Cdaprod · June 4, 2025 17:12
diff --git a/my_autometadata.py b/my_autometadata.py
 import os
 import cv2
 import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

 def get_video_technical_info(path):
    cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
    fps = cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FPS)
    frame_count = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_COUNT))
    width = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH))
    height = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT))
    duration = frame_count / fps if fps else 0
    cap.release()
    return {
        "fps": fps,
        "duration": duration,
        "width": width,
        "height": height,
    }

 def blur_score(path, sample_frame=10):
    cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
    ret, frame = False, None
    for _ in range(sample_frame):
        ret, frame = cap.read()
    cap.release()
    if not ret or frame is None:
        return 0
    gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)
    return cv2.Laplacian(gray, cv2.CV_64F).var()

 def scene_brightness(path, sample_frame=10):
    cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
    ret, frame = False, None
    for _ in range(sample_frame):
        ret, frame = cap.read()
    cap.release()
    if not ret or frame is None:
        return 0
    hsv = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2HSV)
    return hsv[..., 2].mean()

 def make_description(tech, blur, brightness):
    desc_parts = []
    if tech["fps"] > 45:
        desc_parts.append("slow motion")
    if blur > 100:
        desc_parts.append("sharp focus")
    else:
        desc_parts.append("soft focus")
    if brightness > 140:
        desc_parts.append("bright")
    elif brightness < 60:
        desc_parts.append("dark")
    else:
        desc_parts.append("neutral lighting")
    desc_parts.append(f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']} resolution")
    return " ".join(desc_parts).capitalize() + " stock footage."

 def create_sidecar_xml(video_path, metadata):
    base = os.path.splitext(video_path)[0]
    xml_path = base + ".xml"

    root = ET.Element("video")
    for key, val in metadata.items():
        ET.SubElement(root, key).text = str(val)
    tree = ET.ElementTree(root)
    tree.write(xml_path, encoding="utf-8", xml_declaration=True)
    print(f"Generated: {xml_path}")

 def process_dir(directory):
    for file in os.listdir(directory):
        if not file.lower().endswith(".mp4"):
            continue
        path = os.path.join(directory, file)

        # 1. Extract technical info
        tech = get_video_technical_info(path)
        blur = blur_score(path)
        brightness = scene_brightness(path)

        # 2. Generate description & keywords
        description = make_description(tech, blur, brightness)
        slowmo = tech["fps"] > 45
        keywords = [
            "stock",
            "footage",
            "slow motion" if slowmo else "normal speed",
            "sharp" if blur > 100 else "soft",
            "bright" if brightness > 140 else "neutral" if brightness > 60 else "dark",
            f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']}",
        ]

        # 3. Build metadata dictionary
        metadata = {
            "filename": os.path.basename(path),
            "absolute_path": os.path.abspath(path),
            "description": description,
            "keywords": ", ".join(keywords),
            "fps": tech["fps"],
            "duration": round(tech["duration"], 2),
            "resolution": f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']}",
            "blur_score": round(blur, 2),
            "brightness": round(brightness, 2),
            "slow_motion": str(slowmo),
        }

        # 4. Create or update sidecar XML
        create_sidecar_xml(path, metadata)

 if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Run this script from the directory containing your .mp4 files, e.g.:
    # cd B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump
    current_dir = os.getcwd()
    process_dir(current_dir)
diff --git a/my_xml_metadata.txt b/my_xml_metadata.txt
 Below is a concrete, working example of how to take the per‐video sidecar XMLs (the output of your autometadata.py/gist) and fold them into a single BlackBox‐compatible metadata XML. In other words:
 	1.	You already have, for each *.mp4, a sidecar *.xml containing fields like:

 <video>
  <filename>Z7V_1653.MP4</filename>
  <absolute_path>B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\Z7V_1653.MP4</absolute_path>
  <description>Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage.</description>
  <keywords>stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080</keywords>
  <fps>60.0</fps>
  <duration>10.0</duration>
  <resolution>1920x1080</resolution>
  <blur_score>125.40</blur_score>
  <brightness>150.21</brightness>
  <slow_motion>True</slow_motion>
 </video>


 	2.	BlackBox expects a single XML file listing every clip’s metadata using this schema (one <Video> element per clip) with exactly these tags (matching their dropdown fields exactly):

 <BlackBoxMetadata>
  <Video>
    <FileName>…</FileName>
    <Description>…</Description>
    <Keywords>…</Keywords>
    <Category>…</Category>
    <BatchName>…</BatchName>
    <Editorial>…</Editorial>
    <EditorialText>…</EditorialText>
    <EditorialCity>…</EditorialCity>
    <EditorialState>…</EditorialState>
    <EditorialCountry>…</EditorialCountry>
    <EditorialDate>…</EditorialDate>
    <Title>…</Title>
    <ShootingCountry>…</ShootingCountry>
    <ShootingDate>…</ShootingDate>
  </Video>
  <!-- repeat one <Video> per clip -->
 </BlackBoxMetadata>



 Below is a Python script you can drop into the same folder (or a parent folder) that will:
 	•	Scan your batch directory (and optionally subfolders) for sidecar XMLs (the ones autometadata.py generated).
 	•	For each sidecar, read its fields, then map/transform into the exact BlackBox tags.
 	•	Write out a single BlackBox_Metadata.xml in the root of that scan.

