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Vashi Nedomansky - Quick Course - July72020
Vashi Nedomansky - Quick Course - July72020
Vashi Nedomansky - Quick Course - July72020
Post-production is the final step in the creation of a feature My goal with this comprehensive document is two-fold.
film. It is the longest and most arduous component of First and foremost I want to share how our team broke
the filmmaking process. Every element of both creative new ground with the industry’s first 6K native feature film
storytelling and the technical requirements needed to make post-production workflow.
the film are in constant flux during this time.
By imparting what we learned in the process of delivering
FILM EDITING:
Before a single frame can be edited, the post-production this film, I hope we can remove much of the fear
team has to design and build a workflow pipeline that associated with the ever-evolving technical aspects of
facilitates both the budget and schedule of the film. This filmmaking. I want to share with you the roadmap we
workflow must harness the hardware and software with a developed to help others navigate the minefield of issues
robust organizational system which allows team members to that every filmmaker will one day experience.
categorize and locate footage in the blink of an eye. Without
this foundation, there is no way to manage hundreds of hours No matter the size or scope of your project, a thoughtful
The average film has 1,300 cuts. of assets and deliver a polished feature film. approach that prepares you for every aspect of the
post-production process is the key to success. Equally
Every cut effects flow, rhythm and story. I helped design and implement the workflows for
DEADPOOL (550 hours of footage) and in the process, we
important is that creativity never has to be stifled or limited
by technology. There is always a solution, no matter what
Every cut can make or break the film. pushed the boundaries of digital post-production. As digital
cinema moves forward from 4K to 6K to 8K and beyond, I
camera you shoot with or what computer you can afford.
The budget should never prevent you from delivering a
1,300 pieces to an invisible puzzle... will continue to pioneer new pipelines that are future-ready
and optimized for any workflow.
beautiful and compelling story.
With endless combinations. I have edited 11 feature films and trained hundreds of
The intent of this document is to give you the creative
and technical guidelines to help you tell stories through
None of them right or wrong. editors in transitioning to an Adobe Premiere Pro workflow
including fellow ACE editors: Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall, Billy
film and video at the highest level. This document is not
a hypothetical workflow that should work. It is a proven,
That’s the beauty of filmmaking. Fox, Dean & Dan Zimmerman, Julian Clarke, Jon Corn,
Joan Sobel and Bruce Green. This document will walk you
rock solid and successful workflow that pushes the
technological boundaries and gives you comprehensive
through the process of taking a feature film from image step-by-step instructions and advice to help you succeed in
VashVisuals.com/blog
capture all the way to final delivery for any modern format your project no matter the size or scope.
or platform all the way up to a major motion picture.
Enjoy...
The life of a successful film editor is contingent upon
repeat business. You form relationships with directors Vashi Nedomansky, ACE
and hope your previous experiences will result in a phone
call for another amazing project in the future. I was lucky
to have been friends and worked with “6 Below” director
Scott Waugh for almost 20 years before this opportunity
came up.
The edit cave in the morning The edit cave at night where
ready to go... the work never stops...
CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6
Contents
Assets from the feature film “6 Below” used within this document are the property of Momentum Pictures / Tucker Tooley
Entertainment / Sonar Entertainment / StormChaser Films / October Sky Pictures and used by permission.
Chapter 1 By not using proxies, the film skipped the typical off-line
edit and was instead on-lined as we moved forward. This
The other challenge that factored into our decision
to work in native 6K was that we knew we had to
PIONEERING PIPELINES
allowed us to save time and data storage while giving us
immediate access to the footage during the entire 30-day deliver 14 separate versions of the film, including:
shoot in Utah. If we had transcoded all of the 6K R3D files,
1
I would not have had time to review the footage before the
film crew began shooting the next morning.
