treated as two independent identity signals.

When a usable camera value is missing, the generated output can still contain defaults such as A001 and S001, and Name can contain a default placeholder. These strings look like ordinary data, but they describe fallback behavior in the generator, not a value that the receiver has verified from the media. When they appear, go back to the on-set record or the media itself.

Check Start, End, Duration, and FPS as one time-position group

Start, End, Duration, and FPS need to be read together. When SlateX does not have a timecode that meets the generator's expected shape, it silently writes 00:00:00:00. That string is valid-looking timecode, so a syntax check cannot tell you whether it was a genuine recorded zero or a missing value turned into zero. The receiver must distinguish those cases by checking the on-set record or the media.

End is also not an independently observed field in the current output. It is calculated from the in point and duration. If the in point, duration, or frame rate is wrong, the derived out point can be wrong with it. A safer order is to verify Start first, then Duration and FPS, and finally treat End as a derived result that needs confirmation rather than as a separate measurement.

Read FPS together with the drop-frame convention. For 29.97 and 59.94 the timecode in an ALE marks drop frame with a semicolon in the last segment. The semicolon only says the row was generated with drop-frame notation; it does not prove the value came from a correct timecode chain — what the app shows live and what the delivered file says are not yet unified on this point. Treat timecode as a value still to be verified.

00:00:00:00 can be a valid string and still be a missing value in disguise; looking like timecode is not an acceptance result.

Missing data has more than one visual form

The same ALE does not express every missing value in the same way. Some text fields can be empty, some missing fields can be represented by -, and some identity or time fields can receive generated defaults. During receiving, separate “visibly empty,” “explicit placeholder,” and “valid-looking generated default.” The first two are relatively easy to spot. The third deserves more attention because it can look like a value that was actually recorded on set.

This is why “does this row have a value?” and “does this value have valid syntax?” are different checks. For fields such as Reel, Name, Start, End, and FPS, ask where the value came from: the on-set record, the media, or a generator fallback.

Know what this ALE does not carry

The current output does not write a media path, and it does not provide a channel map that a receiving project can use as its own routing truth. A Tracks field is present, but its current generated value should not be treated as a complete description of the recorded sound state. If the receiving workflow needs media locations, channel relationships, or other project-side mappings, those need to be supplied from the receiver's media and handoff information rather than inferred from this ALE alone.

The ALE also has no rating or circled-take column. A receiver cannot use the ALE itself to determine which take was marked with an on-set status. The file header says exactly: Generated by SlateX. For reference only. Verify TC before conform. Read that literally: verify the timecode before deciding what the file is fit to drive.

Keep two compatibility boundaries in the receiving test

The current ALE uses LF (\n) line endings rather than CRLF. That is a compatibility item to test in the actual receiving environment, not a reason to label the file format itself as wrong. The generation path also has a known boundary around an implicit 25fps default that is not passed explicitly, so frame-rate receiving should be checked against the actual field values, the on-set record, and the media instead of being assumed from generator defaults.

The larger boundary is that we do not currently have import-acceptance records with any editing system. This checklist is an execution example, not an industry standard, and it does not prove how a particular receiving system will interpret each column. Its purpose is narrower: expose the places where a receiver can verify identity, time position, and missing data for themselves.

If verification fails, choose one of three paths

Return it. If identity or time fields such as Reel, Name, Start, or FPS conflict with the media or on-set record, and the source record can still be corrected, return the file so the source data can be fixed and regenerated. That avoids creating a receiver-side version whose manual edits no longer have a clear origin.

Repair a traceable gap. If the gap is small, the source is clear, and every change can be pointed back to specific media or an on-set record, the receiver can repair its own copy and keep the correction basis with it. Do not replace 00:00:00:00, a default reel, or another placeholder with a guess.

Use it as reference only. If identity, timecode, or frame rate cannot be traced to a source, or if the receiving system's interpretation of the columns and line endings has not been tested, limit the ALE to reference use. At that point, finding the source record is more useful than forcing a tidy table to act as truth.

FAQ

Can 00:00:00:00 in an ALE be treated as a genuine zero point?

When Start or another timecode field shows 00:00:00:00, check the on-set record or the media first; SlateX can write that valid-looking zero when timecode is missing or does not meet the generator's expected shape, so the string alone does not prove a real zero point.

Why can the same take appear on several ALE rows?

SlateX generates the ALE one row per camera; if the same Scene and Take has several cameras, it is split across different Camera rows, so the receiver should verify those rows per camera rather than counting total rows as total takes.

Which ALE fields should be checked first?

Start with the identity relationship across Reel, Name, Camera, Scene, and Take, then verify Start, Duration, FPS, and the derived End, while classifying each value as recorded data, empty data, a placeholder, or a generated default.

Should a failed check lead to a return, a manual repair, or reference-only use?

Trace the source first: return the file when identity or time conflicts can be corrected at the source, repair only small gaps whose values can be tied to specific media or records, and keep the ALE as reference only when the source or receiving behavior cannot be verified.

Axiom One LLC — SlateX. Figures current as of 24 September 2026.