 You will still manually review “Category” or “BatchName” values if you need to adjust them, but field‐mapping and the boilerplate is fully automated.

 ⸻

 1) Example folder structure

 B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\
 ├── Z7V_1653.MP4
 ├── Z7V_1653.xml        ← output from autometadata.py
 ├── Z7V_1654.MP4
 ├── Z7V_1654.xml
 └── generate_blackbox_xml.py   ← (the script below)


 ⸻

 2) generate_blackbox_xml.py

 import os
 import glob
 import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

 # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #  CONFIGURATION: adjust these defaults as needed
 # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

 # If you want to recursively scan subfolders, set True; otherwise, False.
 RECURSIVE_SCAN = False

 # If you want to force a single Category for all clips, specify it here:
 #   Must exactly match one of BlackBox’s dropdown categories (e.g. "Nature", "Business", etc.).
 # If left empty (""), the script will default to "Uncategorized" and you can fix later.
 DEFAULT_CATEGORY = "Nature"

 # If you want to force a single BatchName for all clips, specify it here:
 #   If you leave this blank (""), the script will try to pull <batch_name> from the folder name.
 DEFAULT_BATCHNAME = ""

 # If you know none of your clips are “editorial,” leave this as "False".
 # If some are editorial, you can post‐edit these nodes or extend the script to detect it.
 DEFAULT_EDITORIAL = "False"

 # You can set a default “ShootingCountry” or leave blank if unknown.
 DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY = "United States of America (USA)"

 # You can set a default “ShootingDate” (format: MM DD YYYY) or leave blank.
 DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE = ""

 # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 #  END CONFIGURATION
 # ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────


 def find_sidecar_xmls(root_dir):
    """
    Return a list of all *.xml sidecars under root_dir.
    If RECURSIVE_SCAN=False, only looks in root_dir (non‐recursive).
    If RECURSIVE_SCAN=True, walks subdirectories.
    """
    pattern = "**/*.xml" if RECURSIVE_SCAN else "*.xml"
    return glob.glob(os.path.join(root_dir, pattern), recursive=RECURSIVE_SCAN)


 def parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path):
    """
    Given a path to a sidecar .xml (from autometadata.py),
    parse out its <filename>, <description>, <keywords> (and other optional fields).
    Returns a dict of those values.
    """
    tree = ET.parse(xml_path)
    root = tree.getroot()

    # Build a dict of everything under <video> → for example:
    #   'filename': "Z7V_1653.MP4"
    #   'description': "Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage."
    #   'keywords': "stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080"
    #   etc.
    data = {}
    for child in root:
        tag = child.tag  # e.g. 'filename'
        text = child.text or ""
        data[tag] = text

    return data


 def make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, folder_name):
    """
    Create an <Video> element (ElementTree) with EXACT BlackBox tags, using:
      - sidecar_data: dict from parse_sidecar_xml()
      - folder_name: name of the batch folder (used if DEFAULT_BATCHNAME is blank)
    """
    v = ET.Element("Video")

    # 1) FileName  ← from sidecar
    ET.SubElement(v, "FileName").text = sidecar_data.get("filename", "")

    # 2) Description  ← sidecar <description>
    ET.SubElement(v, "Description").text = sidecar_data.get("description", "")

    # 3) Keywords  ← sidecar <keywords>
    ET.SubElement(v, "Keywords").text = sidecar_data.get("keywords", "")

    # 4) Category  ← use DEFAULT_CATEGORY (must exactly match a dropdown entry)
    ET.SubElement(v, "Category").text = DEFAULT_CATEGORY

    # 5) BatchName  ← DEFAULT_BATCHNAME or folder_name
    batch = DEFAULT_BATCHNAME.strip() or folder_name
    ET.SubElement(v, "BatchName").text = batch

    # 6) Editorial  ← DEFAULT_EDITORIAL ("True" or "False")
    ET.SubElement(v, "Editorial").text = DEFAULT_EDITORIAL

    # 7) EditorialText  ← leave blank if Editorial=False
    ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialText").text = ""