By directly accessing the camera original R3D files within A 6K Barco Escape 3-screen version with a
“6 Below” is the first feature film with a 100% hours of each daily shoot, I could confirm to the director 7:1 aspect ratio that consisted of three 2K
DCPs played back in sync through three
native 6K post-production workflow from image and DP that they had the shots they needed. I could also
2K projectors to create the immersive
capture to final deliverables. I was the lead editor suggest pick-up shots for the next day if something was
missed. Each night after copying the R3D files from the Barco Escape format experience.
and created this workflow with our post- USB3 shuttle drives to our shared storage, the drives were
2
production supervisor Mike McCarthy. returned to set and prepared for the next morning’s shoot.
3
R3D files. The workstation that made this possible
was the DELL Precision 7910 Tower equipped with the
NVIDIA Quadro M6000 GPU.
PROAVIO 64TB EB800V2 PROMISE PEGASUS P2 24TB ADOBE AUDITION ADOBE MEDIA ENCODER
8-SPINDLE RAID THUNDERBOLT RAID
C.O.R.R.E.C.T.
FILM EDITOR
SKILLS
Creativity
Organization
Rhythm
Responsibility
Empathy
Communication
Technical
Chapter 2 Premiere Pro preferences
PREPARING With 18 separate tabs of preferences within Premiere Pro, setting up a project can quickly become
overwhelming. Here are all the options we chose on each tab with emphasis and explanations for
YOUR ASSETS
the most critical functions on each page. You can duplicate our settings using the images below:
This chapter is likely to make the largest positive This chapter looks at all the settings and preferences General panel
impact on a post-production pipeline. It’s vital to used on "6 Below." Through trial and error, we
chose the most powerful and stable options within Bins:
set up both your hardware and software properly Premiere Pro and wed these to the strengths of our To maintain an organized workspace, our default setting
before you begin editing. The time spent on Dell Precision workstation. was “Double-click” on a bin to add a tab to the current
making your pipeline bulletproof will pay you panel you are working on. This makes navigation easy and
back tenfold downstream. maintains a clean interface. The standard “Open in new
window” will cause a bin to float and not be attached to any
By exploring the myriad preferences and settings within panel. As a result, bins can become lost behind the main
Premiere Pro, we were able to optimize the interactions workspace and hidden from the editor. IIn addition, the
between editor, NLE and workstation. When set up ever-useful tilde key (~) functionality for maximizing the
correctly, the machinery becomes invisible and the panel you are using to full screen becomes inoperable with
editor can focus solely on storytelling. floating bins. I recommend utilizing one of the numerous
workspace options that come with Premiere Pro or using
my custom VashiVisuals workspaces that offer the most
flexible and logical setups.
Appearance panel
To battle eye fatigue, it’s a good idea to adjust the contrast
of your monitor. With so much visual stimuli on screen at
all times, you need to be able to quickly locate the panel or
asset you are looking for.
Audio hardware
Sample rate: Collaboration
The default 44000 Hz setting should be changed to the The new “Project Locking” feature was added in Adobe
broadcast standard of 48000 Hz to avoid sync issues Premiere Pro CC 2018. Enable it at the bottom of the panel
such as audio drift. This simple adjustment will help you and add a user name for each workstation. This makes
maintain a professional and compatible audio pipeline with collaboration among the team members stable and safe
the rest of your team, throughout post-production—all the and prevents overwriting of shared projects. Without
way to the final audio mix. these options enabled, you will not have access to Project
Locking across your team’s workstations and overwriting
your work becomes possible. Double check all settings on
each and every connected machine.
Media
For a solid workflow and optimal team collaboration, there
are several critical options that must be selected.
Timecode:
To properly sync video and audio and create Multi-Cam
Device control clips that are accurately in sync, choose Media Source.
If you are capturing media off digital tape decks or Default media scaling:
camcorders, you can specify the settings on this page.
We chose Set To Frame Size as this will not resample any
This is essential for documentaries or mixed media
video media when you place it into a sequence, regardless
projects captured with older digital devices.
of the sequence size. When we put our 6K RED files into
a 4K sequence, Premiere Pro would resize it smaller but
use all the pixels of the 6K file. This provides pixel-for-
pixel scaling with no loss of quality. To achieve this result,
the Set To Frame option must be selected in the Master
Project Preferences before you ingest/import any video
footage or media.
