Advancements in digital cinematography camera technology have prompted a flurry of discussion in the production community. It has similarly sparked careful examination of related postproduction workflows–and it’s a complex subject, because it looks like proprietary workflows may be common until a de facto standard emerges. Additionally, the postproduction workflows vary quite a lot as some are tape-based and others use new data models.
One thing everyone seems to agree on is that it is wise to get the post house involved at the very outset. “The first thing is the cinematographer, digital imaging technician (DIT) and postproduction facility should have a conference call to discuss what will be done each step of the way,” explains DP Bill Bennett, ASC. “That’s critical, so downstream it goes smoothly in post. If you don’t plan appropriately, it can really bite you later.
“If there is anything unusual that you are doing–off speed frame rates, blue screen–I would highly recommend that you plan a [test] shot and test the postproduction before you commit a multi-day shoot using that plan,” he adds.
“I would not do a commercial without knowing the workflow and having a discussion with the post house,” agrees Steven Poster, ASC, who is keen to begin using the term ‘hybrid workflow’ to describe these processes. “Everyone [needs to be] on the same page.”
One topic that sources discussed was the dailies. “For commercials, I believe the best way to see dailies is projected,” Poster recommends.
“It’s important to keep the habits of filmmaking with quality, experienced film people checking the dailies,” adds Rainer Knebel, VP of DI services at Ascent Media Creative Services, Santa Monica, Calif. “With film dailies, you have a colorist looking at the images, and can catch potential problems immediately–With digital acquisition, the dailies process becomes very much just duplication. There’s not necessarily a colorist involved, which can cause problems later on.”
He continues, “Raw data has no color correction applied. The first step will be a color correction session, applying the cinematographer’s and director’s look to the images.”
Knebel recommends keeping color correction a postproduction process, and maintaining the original camera data as untouched as possible to ensure the widest range of postproduction choices.
When looking further into post, sources interviewed for this article largely agree that if you record to tape and follow a tape-based workflow, existing post pipelines generally can work. Where it gets more touchy is when productions record to disc and create digital files.
Manufacturers are working to remedy the key challenges to these workflows, but presently many of these are being addressed on a case-by-case basis.
A few point out, as an example, that from the digital master files, a production would need to generate clips with time code for editing. “But a lot of digital cameras do not generate time code,” Knebel explains, “and time code needs to be consistent and managed.” So if the intent is to go back to the data masters, then after postproduction receives the Edit Decision List (EDL), it may face a challenge in matching the time code to the digital files.
Knebel notes that another factor to keep in mind is that digital cinematography productions also tend to shoot a higher ratio of footage. This means that the need is even greater to carefully manage time code. He adds that this also means that the editor has much more material to browse through, and shoot notes become even more important.
NEW RANGE Some companies that offer postproduction services are outright expanding their range. “What we are seeing is this that digital technology goes beyond the cinematography and fundamentally changes the production chain…There’s no more post, it’s digital production,” says Ed Ulbrich, senior VP/executive producer of commercials and music videos at Venice, Calif.-based Digital Domain, explaining that DD’s involvement begins in prepro.
“It’s not just what we are shooting but how that data moves from production through digital production and post– it’s data management,” he adds. That encompasses security, redundancy and archiving. Ulbrich points out that insurance companies want to know that these issues are being addressed so that the data is not at risk of being lost.
Digital asset management is obviously a vast subject. Ulbrich reports that DD has been using the Pix management software-based service, which includes features such as password protection and reviews. DD has also been able to add script notes in the metadata, as well as allow the director to use voice annotation.
In additional to data management, Ulbrich identified color management as one of the key issues to watch in post workflow. For commercials, he says Digital Domain typically handles all color correction downstream in color grading suites and using Look Up Tables (LUTs). He adds that lately DD has been often using Technicolor Digital Intermediates in Burbank.
This is also where the Digital Intermediate (DI) is being done for director David Fincher’s next feature, Zodiac, which is currently in postproduction. (Fincher’s commercialmaking home is bicoastal Anonymous Content.) DD is a close collaborator in production of Zodiac. Los Angeles-based Rock Papers Scissors is also very much involved in the development of the editorial and post workflow for the feature.
For those unfamiliar with the term DI, it is the process of transferring camera footage into the digital realm for all postproduction including color grading in order to create a digital master, which may be used to go out to film and all other required deliverables. It is a process that took off in the feature film community for projects that start and end on film, although these have increasingly mixed film and digital. In the spot arena, DI-related postproduction technologies are prompting commercial houses to begin using DI-style workflows, with a primary benefit being the ability to color correct in a nonlinear environment.
But while data management and color management are challenges, Ulbrich says ultimately the biggest pitfall is a lack of education about new tools and processes. “Make sure the crew is not learning on the production,” he emphasizes. “The time to train is not on set.
“[Digital cinematography workflow] works better, faster, and cheaper that a film shoot,” he asserts. “At the same time I’ve seen people have horrible experiences.”
New York-based Nice Shoes has a similar message, as it moves toward extending its business into production services. The post house now has a Grass Valley Viper digital cinematography camera available for rental or for complete production and postproduction packages. Calling this move a “natural step,” Nice Shoes partner/director of engineering Joe Bottazzi reports that he would be at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), which began this week in Amsterdam, looking at additional digital cinematography cameras and camera technologies.
Why this direction? Bottazzi suggests that the best way to avoid workflow problems is by having a turnkey operation. He says it is critical to have the post house involved early on, and even represented on location during the shoot.
As for post workflow, he cites a few key issues to be aware of. For one, when mixing different media together, he points out that color correction becomes extremely important in order to have a consistent look.
He continues to examine format options, while reporting that Nice Shoes has been working mostly on tape-based jobs, primarily in HDCAM SR. “I don’t know if data is necessary,” he says, complementing the look of tape with 2:1 compression. He adds that data brings extra things to be aware of, also citing the issue of generating accurate time code.
As for the company’s new strategy, Bottazzi concludes, “With so much more HD work coming, it’s only a matter of time before [agencies] will start asking [questions about digital cinematography and post workflows]. This gives us an opportunity to get involved.”
