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Export Genie

Version v13 - Maya 2025+ / Windows & macOS

One-click export from Maya to .ma, .fbx, .abc, .jsx, and playblast QC. Three tabs for three workflows: Camera Track, Matchmove, and Face Track.

Quick Start - Camera Track

For tracked cameras with reference geometry. No rigs, no constraints.

  1. Open your scene and click the ExportGenie shelf button.
  2. Set your Export Root path and Export Name (auto-filled from your scene file).
  3. On the Camera Track tab:
    • Click your camera in the outliner, then click << Load Sel next to Camera.
    • Click your geo group, then << Load Sel next to Geo Group. Use + to add more groups.
  4. Check the formats you want (MA, JSX, FBX, ABC, Playblast).
  5. Set your frame range (or click Use Timeline Range).
  6. Hit EXPORT.

Your files land in <export_root>/<export_name>/.

Quick Start - Matchmove

For character rigs, animated meshes, and proxy geometry. Supports multiple characters.

  1. Open your scene and click the ExportGenie shelf button.
  2. Set your Export Root path and Export Name.
  3. On the Matchmove tab:
    • Load your Camera.
    • Load any Static Geo (set pieces, environment). Use + for more.
    • Load your Rig Group and Mesh Group as a pair. Use + to add more character pairs.
    • Optionally enable T-Pose and set the frame (default 991).
  4. Check the formats you want (MA, FBX, ABC, Playblast).
  5. Set your frame range and hit EXPORT.

The tool bakes all animation (joints, IK controls, constraints) into clean keyframes and strips namespaces - ready for Unreal or any game engine.

Quick Start - Face Track

For Alembic-cached facial animation from tracking software or animation caches.

  1. Open your scene and click the ExportGenie shelf button.
  2. Set your Export Root path and Export Name.
  3. On the Face Track tab:
    • Load your Camera.
    • Load any Static Geo for reference.
    • Load your Face Mesh Group - the group containing your face meshes. Use + for more.
  4. Check the formats you want (MA, FBX, Playblast).
  5. Set your frame range and hit EXPORT.

Vertex-animated meshes are automatically converted to blendshape targets with per-frame keys - no manual setup needed.

Install

  1. Extract the distribution folder: 
    export_genie/
  ExportGenie.py
  bin/
    win/
      ffmpeg.exe
  2. Drag ExportGenie.py into the Maya viewport.
  3. A shelf button appears on your current shelf. Click it to open the tool.

That's it. The script and bin/ folder (with ffmpeg) are copied to Maya's scripts directory automatically.

Note: The bin/ folder enables the H.264 (.mp4) playblast format. Without it, the tool still works - you just won't have the .mp4 option.

Upgrade

Restart Maya, open a fresh scene, drag the new ExportGenie.py into the viewport. It overwrites the old version and replaces the shelf button. Restart Maya after upgrading.

What's New in v13

  • STMap-driven lens distortion - Mesh Warp presets generated from STMap EXR files for undistort and redistort in After Effects. Pure-Python EXR reader, no external dependencies.
  • Outer comp for lens distortion - When STMaps and a raw plate are provided, creates a <shot>_comp at raw plate resolution containing the scaled <shot>_work comp with the redistort mesh warp applied, and the raw footage underneath.
  • AE project organization - _Comps and Plates folders in the AE project panel. Geo assets grouped in their own folder. Individual locators supported as 3D nulls. Geo and locator layers set to shy.
  • Image resolution from file headers - Reads actual EXR/PNG/JPEG/TIFF/DPX dimensions instead of Maya coverageX/Y. Sets image plane coverage, origin, and render resolution in exported MA files.
  • Auto playblast resolution - Resolution detected from camera image plane source file for all playblast modes, capped at 1920 wide.
  • Render Preview - Single-frame composite preview that opens in the system image viewer. Full multi-pass composite when ffmpeg is available.
  • Face Track bake before playblast - Bakes Alembic-driven geo transforms and extends camera bake by one pre-roll frame to eliminate motion blur artifact on frame 1. Uses temp-file save/restore instead of undo chunks.
  • USD blendshape fix - Only enables exportBlendShapes when blendShape nodes actually exist, silencing thousands of warnings. Wraps blendshape meshes under a temp SkelRoot group for USD face track export.
  • USD camera worldspace - Adds worldspace=True to mayaUSDExport so the camera exports at the correct world position.
  • Strip third-party nodes from MA - Removes Arnold, V-Ray, RenderMan, and other third-party plugin nodes from MA exports for clean downstream scenes.
  • Font scaling - All UI font sizes scale from Maya's application font instead of hardcoded pixel values.
  • Installer improvements - Drag-and-drop upgrade relaunches the UI immediately so the version updates without a restart. Force-loads module from disk to avoid stale bytecache. macOS installer copies only platform-relevant ffmpeg. Install splash dialog shown while files are being copied.
  • Raw plate browse field - New browse field in the Lens Distortion UI group for picking the raw (distorted) plate.