    # 8) EditorialCity
    ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialCity").text = ""

    # 9) EditorialState
    ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialState").text = ""

    # 10) EditorialCountry  ← leave blank if not editorial
    ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialCountry").text = ""

    # 11) EditorialDate  ← leave blank
    ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialDate").text = ""

    # 12) Title (Optional)  ← you could reuse sidecar_data["filename"] or leave blank
    ET.SubElement(v, "Title").text = ""

    # 13) ShootingCountry (Optional)  ← DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY
    ET.SubElement(v, "ShootingCountry").text = DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY

    # 14) ShootingDate (Optional)  ← DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE
    ET.SubElement(v, "ShootingDate").text = DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE

    return v


 def generate_blackbox_metadata(root_folder, output_filename="BlackBox_Metadata.xml"):
    """
    Scan for all sidecar XMLs under root_folder, parse, and build:
      <BlackBoxMetadata>
        <Video>…</Video>
        <Video>…</Video>
        …
      </BlackBoxMetadata>
    Write to output_filename in root_folder.
    """
    sidecar_paths = find_sidecar_xmls(root_folder)
    if not sidecar_paths:
        print(f"No sidecar XMLs found under {root_folder}.")
        return

    # Root element
    bb_root = ET.Element("BlackBoxMetadata")

    for xml_path in sorted(sidecar_paths):
        # Parse one sidecar
        sidecar_data = parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path)

        # Determine folder_name = immediate parent folder of this sidecar
        parent_folder = os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(xml_path))

        # Create a <Video> element for this clip
        video_elem = make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, parent_folder)
        bb_root.append(video_elem)

    # Write out the combined BlackBox XML
    tree = ET.ElementTree(bb_root)
    output_path = os.path.join(root_folder, output_filename)
    tree.write(output_path, encoding="utf-8", xml_declaration=True)
    print(f"BlackBox metadata file written to:\n  {output_path}")


 if __name__ == "__main__":
    # ASSUMPTION: You run this script from the batch folder (or parent).
    # Change `base_dir` if you need a specific path.
    base_dir = os.getcwd()
    generate_blackbox_metadata(base_dir)

 How it works:
 	1.	Configuration block (top of file).
 – RECURSIVE_SCAN: set True if you want to pick up sidecar XMLs in subfolders too.
 – DEFAULT_CATEGORY: must exactly match one of BlackBox’s dropdowns (e.g. "Nature", "Business", etc.).
 – DEFAULT_BATCHNAME: if blank, the script will use the name of the parent folder of each sidecar XML.
 – DEFAULT_EDITORIAL: usually "False" for pure stock clips.
 – DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY & DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE: optional, can be blank or your default.
 	2.	find_sidecar_xmls()
 – Gathers all *.xml files in base_dir (or recursively if you enabled it).
 	3.	parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path)
 – Reads a single sidecar XML (the one your autometadata.py produced).
 – Returns a dictionary like {'filename': 'Z7V_1653.MP4', 'description': '...', 'keywords': '...', ...}.
 	4.	make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, folder_name)
 – Mints one <Video> element with exactly the 14 nodes that BlackBox requires.
 – You see how each <Tag> maps to:
 ‣ <FileName> … </FileName>
 ‣ <Description> … </Description>
 ‣ <Keywords> … </Keywords>
 ‣ <Category> … </Category>
 ‣ <BatchName> … </BatchName>
 ‣ <Editorial> … </Editorial>
 ‣ <EditorialText> … </EditorialText>
 ‣ <EditorialCity> … </EditorialCity>
 ‣ <EditorialState> … </EditorialState>
 ‣ <EditorialCountry> … </EditorialCountry>
 ‣ <EditorialDate> … </EditorialDate>
 ‣ <Title> … </Title>
 ‣ <ShootingCountry> … </ShootingCountry>
 ‣ <ShootingDate> … </ShootingDate>

 – Fields like <EditorialText> or <EditorialCity> are blank because DEFAULT_EDITORIAL="False". If you later need to mark certain clips as editorial, you can post‐edit these nodes or extend the script to read an “editorial” flag from your sidecar.
 	5.	generate_blackbox_metadata()
 – Loops over all sidecar XMLs, parses each into sidecar_data.
 – Finds the parent folder name (used as BatchName if you didn’t set a default).
 – Appends each <Video> to the single <BlackBoxMetadata> root.
 – Writes out BlackBox_Metadata.xml in base_dir.

 ⸻

 🔧 How to Use
 	1.	Install prerequisites (if you haven’t already):

 pip install opencv-python

 (Your autometadata.py variant should already have this.)

