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FBX Export — Licence, flair.ini Flag, and Transfer Speed Setup

CGI Motion Resolved All rigs BOTH

Summary

FBX export in Flair requires three things to work: a separate FBX licence from MRMC, the *FilmBox: True flag in flair.ini, and the correct Transfer Speed (project playback fps) set in the export dialog. Forgetting any one of these is the most common reason FBX options are greyed out, generate error -16230, or produce a move that plays back at the wrong speed in Maya.

Symptoms

  • FBX export options are greyed out or not visible in CGI Export dialog
  • Error code -16230 when attempting to export
  • Exported move plays back at the wrong speed in Maya or other 3D software (e.g., a 120-frame move becomes 30 frames)
  • FBX options visible in Flair 7 but not in Classic (Classic .ini not updated)
  • Timeline in Maya compresses/extends unexpectedly on FBX import

Root Cause

  1. No FBX licence — FBX is an optional add-on to Flair. Without the licence, the export options are hidden or generate an error.
  2. *FilmBox: True missing from flair.ini — Even with a valid licence, Flair Classic will not expose FBX options unless this flag is present. Flair 7 also reads the same ini.
  3. Transfer Speed mismatch — FBX files store animation in time (seconds), not frame numbers. Flair multiplies the frame count by 1/TransferSpeed to get seconds. If Transfer Speed is set to the move's capture fps instead of the project's playback fps, the duration in seconds will be wrong and Maya will import the wrong number of frames.

Resolution

Step 1 — Verify and apply FBX licence

In Flair Classic or Flair 7: 

Help → License
Confirm FBX Interface is listed and active. If not, contact MRMC to obtain the FBX licence and apply it.

Step 2 — Enable FBX in flair.ini

Open flair.ini in Notepad (from the Flair installation folder). Add or confirm the following line:

*FilmBox:    True

Restart Flair after saving. FBX options should now appear in the CGI Export dialog.

Step 3 — Set Transfer Speed to project playback fps

Open the File -> CGI Export / Move Export dialog and set Transfer Speed to the frame rate the footage will be played back at — not the capture fps.

Scenario Transfer Speed to use
Shooting 24 fps, delivering 24 fps 24
Shooting 250 fps for slow motion, delivering at 25 fps 25
Shooting 120 fps for slow motion, delivering at 24 fps 24

Transfer Speed ≠ capture fps

"Transfer Speed" is a legacy term meaning project playback speed (Simon Wakley, 2025-04-24). If you set it to 250 when delivering at 24, the FBX will contain 10× too many seconds and Maya will show far more frames than you expect.

Check the installed FBX library version

In Flair Classic: 

Help → Version Info
Confirm FBX Interface 1.38 SDK 2020.0 or higher is shown. Earlier versions have known crash bugs (see CGI fbx crashes after export).

Common Gotcha — Classic and Flair 7 on the Same Machine

If you open the move in Flair 7 but export FBX from Flair Classic (a common workaround for 7's FBX bugs), both copies of flair.ini must have *FilmBox: True. Flair 7's ini and Classic's ini can be in different directories.

"Flair Classic ini file didn't have FilmBox enabled. Which still is odd as to why it didn't come out of 7 properly." — Nigel (2025-02-24)

WhatsApp Excerpts

"Please check Help > license to make sure FBX is licensed. Also flair.ini needs *FilmBox: True" — Gordon Eschke (2021-04-09)

"Transfer Speed is an old term meaning how fast you ran the film frames through the TeleCine. Nowadays this term would more usually be 'Project Speed'. This is ONLY 23.978/24/25/29.87/30… The move will change length if your FBX export speed and the CGI Import project settings do not match." — Simon Wakley (2025-04-24)

"FBX works in time, so you need to get those settings correct." — Simon Wakley (2025-02-24)

YouTube FBX Import to Bolt Pedestal Flair Classic

▶ 01:17 — Checking Help → License confirms FBX is active; confirms FilmBox: True in flair.ini

▶ 01:38 — "This version is fully licensed to use FBX" — confirms licence check workflow

YouTube 16. Exporting Moves Flair Classic

▶ 02:18 — File → CGI Export dialog: format selection, coordinates, units, Transfer Speed

YouTube Flair 7 Quick Tips: Exporting a Move Flair 7

▶ 00:26 — Move Export window in Flair 7: format, coordinate system, units

Revision History

Date Change Editor
2026-05-24 Initial extraction Tom D / Claude Code

Official Documentation

Flair Classic Manual — Ch.20 Data Export & Import — p.289

Flair Classic Manual — Appendix: Flair.INI Configuration — p.364

Flair 7 Manual — Ch.17 Data Import and Export — p.241