The 29 ALE columns, and what each one is worth
Every column, and how far you can lean on it.
| Column | What fills it | How far you can lean |
|---|---|---|
Name | Deterministic clip name: 31 characters, ASCII; falls back to scene / shot / take when no shot name was recorded | A marker, not a file key |
Tracks | V MOS · A1A2 wild · VA1A2 sync · blank when the row holds no sound fact | Never defaults to sync |
Start | The recorded timecode — in-point if present, else the take's own | The strongest time cell in the file |
End | The out-point you copied off the camera's screen at stop; empty when nobody typed one, and never back-calculated | A transcription, not an automatic measurement |
Duration | The frame-accurate span between Start and End, head and tail included; empty if either reading is missing | Derived — review it against the two readings |
Scene | Scene number, ASCII only | Non-Latin empties it |
Take | The take number | As entered |
Reel # | Card number, digits only | Blank if the card holds any letter |
Soundroll | Sound roll, normalised (letters and digits, upper case, ≤31) | Blank if not transcribed |
FPS | Only where that row declares a rate | Blank ≠ any default rate |
SlateX Description | Shot summary, description and notes joined with | , ASCII only | Non-Latin empties the cell; verbatim in the CSV |
SlateX Comments | Take notes, ASCII only | Non-Latin empties the cell |
Tape | The card you typed, normalised | The matching key you recognise |
Camera | Camera label | A label, not media |
Camera Notes | Camera note text, ASCII only | Non-Latin empties the cell |
VFX_Count | Blank: the column exists, no entry path today | Carries no claim |
VFX_Type | That camera's flags joined with + — VFX · Plate · Clean · Ref | Flags you set |
Shoot Day | Day 7 form | Blank = belongs to no shooting day |
Director | Director name, ASCII only | Non-Latin empties the cell |
Sound TC | Sound timecode, verbatim; shape judged only, never trimmed | Verbatim, not validated against a report |
Source File Name | Transcribed file name, ASCII only | Blank if not typed |
Source File | Transcribed path, ASCII only | Blank if not typed |
Camroll | Card verbatim, ASCII only | Non-Latin empties this cell; the verbatim text stays in the CSV |
Shoot date | yyyy-MM-dd | The date column, separate from Shoot Day |
Unit | Unit name, ASCII only | Yours to name |
Rating | The on-set mark — Circle · Keep · Hold · N/G; blank if unmarked | A decision about the take |
Circled take | TRUE / FALSE | A second question, its own column |
TC Mode | DF only where the camera's drop-frame menu was read | Blank = no declaration, not NDF |
SlateX Set Time | Your stopwatch value as stored — how long the action actually ran | A second ruler, meant to sit beside Duration, not replace it |
Three standing boundaries. The last ten columns are ours — a receiving system may not read them as semantic fields, so check them before relying on them. The file is ASCII end to end, so a value written in non-Latin characters is a blank cell here and verbatim in the CSV. And we have run no import acceptance against any editing system: this sheet describes what we write, not what someone else will do with it.
Full detail: What to Check Before Using an ALE for Matching.