What's New in v12

  • PySide6/Qt6 UI - Full UI rewrite from maya.cmds to PySide6 (PySide2 fallback). Collapsible groups, labels above fields, cleaner layout.
  • Export Folder field - Single editable field replaces separate Export Name + Version fields. Pre-populated with the scene filename. Folder name parsed into base + version for file naming.
  • Multiple cameras - All tabs now support multiple cameras via +/- buttons. Each camera is baked and exported.
  • Object Track (Camera Track) - New loader for animated object groups. Alembic-driven and constraint-driven transforms are auto-baked before export.
  • Dynamic field lists everywhere - Camera, Geo, Static Geo, Rig/Geo, Face Mesh, and Object Track loaders all have +/- buttons. Labels above fields.
  • Load/Unload toggle - Clicking "Load Sel" on a populated field clears it. Click again to reload.
  • QC spline crown (Face Track) - Auto-created per render, point+orient constrained to the face mesh. Rendered with useBackground shader occlusion and composited via ffmpeg alpha overlay.
  • Camera Track composited playblast - All Camera Track playblast formats now render to temp PNGs and encode via ffmpeg with full HUD metadata overlay.
  • Image plane resolution - Camera Track playblasts match the camera's image plane dimensions instead of hardcoded 1920x1080.
  • Motion blur checkbox - Matchmove / Face Track playblast section has a toggle for VP2.0 motion blur (default on).
  • AE JSX frame alignment fix - Composition and all layers now start at the correct Maya start frame (e.g., 1001). Fixed off-by-one in keyframe timing and footage layer start.
  • ffmpeg font fix (Windows) - Font paths written via -filter_complex_script with double-escaped colons for reliable drawtext on Windows.
  • AE folder naming - {base}_afterEffects_{version}/, OBJ files: {base}_{geo}_{version}.obj.

What's New in v11

  • Scene protection - FBX export no longer relies on Maya's undo to restore your scene. The tool saves a snapshot before the destructive bake/prep, exports the FBX, then reopens the snapshot. Your master scene is guaranteed to stay clean.
  • Smarter bake - Constraint-driven transforms (IK controls, locators, space-switch nodes) are now baked alongside joints. This fixes broken animation in rigs where locators drive IK chains through constraints.
  • Alembic camera bake on Matchmove - Camera driven by AlembicNode is now baked before all exports (matching Camera Track and Face Track). Fixes 0-byte ABC exports when the source .abc tracking file is on another drive.
  • Export order - Non-destructive formats (MA, ABC, Playblast) now export first. FBX goes last since it requires baking.
  • Custom export naming - New "Export Name" field lets you set the exact folder and file base name. Auto-populated from your scene file, fully editable.
  • HUD in composite playblasts - Frame number and focal length now appear in multi-pass composite playblasts (Matchmove and Face Track).
  • Playblast color management fix - Raw (sRGB) setting now correctly disables "Use View Transform" for the playblast output.
  • No more stale versions - Shelf button and workspace restore clear Python bytecache on every launch. The tab label always reflects the current version.