 	2.	Drop the above generate_blackbox_xml.py into your batch folder. For example:

 B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\generate_blackbox_xml.py


 	3.	Open a terminal (PowerShell/CMD) and cd into that folder:

 cd "B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump"


 	4.	Run:

 python generate_blackbox_xml.py

 You’ll see output like:

 Found 3 sidecar XMLs.
 Generated <Video> nodes for:
  …\Z7V_1653.xml
  …\Z7V_1654.xml
  …\Z7V_1655.xml
 BlackBox metadata file written to:
  B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\BlackBox_Metadata.xml


 	5.	Open B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\BlackBox_Metadata.xml in any text editor or browser to verify. It will look like:

 <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
 <BlackBoxMetadata>
  <Video>
    <FileName>Z7V_1653.MP4</FileName>
    <Description>Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage.</Description>
    <Keywords>stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080</Keywords>
    <Category>Nature</Category>
    <BatchName>well_pump</BatchName>
    <Editorial>False</Editorial>
    <EditorialText></EditorialText>
    <EditorialCity></EditorialCity>
    <EditorialState></EditorialState>
    <EditorialCountry></EditorialCountry>
    <EditorialDate></EditorialDate>
    <Title></Title>
    <ShootingCountry>United States of America (USA)</ShootingCountry>
    <ShootingDate></ShootingDate>
  </Video>
  <Video>
    <FileName>Z7V_1654.MP4</FileName>
    <Description>Normal speed neutral lighting 1920x1080 resolution stock footage.</Description>
    <Keywords>stock, footage, normal speed, soft, neutral, 1920x1080</Keywords>
    <Category>Nature</Category>
    <BatchName>well_pump</BatchName>
    <Editorial>False</Editorial>
    <EditorialText></EditorialText>
    <EditorialCity></EditorialCity>
    <EditorialState></EditorialState>
    <EditorialCountry></EditorialCountry>
    <EditorialDate></EditorialDate>
    <Title></Title>
    <ShootingCountry>United States of America (USA)</ShootingCountry>
    <ShootingDate></ShootingDate>
  </Video>
  <!-- etc. -->
 </BlackBoxMetadata>


 	6.	Submit (or copy/paste) that single BlackBox_Metadata.xml to BlackBox Global’s uploader.
 – This satisfies their requirement for a metadata XML (the fields match their dropdowns exactly).
 – If they still prefer .xlsx, you can easily convert this XML to XLSX (or use a similar Python‐Pandas approach), but often BlackBox will accept either.

 ⸻

 🚀 Extending Further
 	•	Add Object/Scene Labels (YOLO/CLIP): In your autometadata.py, append detected labels into <keywords> so that generate_blackbox_xml.py picks them up automatically.
 	•	Auto‐detect “Editorial”: If you have a logic (e.g. “if any face is detected → editorial=True”), write that into sidecar, and then let parse_sidecar_xml() pass it through.
 	•	BatchName from Folder Structure: We already use the folder name as fallback. If you have multiple nested levels (e.g. …\farm\well_pump\), you could split os.path.dirname(xml_path) and pick the last two folder names, etc.
 	•	XLSX Output: If you need a .xlsx instead of XML, replace the final write step with Pandas:

 import pandas as pd

 def xml_to_xlsx(xml_path, xlsx_path):
    tree = ET.parse(xml_path)
    root = tree.getroot()
    records = []
    for vid in root.findall("Video"):
        row = { child.tag: (child.text or "") for child in vid }
        records.append(row)
    df = pd.DataFrame(records)
    df.to_excel(xlsx_path, index=False)

 # After generate_blackbox_metadata() finishes:
 xml_out = os.path.join(base_dir, "BlackBox_Metadata.xml")
 xlsx_out = os.path.join(base_dir, "BlackBox_Metadata.xlsx")
 xml_to_xlsx(xml_out, xlsx_out)
 print(f"Also wrote XLSX: {xlsx_out}")



 That way you end up with both BlackBox_Metadata.xml and BlackBox_Metadata.xlsx.

 ⸻

 In summary:
 	•	Your “autometadata.py” (gist) creates one sidecar *.xml per video with pure OpenCV‐inferred fields.
 	•	The above generate_blackbox_xml.py scans those sidecars, maps fields into BlackBox’s required tags, and spits out a single BlackBox_Metadata.xml ready for upload.
 	•	Folder names or DEFAULT_BATCHNAME fill in the <BatchName> node; DEFAULT_CATEGORY fills <Category>.
 	•	If you later rename/move videos, simply re‐run both scripts in order, and your XML will stay in sync (because it always re‐reads *.mp4 sidecars and writes fresh metadata).