Memory
Every little bit helps speed up the process and we opted
for 128GB of RAM for our DELL Precision workstations.
Always use as much RAM as the budget allows to speed
up renders, encodes and overall performance. Select
the Performance option for Optimized Rendering to
achieve quicker encodes. Assign as much of the RAM to
Premiere Pro during editing and rendering as possible.
BEFORE YOU
START EDITING
YOU MUST DO
TWO THINGS:
Organize your footage
Familiarize yourself
with the footage
Chapter 3 Ingesting & importing assets
On “6 Below”, we shot for 30 days with two RED 6K Dragon cameras and captured the 6K RAW
PROJECT, PREPARATION,
R3D files at a 4:1 compression ratio. We had 60 hours of footage totaling 32TB; plus 4TB of GoPro
and Canon C300 4K files. Before this footage was brought into the edit bay, it was backed up twice
on a dozen 8TB USB3 drives.
OPTIMIZATION At the end of each day’s shooting, the RED files were
brought to the edit bay for ingesting and organizing.
We chose not to transcode the files or make any proxies
for our workflow. Our Dell Precision 7910 workstation
(20-cores) was at maximum utilization, but the NVIDIA
Quadro M6000 12GB graphics cards helped us playback
the 6K R3D files in real-time.
This chapter will share the best methods for Every project should have a realistic and attainable
importing all the assets needed to edit your budget and schedule. By being organized and diligent, This had never been attempted before on a Hollywood
you should steer clear of any technical issues and be feature film, but we succeeded in completing all the
project and how to organize and prep them for able to focus solely on the creative task of storytelling. post-production in native 6K and handed over all final
the actual editing process. We will cover bin Filmmaking is both a marathon and a sprint. You must deliverables for distribution. We eliminated the offline-
structure, naming conventions, transcoding be agile, flexible and have great stamina. This chapter online edit process and bypassed the tedious and
media, syncing video with audio and creating highlights the best practices we used to successfully time-consuming Conform process by maintaining a
prepare our film for the editorial process. native 6K pipeline. I believe this will be the ‘new normal’
MULTICAM files.
for post-production of all projects—large and small—
regardless of budget. It is quicker, requires less storage
Each one of these steps is essential to properly prepare a and allows for the highest-fidelity assessment of the
project for editorial. Any mistakes or overlooked elements footage throughout every stage of the post-production.
will cause havoc downstream during post-production.
Bad decisions early on can result in a loss of both time
and money. This is where proper planning pays off.
Ingest/import
At this point, you should create a new default Premiere
Pro project or open one of the Project Templates provided
within this document. My Project Templates come pre-built
with bins for organizing all your assets.
It’s available in both 1- and 2-monitor versions and gives you a comprehensive
platform on which you can build your story. This exact layout was used
on a $200 million dollar Hollywood blockbuster that demands the deepest
structural organizational needs.
The key to successfully editing feature films is to start with a project timeline
that will handle all your assets cleanly over the months of post-production.
No matter what NLE you use for editing… the principles of organization and
efficient workflow remain the same.
THE FILM
EDITOR
MUST ALWAYS:
1. Watch every frame of raw footage. At least twice. Then start.
7. Cut for the scene but always in context to the whole film.
Chapter 4
EDITING IN PREMIERE PRO
Now that your project and settings are properly
prepared, the act of editing can begin. Just as a
In the pre-digital days of celluloid, a movie print was composed of numerous film reels that were projected in
writer works on a blank page, the editor works on a the proper order. TITANIC (1997) consisted of 17 reels of film that had to be played one after another for the
blank timeline. Unlike the page which can only hold audience to view the entire 195-minute running time. The reel of a movie is the equivalent of a chapter to a book.
so much information, the timeline can hold almost In our editing workflow, each REEL is saved as a stand-alone Premiere Pro project that contains only the assets
infinite material. needed for that portion of the film. On “6 Below”, we split the film into six REELS (six separate projects) and each
REEL was roughly 20 minutes long. This approach allows team members (editor, assistant editor, VFX editor) to
A Premiere Pro timeline has a maximum time limit of work on different portions of the film without interrupting or overwriting the work of another team member.