What's New in v10

  • H.264 (.mp4) playblast format - Uses bundled ffmpeg to encode from PNG sequences. No QuickTime needed (Windows and macOS).
  • UE5-ready FBX - Exports now import into Unreal Engine 5 with correct camera orientation and scene scale (Z-up axis, centimeter units).
  • Camera bake for FBX - Camera animation is baked during Matchmove FBX prep for reliable UE5 import.
  • Preview Playblast - Live viewport toggle that shows exactly what the QC render will look like (camera, lighting, shaders, checker overlay, color management) without running a full export. Salmon button indicates active preview; auto-exits on export or window close.
  • Far Clip slider - Configurable far clip plane in Viewport Settings for all tabs (default 800,000).
  • QC Checker Overlay - UV checker pattern with adjustable color, scale, and opacity for Matchmove and Face Track playblasts.
  • useBackground Shader + Wireframe - Camera Track QC overlay showing the plate through transparent meshes with wireframe edges.
  • Frame range auto-populate - Start and end frames fill in automatically when a camera is loaded (start 1001, end from last keyframe).
  • ffmpeg pre-validation - MP4 exports check for ffmpeg before starting; skipped with a clear message if not found.
  • Raw (sRGB) playblast - Dynamically detects the correct Raw view transform across all Maya OCIO configurations.
  • Tab-specific file naming - Export files use tab-specific tags (cam, charMM, KTHead) while QC playblasts always use track.
  • Simplified log - Short, user-friendly messages in the log window with detailed diagnostics in the Script Editor.
  • Multi-pass composited playblasts - Matchmove and Face Track playblasts render plate, color, and matte passes separately, then composite via ffmpeg for clean checker overlays.
  • macOS support - ffmpeg bundled for macOS, composite outputs as .mp4 on Mac.

Features

Export Directory and Naming

  • Browse to set your export root directory
  • Export Folder field is the full folder name - auto-populated from the scene filename (without extension), fully editable
  • Version and tag are parsed from the folder name: {shot}_{plate}_{tag}_{version} (e.g., SHOT001_pl01_track_v03)

Export Formats

  • Maya ASCII (.ma) - Camera renamed to cam_main, custom shaders stripped to default lambert, image plane references preserved
  • FBX (.fbx) - All animation baked (joints, IK controls, constraints), skins and blend shapes preserved, UE5-ready settings
  • Alembic (.abc) - World space, UVs included (Camera Track and Matchmove tabs)
  • After Effects (.jsx + .obj) - Rebuilds the 3D scene in AE with camera, geo, tracking nulls, and source footage (Camera Track only)
  • Playblast QC (.mov, .png, or .mp4) - 1920x1080 through the shot camera with frame counter and focal length overlay

Viewport Settings (QC Playblast)

Each tab has a collapsible Viewport Settings section:

  • Render as Raw (sRGB) - Bypasses OCIO tonemapping (on by default)
  • useBackground Shader + Wireframe (Camera Track) - Transparent meshes showing the plate with wireframe edges
  • QC Checker Overlay (Matchmove / Face Track) - UV checker pattern with adjustable color, scale, and opacity
  • HUD Overlay - Frame number and focal length burned into every frame
  • Anti-Aliasing 16x - Higher quality, more GPU memory
  • Use Current Viewport Settings - Renders exactly what your viewport shows
  • Far Clip slider - Adjustable camera far clip (default 800,000)

Playblast Overrides

Unless "Use Current Viewport Settings" is enabled, every playblast automatically hides the grid, enables backface culling, extends far clip, disables 2D pan/zoom, clears selection, and configures color management.

Matchmove and Face Track playblasts also isolate assigned geo, force display layers visible, enable smooth shading, and turn on motion blur.

Camera Handling

  • Camera temporarily renamed to cam_main during export for consistent downstream naming
  • Original name restored after export

After Effects Export

  • AE composition matching Maya's resolution and frame rate
  • Per-frame camera keyframes (position, rotation, zoom)
  • "nulls" children become AE 3D nulls (tracking markers)
  • "chisels" children are skipped
  • Flat planes become AE solids
  • Source footage from the image plane auto-imported as background
  • Run the .jsx in AE via File > Scripts > Run Script File

Validation

Before exporting, the tool checks for missing assignments, duplicate picks, camera name conflicts, OBJ filename collisions, invalid frame ranges, and empty version numbers. Errors show in a popup. Warnings let you continue or cancel.

Plugin Management

Required plugins (fbxmaya, AbcExport, objExport) are auto-loaded when needed. If a plugin can't load, a dialog points you to the Plug-in Manager.

Output Folder Structure

Exports go into <export_root>/<export_name>/:

Camera Track:

<export_root>/
  <export_name>/
    <name>_cam_v01.ma
    <name>_cam_v01.fbx
    <name>_cam_v01.abc
    <name>_track_v01.mov
    <name>_afterEffects/
      <name>_ae_v01.jsx
      <name>_v01_geo1.obj

Matchmove:

<export_root>/
  <export_name>/
    <name>_charMM_v01.ma
    <name>_charMM_v01.fbx
    <name>_charMM_v01.abc
    <name>_track_v01.mov

Face Track:

<export_root>/
  <export_name>/
    <name>_KTHead_v01.ma
    <name>_KTHead_v01.fbx
    <name>_track_v01.mov