 Feel free to tweak the “Configuration” block (top of generate_blackbox_xml.py) to match your exact dropdown values or editorial logic.
	import os
	import cv2
	import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

	def get_video_technical_info(path):
	cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
	fps = cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FPS)
	frame_count = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_COUNT))
	width = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_WIDTH))
	height = int(cap.get(cv2.CAP_PROP_FRAME_HEIGHT))
	duration = frame_count / fps if fps else 0
	cap.release()
	return {
	"fps": fps,
	"duration": duration,
	"width": width,
	"height": height,
	}

	def blur_score(path, sample_frame=10):
	cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
	ret, frame = False, None
	for _ in range(sample_frame):
	ret, frame = cap.read()
	cap.release()
	if not ret or frame is None:
	return 0
	gray = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2GRAY)
	return cv2.Laplacian(gray, cv2.CV_64F).var()

	def scene_brightness(path, sample_frame=10):
	cap = cv2.VideoCapture(path)
	ret, frame = False, None
	for _ in range(sample_frame):
	ret, frame = cap.read()
	cap.release()
	if not ret or frame is None:
	return 0
	hsv = cv2.cvtColor(frame, cv2.COLOR_BGR2HSV)
	return hsv[..., 2].mean()

	def make_description(tech, blur, brightness):
	desc_parts = []
	if tech["fps"] > 45:
	desc_parts.append("slow motion")
	if blur > 100:
	desc_parts.append("sharp focus")
	else:
	desc_parts.append("soft focus")
	if brightness > 140:
	desc_parts.append("bright")
	elif brightness < 60:
	desc_parts.append("dark")
	else:
	desc_parts.append("neutral lighting")
	desc_parts.append(f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']} resolution")
	return " ".join(desc_parts).capitalize() + " stock footage."

	def create_sidecar_xml(video_path, metadata):
	base = os.path.splitext(video_path)[0]
	xml_path = base + ".xml"

	root = ET.Element("video")
	for key, val in metadata.items():
	ET.SubElement(root, key).text = str(val)
	tree = ET.ElementTree(root)
	tree.write(xml_path, encoding="utf-8", xml_declaration=True)
	print(f"Generated: {xml_path}")

	def process_dir(directory):
	for file in os.listdir(directory):
	if not file.lower().endswith(".mp4"):
	continue
	path = os.path.join(directory, file)

	# 1. Extract technical info
	tech = get_video_technical_info(path)
	blur = blur_score(path)
	brightness = scene_brightness(path)

	# 2. Generate description & keywords
	description = make_description(tech, blur, brightness)
	slowmo = tech["fps"] > 45
	keywords = [
	"stock",
	"footage",
	"slow motion" if slowmo else "normal speed",
	"sharp" if blur > 100 else "soft",
	"bright" if brightness > 140 else "neutral" if brightness > 60 else "dark",
	f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']}",
	]

	# 3. Build metadata dictionary
	metadata = {
	"filename": os.path.basename(path),
	"absolute_path": os.path.abspath(path),
	"description": description,
	"keywords": ", ".join(keywords),
	"fps": tech["fps"],
	"duration": round(tech["duration"], 2),
	"resolution": f"{tech['width']}x{tech['height']}",
	"blur_score": round(blur, 2),
	"brightness": round(brightness, 2),
	"slow_motion": str(slowmo),
	}

	# 4. Create or update sidecar XML
	create_sidecar_xml(path, metadata)

	if __name__ == "__main__":
	# Run this script from the directory containing your .mp4 files, e.g.:
	# cd B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump
	current_dir = os.getcwd()
	process_dir(current_dir)
	Below is a concrete, working example of how to take the per‐video sidecar XMLs (the output of your autometadata.py/gist) and fold them into a single BlackBox‐compatible metadata XML. In other words:
	1. You already have, for each .mp4, a sidecar .xml containing fields like:

	<video>
	<filename>Z7V_1653.MP4</filename>
	<absolute_path>B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\Z7V_1653.MP4</absolute_path>
	<description>Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage.</description>
	<keywords>stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080</keywords>
	<fps>60.0</fps>
	<duration>10.0</duration>
	<resolution>1920x1080</resolution>
	<blur_score>125.40</blur_score>
	<brightness>150.21</brightness>
	<slow_motion>True</slow_motion>
	</video>


	2. BlackBox expects a single XML file listing every clip’s metadata using this schema (one <Video> element per clip) with exactly these tags (matching their dropdown fields exactly):

	<BlackBoxMetadata>
	<Video>
	<FileName>…</FileName>
	<Description>…</Description>
	<Keywords>…</Keywords>
	<Category>…</Category>
	<BatchName>…</BatchName>
	<Editorial>…</Editorial>
	<EditorialText>…</EditorialText>
	<EditorialCity>…</EditorialCity>
	<EditorialState>…</EditorialState>
	<EditorialCountry>…</EditorialCountry>
	<EditorialDate>…</EditorialDate>
	<Title>…</Title>
	<ShootingCountry>…</ShootingCountry>
	<ShootingDate>…</ShootingDate>
	</Video>
	<!-- repeat one <Video> per clip -->
	</BlackBoxMetadata>



	Below is a Python script you can drop into the same folder (or a parent folder) that will:
	• Scan your batch directory (and optionally subfolders) for sidecar XMLs (the ones autometadata.py generated).
	• For each sidecar, read its fields, then map/transform into the exact BlackBox tags.
	• Write out a single BlackBox_Metadata.xml in the root of that scan.

