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Editing Workflow
A workflow is the route in which you take your rushes from the shoot through to the finished film.
The workflow below is primarily for a film shot on tape (HDCAM, HDV, Mini DV, DVCAM).
This is a guide so you can see how much work is involved.
THE OFFLINE EDIT (the first stage of post production)
This is where you capture or digitise your rushes so that you can begin to edit your film in your computer.
It is called the offline because you take in all of your rushes at a lower resolution so you need less storage space and be able to edit your film without your computer crashing all of the time. The Director and the editor work closely together in making the story come to life. This process can take months, and several different versions of the film can be made due to non linear edit platforms (Avid, Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere.) Nowadays editors have a lot more flexibility in the edit suite to add visual fx (VFX) and sound Fx (SFX) so that the offline edit is a good guide as to how the finished film will look.
Capture and log rushes/dailies
Rough Cut guide using best takes taken from the continuity notes.
Fine Cut – smoothing out all of the rough edits
Lock Picture – happy with the film.
Export to quicktime movie guide with burnt in timecode (BITC) for the
Online Editor, Sound designer and Composer as a visual time reference.
Export Edit Decision LIst (EDL) list of only the shots used in the timeline of
your edited film.
Export OMFI (open media framework interchange) files for the sound designer.
This is the information and audio files of every single sound track used in the picture.
Playout to tape for back up.
THE ONLINE EDIT ( 2nd Stage)
PICTURE ELEMENTS
After the post production house receives the EDL, the guide tape and quicktime movie they begin to conform the final locked picture.
The assistant editor imports the edl and then begins to load the original rushes at online (best quality) resolution. Using the locked picture guide he/she then compares the new online picture against the offline so that all the shots are the same. If the film involves (VFX) this is where they would be married to the final film. The picture is graded by a colorist who matches each shot against the previous one so there is no difference in the look and enhances the overall look of the film adding yet another dimension to the picture. The final stage of the picture edit would be to add opening titles and an end credit roll.
Conform Picture from EDL
Apply VFX (Visual Effects)
Grade the final picture
Apply Titles and End Roller
Apply new final audio
Playout to master online tape.
QC (quality check master tape) before duplications. A process to check there are no technical issues with the final tape.
SOUND DESIGN
The sound department begin to build (tracklay) the dialogue, sound effects, atmos, audio dialogue replacement (A.D.R) if needed, foleys (the live recording of sound fx – footsteps, doors etc) and music.
They first import the OMFI file as a start to the tracklay and then check against the lock picture to see if all dialogue matches the movement of the actors (sync). More and more layers of sound are added to the tracklay to add atmosphere. Then the score is delivered at the last stage. Once the sound is fully mixed (levels balanced) in a dolby 5.1 certified studio if the film is for theatrical distribution. it is then married back to the new online finished film.
Import OMFI
Check for sync issues
Tracklay (apply new SFX)
Lay in music
Mix final audio in 5.1 studio to syncing to final picture.
Finally play your finished film to master tape.