24 hours (horizontally viewed) but it can hold as many
tracks (vertically) as you can create. You can edit an entire This method also allows for exporting segments of the film to the Color Grade and Sound Mix teams as REELS
feature film on one timeline and I have done that several become LOCKED (no further changes). By sharing locked REELS, the additional components of post-production
times as a solo editor. In the world of SHARED PROJECTS can be addressed without stopping the work of REELS that are not yet completed. In a later chapter, we will
with several team members editing at the same time, it is explain in detail the SHARED PROJECT workflow used by our team on “6 Below.”
considered best practice to split the project into REELS.
The essence of the edit In this chapter, I will share the most fundamental approach
for editing a scene from scratch. The same principles for
The editing phase of any project is limitless in the approach editing a 30-second commercial are employed for editing a
you take. You can start with the first scene or the last feature film. The mastery of editing can only be achieved if
scene in the film. You can build a scene one shot at a time, you are organized and have a clear vision of what your goal
24 hours of 6K Red Dragon R3Ds. slowly adding pieces and finessing as you go. An editor is. I don’t begin editing a scene until I’ve read the script and
The max possible for one timeline.
can also begin with all shots of a scene in one timeline and watched all the footage/dailies and made my own notes.
proceed to chop and delete unwanted material to create Communicating with the director/producer before you start
the final form. editing is a great way to get pointed in the right direction.
When you add any shot into the timeline, you must be
OVERLAY will add your video and audio onto aware of the SOURCE PATCHING on the left edge of the
the next available tracks at the PLAYHEAD. If no timeline. This determines where the video and audio tracks
from the SOURCE monitor will be added into the TIMELINE.
track exists, it will create an additional track to The default destination is V1 and A1 in the timeline. You
your timeline. can move the active, blue V1 and A1 icons up and down on
the timeline to choose another track destination.
LIFT will delete all targeted tracks between the IN and OUT Trimming
points and leave a gap in the timeline. TIP: Map your INSERT / OVERWRITE / LIFT / TIP: In the TRIM preference panel, I deselect the
EXTRACT keyboard shortcuts as close to your Once you have built a scene composed of numerous first option “Allow Selection tool to choose Roll and
EXTRACT will delete all targeted tracks between the IN and IN and OUT shortcuts as possible. This allows you clips, the next step is to massage the edit and finesse the Ripple trims without modifier key.” The fear of every
OUT points and close the gap in the same manner as a to mark the IN and OUT points and add the shot flow from clip to clip. TRIMMING is the art of shaving or editor is to knock a clip out of sync or to cut frames
RIPPLE DELETE. without looking down at the keyboard. This muscle adding frames on every edit point to allow a seamless and by accident with no visible sign that it happened. By
memory becomes second nature and will help keep thoughtful progression to the story. To effectively edit any avoiding RIPPLE EDIT mode as my default, any edit
LIFT and EXTRACT allow you to delete parts of one clip or you in the flow of editing. I always look for ways to project, there are three trim tools for basic editing that that I make will leave a gap in the TIMELINE that
the entire selection area that resides within the IN and OUT remove the machine and focus on the story. every editor should be familiar with. These are: NORMAL, can then be addressed as needed. I always have the
points of the TIMELINE. RIPPLE and ROLLING trim tools. option of using RIPPLE EDIT by pushing a modifier
Lastly, always delete your IN and OUT points before key and performing the same action.