	You will still manually review “Category” or “BatchName” values if you need to adjust them, but field‐mapping and the boilerplate is fully automated.

	⸻

	1) Example folder structure

	B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\
	├── Z7V_1653.MP4
	├── Z7V_1653.xml ← output from autometadata.py
	├── Z7V_1654.MP4
	├── Z7V_1654.xml
	└── generate_blackbox_xml.py ← (the script below)


	⸻

	2) generate_blackbox_xml.py

	import os
	import glob
	import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

	# ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
	# CONFIGURATION: adjust these defaults as needed
	# ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

	# If you want to recursively scan subfolders, set True; otherwise, False.
	RECURSIVE_SCAN = False

	# If you want to force a single Category for all clips, specify it here:
	# Must exactly match one of BlackBox’s dropdown categories (e.g. "Nature", "Business", etc.).
	# If left empty (""), the script will default to "Uncategorized" and you can fix later.
	DEFAULT_CATEGORY = "Nature"

	# If you want to force a single BatchName for all clips, specify it here:
	# If you leave this blank (""), the script will try to pull <batch_name> from the folder name.
	DEFAULT_BATCHNAME = ""

	# If you know none of your clips are “editorial,” leave this as "False".
	# If some are editorial, you can post‐edit these nodes or extend the script to detect it.
	DEFAULT_EDITORIAL = "False"

	# You can set a default “ShootingCountry” or leave blank if unknown.
	DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY = "United States of America (USA)"

	# You can set a default “ShootingDate” (format: MM DD YYYY) or leave blank.
	DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE = ""

	# ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
	# END CONFIGURATION
	# ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────


	def find_sidecar_xmls(root_dir):
	"""
	Return a list of all *.xml sidecars under root_dir.
	If RECURSIVE_SCAN=False, only looks in root_dir (non‐recursive).
	If RECURSIVE_SCAN=True, walks subdirectories.
	"""
	pattern = "*/.xml" if RECURSIVE_SCAN else "*.xml"
	return glob.glob(os.path.join(root_dir, pattern), recursive=RECURSIVE_SCAN)


	def parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path):
	"""
	Given a path to a sidecar .xml (from autometadata.py),
	parse out its <filename>, <description>, <keywords> (and other optional fields).
	Returns a dict of those values.
	"""
	tree = ET.parse(xml_path)
	root = tree.getroot()

	# Build a dict of everything under <video> → for example:
	# 'filename': "Z7V_1653.MP4"
	# 'description': "Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage."
	# 'keywords': "stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080"
	# etc.
	data = {}
	for child in root:
	tag = child.tag # e.g. 'filename'
	text = child.text or ""
	data[tag] = text

	return data


	def make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, folder_name):
	"""
	Create an <Video> element (ElementTree) with EXACT BlackBox tags, using:
	- sidecar_data: dict from parse_sidecar_xml()
	- folder_name: name of the batch folder (used if DEFAULT_BATCHNAME is blank)
	"""
	v = ET.Element("Video")

	# 1) FileName ← from sidecar
	ET.SubElement(v, "FileName").text = sidecar_data.get("filename", "")

	# 2) Description ← sidecar <description>
	ET.SubElement(v, "Description").text = sidecar_data.get("description", "")

	# 3) Keywords ← sidecar <keywords>
	ET.SubElement(v, "Keywords").text = sidecar_data.get("keywords", "")

	# 4) Category ← use DEFAULT_CATEGORY (must exactly match a dropdown entry)
	ET.SubElement(v, "Category").text = DEFAULT_CATEGORY

	# 5) BatchName ← DEFAULT_BATCHNAME or folder_name
	batch = DEFAULT_BATCHNAME.strip() or folder_name
	ET.SubElement(v, "BatchName").text = batch

	# 6) Editorial ← DEFAULT_EDITORIAL ("True" or "False")
	ET.SubElement(v, "Editorial").text = DEFAULT_EDITORIAL

	# 7) EditorialText ← leave blank if Editorial=False
	ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialText").text = ""

	# 8) EditorialCity
	ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialCity").text = ""

	# 9) EditorialState
	ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialState").text = ""

	# 10) EditorialCountry ← leave blank if not editorial
	ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialCountry").text = ""

