Music File Section

• Drag Here Music File: Serves as the primary drop target for importing source audio. It accepts audio file formats including WAV, WAVE, AIF, AIFF, MP3, and M4A. When a supported audio file is dragged and dropped onto this area, the application loads the track, initiates automatic background pre-conversion to standard PCM WAV if needed, reveals the track's metadata readouts (duration, audio channels, sampling frequency, and bit depth), and prepares the file for beat or peak analysis.

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Output Section

• Frame rate: Selects the target video sequence frame rate (such as 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, or 60 fps). This determines the timebase calculations and frame-snapping alignment used when generating Final Cut Pro XML synchronization markers.
• Double tempo: Toggles tempo doubling. When enabled, intermediate beat markers are interpolated halfway between consecutive primary detected beats, doubling the total marker density for fast-paced video cutting.
• Open immediately in Final Cut Pro: Controls whether the generated project or asset XML file automatically opens in the system's default NLE application (Final Cut Pro) immediately following export.

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Action Controls

• Settings: Opens the modal preferences sheet to configure analysis engines, frequency filters, detection thresholds, marker snapping behaviors, and Final Cut Pro XML schema export options.
• BeatMark: Validates the selected audio file and active license, then triggers the background analysis pipeline to detect musical beats or audio transients before opening the interactive review timeline.
• News / Announcements Icon: Displays product updates, release announcements, and news from the developer.

The interface is organized into two primary functional areas:

1. Waveform Timeline and Playback Controls

This area provides visual inspection, auditory playback, and editing tools for the loaded audio track and its detected musical transients.

• Audio Waveform and Marker Display: Displays the audio waveform alongside vertical marker pins representing detected beats. The red vertical playhead indicates the active playback position. Selecting a marker pin defines the downbeat anchor point and recalculates musical phrasing, while double-clicking a pin opens an editor to assign custom labels and color tints.
• Blade Cutting Mode: Toggles playhead slicing mode. When active, clicking on the waveform splits the audio clip into independent segments snapped to the nearest beat marker.
• Delete Selected Clip: Removes the selected audio clip segment from the timeline and shifts subsequent clips leftward to close the temporal gap.
• Zoom In: Magnifies the horizontal scale of the waveform for frame-accurate inspection of transients.
• Zoom Out: Compresses the horizontal scale of the waveform to reveal a broader temporal range.
• Fit to Window: Scales the complete audio duration to match the available horizontal timeline width.
• Go to Start: Returns the playhead to the beginning of the audio track.
• Play / Pause: Toggles audio playback across the sequence timeline.
• Go to End: Advances the playhead to the end of the audio track.
• Current Timecode (TC): Displays the exact temporal position of the playhead in real time.
• Total Duration (DUR): Displays the total running time of the active timeline sequence.

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2. Export Options and Sequence Configuration

This expandable section defines the structural formatting, marker filtering, and sequence generation rules applied when exporting synchronization data to Final Cut Pro XML format.

• Mark beats in asset: Attaches detected beat markers directly to the source media asset within the Event Library, enabling pre-marked audio to be brought into existing project timelines.
• Mark first quarter: Restricts marker generation to the downbeat (first beat) of each musical measure rather than generating markers for every individual beat.
• Metre Selection (3/4 / 4/4): Sets the metrical bar grouping (three beats per measure for triple/waltz time or four beats per measure for common time) to align downbeat calculation. This setting is active when marking downbeats.
• Suggest cuts every 4 loops: Injects accented phrase-boundary markers every four musical measures to identify major musical phrase transitions for editorial cut points. This setting is active when marking downbeats.
• Create event and project: Generates a complete sequence project featuring an active timeline spine with aligned audio clips and marker tracks, rather than exporting asset-only metadata.
• Create placeholders: Inserts alternating visual placeholder generators across secondary video tracks between consecutive beat markers, generating pre-timed editing blocks. This setting is active when project creation is enabled.
• Click Track: Synthesizes an audible acoustic verification file containing sine wave bursts aligned to detected beats (with higher-frequency accents on downbeats) mixed over the original music, opening the exported audio directly in the file system.

The interface is divided into three primary functional areas annotated by the numbered callouts:

1. Analysis Configuration

This section governs the underlying analytical algorithms, operating modes, and digital signal processing parameters used to detect musical pulse or amplitude transients.

• Analysis Mode Selection: Toggles between musical beat tracking (Music Beat) and threshold-based transient detection (Audio Peak).
• Music Beat Analysis:
• Standard (MS): Activates standard metric beat tracking across the audio track.
• Native engine: Enables the causal, agent-based beat tracking engine.
• Modern engine: Activates the global offline dynamic programming engine to compute optimal beat sequences across the full duration of the track.
• Peak filter: Enables secondary spectral difference filtering to capture distinct percussive attacks alongside rhythmic pulse.
• Filter @ 155 Hz: Applies a low-frequency parametric equalizer boost to emphasize kick drum fundamentals prior to transient detection.
• Beats / sec: Adjusts the expected transient density per second when filtering peak events.
• Min. distance (ms): Specifies the minimum allowable time gap between adjacent detected beat markers in milliseconds to prevent double triggering on rapid attacks.
• Audio Peak Analysis:
• Peak level (dB): Sets the amplitude threshold in decibels relative to full scale; signals exceeding this level generate markers.
• Min. distance (secs): Configures the refractory hold-off period in seconds, suppressing additional peak detection immediately following a registered event.

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2. Marker Type

This section determines the classification and interactive behavior of markers generated within Final Cut Pro.

• Standard: Emits standard informational timeline markers.
• To Do: Emits actionable checklist task markers that can be ticked off directly within Final Cut Pro.

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3. Final Cut Pro Integration & Alignment

This section controls project exchange compatibility and frame synchronization rules.

• Export to Final Cut Pro 10.6.x: Sets the export pipeline to use modern schema formatting (FCPXML v1.10) designed for Final Cut Pro 10.6 and newer versions.
• Don't ask at export: Suppresses the version prompt dialog during project export, applying the preferred version automatically.
• Snapping…: Opens the frame alignment sheet to define whether continuous audio timestamps snap backward to the preceding video frame boundary, round to the nearest frame edge, or push forward to the succeeding frame.