I prefer to address my trims and edits directly in the
moving on to another edit as LIFT and EXTRACT are reliant timeline using the default edit tools. Unlike other editing
upon those two points for each edit. The default keyboard platforms, Premiere Pro lives in one TIMELINE mode that
shortcut for this in Premiere Pro is OPTION-X. allows for TRIMMING and EDITING at the same time. It’s
a flexible canvas and once you know a couple of keyboard
In all four methods of removing assets from the timeline, shortcuts and modifiers, you can fluidly make adjustments
always check your SOURCE and TRACK targeting to select from frame to frame. I prefer to enable the SNAP function
ONLY the clips or parts of clips to be deleted carefully to which helps guide the cursor to any edit point for precise
prevent upsetting the fragile balance of the timeline. Taking edits. It is located in the top left section of every TIMELINE
care with every decision you make is paramount to the and is represented by a BLUE MAGNET when on and a
craft of editing. GREY MAGNET when turned off.
By default, if you hover over an edit point, you will see a RED
bracket and arrow that shows you what side of the edit you
will be affecting. Given two clips next to each other, the first
shot is called the “A-side” or “Incoming” shot and the second
shot is named the “B-side” or “Outgoing” shot. Furthermore,
each one has a HEAD (start of the clip) and TAIL (end of the
clip) which is a legacy of the days of celluloid.
EVERY EDIT
IS THE MOST
IMPORTANT
DECISION AT
THAT MOMENT.
That one decision affects every cut
before and after it. That one decision
can make or break the entire story.
Make every cut count.
VashVisuals.com/blog
Chapter 5 The six editing units of a feature film that the editor must always consider are:
2 6
and mistakes. We’ve misjudged, over-extended and learned
hard lessons at the highest level. Through this journey, we’ve Markers Custom keyboard shortcuts
been able to refine, hone and optimize the post-production
process, yet remained agile enough to embrace new
technologies and incorporate them into our workflow.
4
advanced editing approaches that allowed our team to
seamlessly integrate and tell the story in the most simple Source / Program timeline separation
and elegant way. It’s important to stress again that this is
not a hypothetical or suggested workflow. This is a proven
and effective method that I have spent over 10 years
to perfect. It has continually evolved and incorporates
techniques I have learned or implemented on feature films
including “Deadpool”, “Gone Girl” and even “Sharknado 2”.
KEM Rolls Markers
The KEM is a flatbed editing system used to cut motion The next ingredient in my custom workflow is MARKERS.
picture film. You would watch all the takes of printed film They can be placed on both individual clips or a sequence.
on one roll and start making your edit decisions based on If a clip is selected in the TIMELINE, the marker will attach
viewing all the options. In the digital world, we can improve to the clip and follow it if you move the clip. If no clip is
upon this technique while maintaining the analog feel of selected, the marker will appear at the top of the TIMELINE
the process. Using this method, all footage lives in one just above the timecode. Markers are often used to tag a
SEQUENCE so you can pick and choose any shot at any certain moment, but I use them in a more global way to help
time, to add into the SEQUENCE. navigate the KEM roll and jump directly to specific clips.
I begin by taking all the footage shot on one day (or all the In the KEM roll sequence that holds all the raw footage,
footage shot for one scene) and dragging it into an empty I drop a MARKER on the first shot of every new camera
SEQUENCE. You simply select all the footage from the BIN set up. This is always Take 1 of every scene. I then move
and drag and drop it over. You can also drag an entire BIN downstream and drop a marker on all the other first shots of
over to the SEQUENCE to achieve this. the subsequent camera set ups for the entire SEQUENCE.
TIP: Any MARKER can be extended to cover a range of the TIMELINE as opposed to just one frame. By holding down To create a PANCAKE TIMELINE workspace:
OPTION/ALT and CLICKING on any MARKER, you can drag it either way to create a horizontal bar that maintains the
color of the original MARKER. This EXTENDED MARKER can have text written onto it and can also be dragged left
or right to cover your desired area of interest. DOUBLE CLICK anywhere on the MARKER to add text via the MARKER
dialog pop up. I use this to clearly label an area and inform an assistant where to add sound effects, music or visual The simplest way to build a scene in the MASTER
effects in the TIMELINE. We find this easier to track than sending notes or emails with timecode corresponding to sequence is to drag and drop clips from the KEM roll down
each MARKER. Lastly, these EXTENDED MARKERS remain functional and independent when overlapping. Just CLICK into the MASTER sequence. Scroll through the KEM roll
1. OPEN your KEM ROLL sequence in the timeline to find the shot you want. Since this TIMELINE is
on the visible portion of any MARKER to make it active.
