A Review of Production & Post Production
Workflows from the current TV Season
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Spring / 2009 – SAG threatens to strike
AFTRA alternative – but only if you shoot on tape, not
film
Studios shot 90% of their pilots on tape under AFTRA
And the studios learned that 24P worked & saved $$$
2009/2010 season – a lot of film cameras sat on shelves
2010/2011 – 80% shooting on tape (even Alexa)
March 11, 2011 – Tsunami hits Northeast Japan
Current season of 2011/2012 – 90% shooting onto files
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By Aug 2011, tape was still in short supply
Many shows adopted the Alexa or Red camera
Once the efficiencies of file based production became
obvious….there was little reason to go back to tape
Saves time > processing & ingest is faster than real time
Processing > uses computers instead of dedicated
hardware: vtrs, routers, etc…means lower capex cost
Saves archiving space & costs > 1 hour Episodic > 30-35
hrs, > 6-8 LTOs > replace 50+ SR tapes
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Color Management
Data Management
Dailies Processing
Conforming
Archiving
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For best results we shoot LOG
Trending away from hands-on dailies colorist
How to make it relevant for on set & dailies?
Need to choose & apply LUTS or Looks while
shooting the scenes.
Choosing LUTS for on-set….& for dailies?
Currently there seems to be 4 specific
approaches
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Lut box tethered to camera(s) – email the luts to lab
Apply luts during data management (Red)
Use one single default lut - rec709 or custom
Create a collection or set of luts or looks in advance
….apply them accordingly.
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LUT – color look up tables applied to dailies – typically for
editorial & general distribution
“look or looks” – the generic term
Arri Look – color as applied to the viewing outputs on Alexa
using Arri tools
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Breaking In – DIT plus Truelight box
Justified – on set DIT creates looks w/ DP
during data backup (Red Epic)
The Big C – one lut
Unforgettable & The Client List – collection of
preset luts
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Introduced in version 4, Alexa firmware
Allows for loading 16 Arri Looks into Alexa
Arri Looks are 1D luts and designed for Alexa’s on
board color processing capabilities
No external color boxes required…as Arri Looks
can be called up in camera & applied to outputs
SxS recordings can stay native LogC
Embeds the name of the chosen Look into the file
for tracking later in the post workflow
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Pilot shot > well known graphic novel
As such > extreme looks
Director wanted to preview looks on set
DP shot test material & created a number of
looks he might use…. 23 in fact.
Ended up using only 7 during actual
production
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In August, 2011 – no tools for translating the LUTs
created on Baselight to an official Arri Look
Peter Postma (Filmlight-LA) worked to translate….
Variances crept in to the exercise due to differences
in decoding - legal vs extended ranges – required
“tweaks”
Ultimately we ran tests to make sure what was
seen on set was what was being delivered to
Editorial and in the Studio & Network Dailies
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We now have tools from Arri to build these
Arri Looks & to generate matching compatible
LUTS
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Arri Look Creator - application
Arri LUT Generator – online web app
We also now have third party tools that will
generate compatible Arri Looks from LUTS
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Pomfort’s LiveGrade - beta
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Original Camera Negative exists as files on card
Cards are expensive > transfer the files to a shuttle drive > lab
Need to have multiple backups
Need to have a workflow system in place to assure no files are lost
Need supporting software to confirm transfers on a bit by bit basis
Need to QC or review each days material that flows – SET > LAB
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On set data wrangler
Dailies operator and manager
Assistant Editor
Archivist at the Lab
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File based > faster than real time - transfer &
conversion
Syncing Sound to Picture > w/ proper onset timecode
management > quick and easy
Logging > sound recorders label wav files - SC/TKs
Color > applying luts from set or from a colorist
working in parallel on the same networked system
Systems > process dnx + mpeg2 (dvds) + h.264
(stream)
Reference > Original codec or a mezzanine codec
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Concerns re: compression seems to be reduced
Many shows are using dnx175x for conform –
especially popular at post houses….
Several shows are even using dnx115 – popular
with in house post workflows….
SOUTHLAND (TNT)
SPT’s goal > conform directly from the native
codec or a codec that maintains 444 quality.
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Avid file based conforming (MC 5 +) references
“sourcefiles” plus timecode vs. tape roll plus timecode
Each sourcefile or clipname is unique
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Camera Reel/clip number/date/camera serial #
Example > A004C010_20120214_R1JL.mov
Each clip or sourcefile is usually one take of one
scene….
Decision to conform with a mezzanine codec instead of
the original file is typically driven by the devices being
used to complete the conform and grading
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Final vetting of files for name and substance
Hard copy onto LTO5 x 2
Working copy of each episode’s OCN footage
on a portable RAID for transport to the
“online” or conform – transfer via eSata or SAS
In House – files move via network transfer to
the studio’s TV Repository
SOUTHLAND - TNT
UNFORGETTABLE - CBS
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shoots RED, Canon 5D, GoPro
Dailies – all footage color timed by a dailies
colorist & processed into dnx115 on Fotokem’s
NextLab
Show is then cut on Avid in dnx115
Final cut IS the edited master (w/color)
Output as files > grading takes only 3-4hrs
Southland IS a stylized show and thus can sustain
artifacts created by this workflow
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Shot on Arri Alexa – using collection of luts
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OCN (ProRes 444 LogC) is collected and held on an
episodic raid for conform
Conformed on Avid Symphony – uses AMA transfer
of ProRes – transcoded to Avid RGB 444 – then
conformed & pushed…
To Colorworks where it is graded on a Baselight
from scratch… only referencing the original onset
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Tape > The Good Wife / CSI-NY / Weeds /
Modern Family / Dexter
Red > many Red shows are conformed from
Quicktime files instead of the R3D originals
Alexa with dnx recording has been demo’ed
and tested and will be available soon….
Some post houses were using dpx for the
conform…
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ArriRaw for TV > just not required….
What happened to all of those file based
recording devices introduced at the last NAB
?
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Convergent Design’s Gemini
Sound Devices PIX 240
ATMOS Samarai
Along with – CineDeck, KeyPro, Nanoflash
Sony F65 – 4K & HD
SR Memory – 440/220
DNX440 – 444 version of Avid’s DNX
Canon EOS - IIF-ACES