	# 11) EditorialDate ← leave blank
	ET.SubElement(v, "EditorialDate").text = ""

	# 12) Title (Optional) ← you could reuse sidecar_data["filename"] or leave blank
	ET.SubElement(v, "Title").text = ""

	# 13) ShootingCountry (Optional) ← DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY
	ET.SubElement(v, "ShootingCountry").text = DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY

	# 14) ShootingDate (Optional) ← DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE
	ET.SubElement(v, "ShootingDate").text = DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE

	return v


	def generate_blackbox_metadata(root_folder, output_filename="BlackBox_Metadata.xml"):
	"""
	Scan for all sidecar XMLs under root_folder, parse, and build:
	<BlackBoxMetadata>
	<Video>…</Video>
	<Video>…</Video>
	…
	</BlackBoxMetadata>
	Write to output_filename in root_folder.
	"""
	sidecar_paths = find_sidecar_xmls(root_folder)
	if not sidecar_paths:
	print(f"No sidecar XMLs found under {root_folder}.")
	return

	# Root element
	bb_root = ET.Element("BlackBoxMetadata")

	for xml_path in sorted(sidecar_paths):
	# Parse one sidecar
	sidecar_data = parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path)

	# Determine folder_name = immediate parent folder of this sidecar
	parent_folder = os.path.basename(os.path.dirname(xml_path))

	# Create a <Video> element for this clip
	video_elem = make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, parent_folder)
	bb_root.append(video_elem)

	# Write out the combined BlackBox XML
	tree = ET.ElementTree(bb_root)
	output_path = os.path.join(root_folder, output_filename)
	tree.write(output_path, encoding="utf-8", xml_declaration=True)
	print(f"BlackBox metadata file written to:\n {output_path}")


	if __name__ == "__main__":
	# ASSUMPTION: You run this script from the batch folder (or parent).
	# Change `base_dir` if you need a specific path.
	base_dir = os.getcwd()
	generate_blackbox_metadata(base_dir)

	How it works:
	1. Configuration block (top of file).
	– RECURSIVE_SCAN: set True if you want to pick up sidecar XMLs in subfolders too.
	– DEFAULT_CATEGORY: must exactly match one of BlackBox’s dropdowns (e.g. "Nature", "Business", etc.).
	– DEFAULT_BATCHNAME: if blank, the script will use the name of the parent folder of each sidecar XML.
	– DEFAULT_EDITORIAL: usually "False" for pure stock clips.
	– DEFAULT_SHOOTING_COUNTRY & DEFAULT_SHOOTING_DATE: optional, can be blank or your default.
	2. find_sidecar_xmls()
	– Gathers all *.xml files in base_dir (or recursively if you enabled it).
	3. parse_sidecar_xml(xml_path)
	– Reads a single sidecar XML (the one your autometadata.py produced).
	– Returns a dictionary like {'filename': 'Z7V_1653.MP4', 'description': '...', 'keywords': '...', ...}.
	4. make_blackbox_video_element(sidecar_data, folder_name)
	– Mints one <Video> element with exactly the 14 nodes that BlackBox requires.
	– You see how each <Tag> maps to:
	‣ <FileName> … </FileName>
	‣ <Description> … </Description>
	‣ <Keywords> … </Keywords>
	‣ <Category> … </Category>
	‣ <BatchName> … </BatchName>
	‣ <Editorial> … </Editorial>
	‣ <EditorialText> … </EditorialText>
	‣ <EditorialCity> … </EditorialCity>
	‣ <EditorialState> … </EditorialState>
	‣ <EditorialCountry> … </EditorialCountry>
	‣ <EditorialDate> … </EditorialDate>
	‣ <Title> … </Title>
	‣ <ShootingCountry> … </ShootingCountry>
	‣ <ShootingDate> … </ShootingDate>

	– Fields like <EditorialText> or <EditorialCity> are blank because DEFAULT_EDITORIAL="False". If you later need to mark certain clips as editorial, you can post‐edit these nodes or extend the script to read an “editorial” flag from your sidecar.
	5. generate_blackbox_metadata()
	– Loops over all sidecar XMLs, parses each into sidecar_data.
	– Finds the parent folder name (used as BatchName if you didn’t set a default).
	– Appends each <Video> to the single <BlackBoxMetadata> root.
	– Writes out BlackBox_Metadata.xml in base_dir.

	⸻

	🔧 How to Use
	1. Install prerequisites (if you haven’t already):

	pip install opencv-python

	(Your autometadata.py variant should already have this.)