TIMELINE panel active, the video output will be in the PROGRAM monitor
2. OPEN your MASTER sequence in the and also any external monitor you have activated via
TIMELINE panel TRANSMIT in the PLAYBACK menu of PREFERENCES.
3. Grab the KEM ROLL tab and DRAG it straight CLICK on any clip (or lasso several clips) and DRAG
DOWN an inch. them into the MASTER sequence. This procedure is non-
destructive and does not remove the original clip from its
4. You will see a PURPLE trapezoid. position in the KEM roll sequence. It makes a copy of the clip
RELEASE the tab in that area. in the MASTER sequence. This does not copy the media or
add new footage into your project. Both identical clips will
5. You have created a PANCAKE TIMELINE workspace. reference and point back to the MASTER clip in the BIN of
the PROJECT panel where you first imported the clip.
You select EXACTLY what you need from the KEM roll
sequence and add it to your MASTER sequence with just
3 clicks.
TIP: To enable this workflow, be sure you TIP: You can have numerous SEQUENCES open in
activate this preference option: PREFERENCES / the SOURCE monitor and TIMELINE simultaneously.
TIMELINE / SET FOCUS ON THE TIMELINE WHEN I will often TAB several SEQUENCES in this manner
PERFORMING INSERT/OVERWRITE EDITS. This will to the top TIMELINE panel so as to maintain the
switch the focus from SOURCE to TIMELINE when functionality of this advanced workflow. Just make
you hit INSERT / OVERWRITE and save you from sure you see the RED playback line in the TIMELINE
having to activate the TIMELINE manually. If this so you can edit from one sequence to another.
option is not turned on, you cannot edit from one
sequence to another via shortcuts.
I always have the core functions that I repeat daily mapped S - slip tool J - shuttle left
in an ergonomic and logical way. I clump shortcuts in
Z - zoom in which works in timeline / source / program K - shuttle stop
areas of the keyboard that fall naturally under my fingers
which allows me to keep my eyes on the monitors and X - zoom out which works in timeline/source/ program L - shuttle right
focus on editing. I have one group of often-used shortcuts
for my right hand and one for my left hand. These two M - add marker
clumps cover 90% of my most-repeated actions and
help to remove the machinery and keep me locked into a , - trim backward one frame
creative zone that is so important for film editing. . - trim forward one frame
1
the assets for roughly 20 minutes of a feature
shared storage (RAID, NAS, Isilon, Isis, Jellyfish, For every workstation attached to the shared film. On “6 Below”, we created six projects
Nexis…) on the same network. storage, go to PREFERENCES / COLLABORATION (REEL 1 / REEL 2 / REEL 3 / REEL 4 / REEL
/ PROJECT LOCKING and activate the “Enable 5 / REEL 6) so that our team could work on
project locking” option. different parts of the film at the same time.
2
TIP: If you are working with team members
and not on shared storage the best solution In the “User Name:” option, type in a distinct name
is to create cloned drives that have the exact associated only with this workstation. (e.g. User 1, It took a lot of trial and error to create and perfect
same name/folder structure/directory/ files. If Workstation 1, Edit Bay 2...) this 7-step workflow for the editorial portion of our
all drives are identical, you can share Premiere
3
journey. Post-production is such a fluid adventure
Pro projects with the latest cuts between team In the PROJECT panel, RIGHT-CLICK on the composed of so many moving parts. There can be
members and not have to RELINK files every METADATA row that contains the attributes of no weak links in the workflow when you have a tight
time you open a project. the assets. Click on METADATA DISPLAY and in schedule, budget and constantly looming deadlines.
the search bar at the top enter “Project Locked”.
