Post Work Flow

warning! I'm a beginner! don't assume i know anything

Thanks!

I am helping out on a documentary. We have 55 hours of footage shot on a DVC Pro HD AJ-P66MP shot on HDX 900 @ 1080 24p

We are bringing an editor on in a few weeks. In the meantime we are having a post house digitize the tapes for us onto hard drives.

This is the first time I've worked with a project like this. Do you have any advice?

55 hours? Got a budget? Paper edits are a good idea here. Assuming you are hiring an editor, no real need to have him/her capture all 55 hours of the tapes. Best if you and the other producers sit down and pick the clips. Might want to invest in "P2 log" from Imagine Software and also get Shane Ross's DVD on Getting Organized in FCP. Or just trust your editor and let him/her do it all.



[store.creativecow.net]

OK, you know nothing, I assume.

Step One. TALK TO THE EDITOR!
If the editor hasn't been chosen yet, WTF?
An experienced editor will have preferences as to how stuff should be organized.
Doing this in the dark means the editor will have to just deal with whatever you or the post house have decided to do, not fun. I was put in this position once. A pleasant walk to the intersection of Cluster and a street whose name currently escapes me. Never again.

Step Two ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
Is it a multi-camera show?
You'll want to make sure whatever drives you are using can handle multiple streams of 1080@24p DVCProHD.
Do tests with the complete end-to-end data flow. Get the post house to capture a few tapes, bang a sequence together, do whatever you think might be done in the edit (multicam, merged clips, audio synching, compositing, including round tripping to AE or whatever). Export how you plan on exporting or finishing.
Are you on-lining in house? Doing an EDL/OMF/AAF to get to an online out of house?
What kind of playout system to you have? AJA Kona, Blackmagic or ?
How was audio captured? How is it being digitized?
What's the final delivery format?

Answer these questions, get me a coffee, and we'll see what we can do....

ak
Sleeplings, AWAKE!

As with Andrew's point, I'd say hold off on hiring the post house until you have an editor. When producers and directors with little editing experience try to tackle the initial stages of post, they tend to cut corners, go for the cheap and fast (impatient to see footage)...and make decisions that cost hundreds and even thousands of dollars over post-production because things aren't organized properly, because the producer/director went with cheap equipment (eg. Western Digital MyBook drives! Lacies! Final Cut 3! Fry's RAM!) and didn't have the experience to foresee the problems that would come later.

You'll want to argue, "But we want to do the transfers/captures now!" Trust me when I say, the wait will be worth it. Get an experience editor. S/he will be able to tell you how to start things off right. And then you'll reap huge benefits when you're trying to meet deadlines, because that's when the initial, patient, thorough prep work will save you hours, days and even weeks of problems.

Even one of my directing partners screwed up when he tried to capture from DVCPro HD tapes himself...alas, his "tech support" guy wasn't thorough or knowledgeable, and talked my friend into some bad decisions. He ended up capturing his 24p material in 60i (!). It messed up my entire editing process and now we have to recapture all that stuff. Time saved? More like time wasted.

Don't be impatient now and waste all sorts of money, time, resources and mental energy. Wait for your editor.


www.derekmok.com

Hire an editor who has DVCPRO HD experience. And then have them rent the deck and capture the tapes. This way you give them an opportunity to review the footage. And you can rent a deck for $350-$400 a day...start on Friday and you get three days for a one day price.

Capture at full resolution....capture to an eSATA Raid or at LEAST a firewire 800 drive Raid.

OH, yeah. Hire an editor that has DVCPRO HD experience. And make sure they have DVCPRO HD experience. You need SOMEONE on your team that knows this stuff.

Avoid the post house...more expensive than having the editor do it. They will have to review the footage anyway, so instead of just paying them to sit and look at it, pay them to sit and capture and organize it. They will know what they have and where it is.

And buy my DVD.


www.shanerosseditor.com

Listen to THE EDIT BAY Podcast on iTunes
[itunes.apple.com]

Not sure if you have Final Cut Pro or if you know how to use it. I'd have someone show you how to "log clips". It's mindless work that anyone can do. In 10 minutes someone could show you how to do it. That will save you some money.
Log Clips
Complete the rough "offline edit"
Add narration, ADR, music, cgi, text (credit rolls, etc), Sound FX after which further editing / tweeking will very likely be needed
Color correct
"online" the "final edit decision list" (AKA the EDL)
Make further editing tweeks

(backup your online EDL edit ASAP)

Thanks for your great posts everyone! We are now looking for an experienced assistant editor!