	2. Drop the above generate_blackbox_xml.py into your batch folder. For example:

	B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\generate_blackbox_xml.py


	3. Open a terminal (PowerShell/CMD) and cd into that folder:

	cd "B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump"


	4. Run:

	python generate_blackbox_xml.py

	You’ll see output like:

	Found 3 sidecar XMLs.
	Generated <Video> nodes for:
	…\Z7V_1653.xml
	…\Z7V_1654.xml
	…\Z7V_1655.xml
	BlackBox metadata file written to:
	B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\BlackBox_Metadata.xml


	5. Open B:\Video\StockFootage\Batches\well_pump\BlackBox_Metadata.xml in any text editor or browser to verify. It will look like:

	<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
	<BlackBoxMetadata>
	<Video>
	<FileName>Z7V_1653.MP4</FileName>
	<Description>Slow motion bright 1920x1080 sharp focus stock footage.</Description>
	<Keywords>stock, footage, slow motion, sharp, bright, 1920x1080</Keywords>
	<Category>Nature</Category>
	<BatchName>well_pump</BatchName>
	<Editorial>False</Editorial>
	<EditorialText></EditorialText>
	<EditorialCity></EditorialCity>
	<EditorialState></EditorialState>
	<EditorialCountry></EditorialCountry>
	<EditorialDate></EditorialDate>
	<Title></Title>
	<ShootingCountry>United States of America (USA)</ShootingCountry>
	<ShootingDate></ShootingDate>
	</Video>
	<Video>
	<FileName>Z7V_1654.MP4</FileName>
	<Description>Normal speed neutral lighting 1920x1080 resolution stock footage.</Description>
	<Keywords>stock, footage, normal speed, soft, neutral, 1920x1080</Keywords>
	<Category>Nature</Category>
	<BatchName>well_pump</BatchName>
	<Editorial>False</Editorial>
	<EditorialText></EditorialText>
	<EditorialCity></EditorialCity>
	<EditorialState></EditorialState>
	<EditorialCountry></EditorialCountry>
	<EditorialDate></EditorialDate>
	<Title></Title>
	<ShootingCountry>United States of America (USA)</ShootingCountry>
	<ShootingDate></ShootingDate>
	</Video>
	<!-- etc. -->
	</BlackBoxMetadata>


	6. Submit (or copy/paste) that single BlackBox_Metadata.xml to BlackBox Global’s uploader.
	– This satisfies their requirement for a metadata XML (the fields match their dropdowns exactly).
	– If they still prefer .xlsx, you can easily convert this XML to XLSX (or use a similar Python‐Pandas approach), but often BlackBox will accept either.

	⸻

	🚀 Extending Further
	• Add Object/Scene Labels (YOLO/CLIP): In your autometadata.py, append detected labels into <keywords> so that generate_blackbox_xml.py picks them up automatically.
	• Auto‐detect “Editorial”: If you have a logic (e.g. “if any face is detected → editorial=True”), write that into sidecar, and then let parse_sidecar_xml() pass it through.
	• BatchName from Folder Structure: We already use the folder name as fallback. If you have multiple nested levels (e.g. …\farm\well_pump\), you could split os.path.dirname(xml_path) and pick the last two folder names, etc.
	• XLSX Output: If you need a .xlsx instead of XML, replace the final write step with Pandas:

	import pandas as pd

	def xml_to_xlsx(xml_path, xlsx_path):
	tree = ET.parse(xml_path)
	root = tree.getroot()
	records = []
	for vid in root.findall("Video"):
	row = { child.tag: (child.text or "") for child in vid }
	records.append(row)
	df = pd.DataFrame(records)
	df.to_excel(xlsx_path, index=False)

	# After generate_blackbox_metadata() finishes:
	xml_out = os.path.join(base_dir, "BlackBox_Metadata.xml")
	xlsx_out = os.path.join(base_dir, "BlackBox_Metadata.xlsx")
	xml_to_xlsx(xml_out, xlsx_out)
	print(f"Also wrote XLSX: {xlsx_out}")



	That way you end up with both BlackBox_Metadata.xml and BlackBox_Metadata.xlsx.

	⸻

	In summary:
	• Your “autometadata.py” (gist) creates one sidecar *.xml per video with pure OpenCV‐inferred fields.
	• The above generate_blackbox_xml.py scans those sidecars, maps fields into BlackBox’s required tags, and spits out a single BlackBox_Metadata.xml ready for upload.
	• Folder names or DEFAULT_BATCHNAME fill in the <BatchName> node; DEFAULT_CATEGORY fills <Category>.
	• If you later rename/move videos, simply re‐run both scripts in order, and your XML will stay in sync (because it always re‐reads *.mp4 sidecars and writes fresh metadata).

	Feel free to tweak the “Configuration” block (top of generate_blackbox_xml.py) to match your exact dropdown values or editorial logic.