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Extract timecoded audio from camera files — two quick steps

1

Install ffmpeg

ffmpeg is a free, open-source tool used by every major studio and broadcaster. It needs to be installed once — it runs silently in the background.

Open Terminal (search for it in Spotlight) and paste this command:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" && brew install ffmpeg

This installs Homebrew (a package manager) and then ffmpeg. It may ask for your password — that's your Mac login password. The whole process takes a few minutes.

If Homebrew is already installed, you only need: brew install ffmpeg

Open PowerShell (search for it in the Start menu) and paste this command:

winget install Gyan.FFmpeg

This uses Windows Package Manager to install ffmpeg. Once it finishes, restart your computer so the system can find ffmpeg.

If winget isn't available (older Windows 10), download ffmpeg manually from gyan.dev/ffmpeg/builds — get the "essentials" build, unzip it, and add the bin folder to your system PATH.
2

Download the converter

This script converts MXF and MP4 camera files into small, timecoded audio files you can upload to the Transcriber. Your footage stays on your computer — nothing is uploaded.

Download for Mac

After downloading:

1. Move it to your Desktop (or wherever you like)
2. Right-click the file → Open → click Open when macOS asks (first time only)
3. If it doesn't open, paste this into Terminal to make it executable:
chmod +x ~/Desktop/mxf-to-aac.command
Download for Windows

After downloading:

1. Move it to your Desktop
2. Drag MXF or MP4 files onto it — that's it
Windows may show a SmartScreen warning the first time. Click More info → Run anyway.

Your workflow

Camera file to transcript in minutes

📹 MXF / MP4
→
⚡ Converter
→
🎵 M4A (tiny)
→
📝 Transcriber
✓ Timecode automatically extracted from Sony FX6, FX3, FX9, A7s III, and Sound Devices recorders
✓ Footage stays on your machine — only the audio is uploaded for transcription
✓ A 22GB MXF converts to ~100MB M4A in under 2 minutes
✓ Transcription costs ~$0.17 per hour of audio