Activate this option and close the window. Add to that the complexity of a native 6K workflow
SHARED PROJECT and PROJECT LOCKING are and you can really be playing with fire. Fortunately
4
Step 2
critical to maintaining a safe and productive workflow The PROJECT LOCKED column will now be found for us, our preparation and testing were solid and
in Premiere Pro. If you follow the steps outlined at the extreme right of all the columns of the successful. We came out relatively unscathed and
below, you will avoid the pitfalls of editors overwriting PROJECT panel. Grab the PROJECT LOCKED tab with some new tricks in our bag. Hopefully you
work in a project which is one of the greatest fears in and DRAG it all the way to the left so it is now the learned some new techniques and approaches to help
post-production. first column in the panel. This must be done on you with future projects.
each workstation and will show who has control
The workflow can be easily broken down as follows. of any given project. The name of any active
A MASTER PROJECT is created first, which is a workstation will now be shown with either a GREEN
container to hold all the SHARED PROJECTS that all lock icon or RED locked icon depending on who Step 3
team members can access and interact with. The has access to any project.
MASTER PROJECT is no different from any PROJECT
Chapter #5 asset
5
in previous versions of Premiere Pro. At the bottom
Create a MASTER PROJECT by navigating to FILE
left of the PROJECT panel, there is a LOCK icon which Pancake Timeline Premiere Pro template for
/ NEW / PROJECT. We recommend using the term
is controlled by whoever has opened the MASTER
PROJECT. This user can choose to LOCK or UNLOCK
“MASTER” in the name of the project so everyone both 1 and 2 monitor workstations.
on the team can easily identify it.
the MASTER PROJECT for the other users to gain Download Here ›
6
access to the SHARED PROJECTS.
Create a SHARED PROJECT by navigating to FILE
A SHARED PROJECT is created via the FILE / NEW / NEW / SHARED PROJECT. A new tab in the
/ SHARED PROJECT menu. The SHARED PROJECT PROJECT panel of the MASTER PROJECT will
appears as an ALIAS within the MASTER PROJECT show the new SHARED PROJECT and an ALIAS Step 6
and has all the functionality of any other PROJECT. It is will now live within the MASTER PROJECT.
shown as an ALIAS (with a small arrow on it) to inform
7
the team that it is a SHARED PROJECT and also has a IMPORT the assets you need into the
GREEN (unlocked) or RED (locked) indicator. SHARED PROJECT to begin editing.
8
TIP: It is best practice to have only SHARED The team member that opens the MASTER
PROJECTS and BINS within the MASTER PROJECT controls the project locking for all
PROJECT. Additionally, BINS within BINS are other team members. If the LOCK at the bottom
a great way to organize assets. Do not float left of the PROJECT panel is GREEN then all
random individual files or clips inside the other users have READ ONLY access to SHARED
MASTER PROJECT. Every asset must be inside PROJECT. They can view or copy any portion of
a BIN. those projects but are unable to make any edits
or changes. If the LOCK is turned off (RED) for the
MASTER PROJECT, any user can open a SHARED
PROJECT and make edits or changes. Step 8
TENS OF THOUSANDS
OF SOUNDS MUST LIVE
TOGETHER IN UNISON
TO CARRY THE AUDIENCE
ALONG THE STORYTELLING
JOURNEY.
This is my final timeline for “6 Below.”
The film’s running time is 92 minutes.
It contains over 1,200 individual video clips.
Each video clip had anywhere from 6 to 18
audio tracks playing beneath it.
THE IMPORTANCE 1
SPEECH
2
FOLEY
3
AMBIENCE
4
SOUND EFFECTS
5
MUSIC
OF SOUND
(dialog, ADR, (synchronized sounds (atmosphere, (vehicles, explosions, (Songs played as
voice-overs) added to imagery: room tone) rain, impacts, source music and
footsteps, spaceships) nondiegetic songs
squeaky doors) added later)
Audio, in many low budget or independent productions, is often overlooked and neglectfully
mishandled. The focus is often placed on capturing the perfect image with audio an afterthought.
The old adage that audio is more important than the image is hard to believe…until you are in
post-production and learn that it is absolutely true.
Great visuals accompanied by a badly designed and As a film editor, I need to know as many tricks and I find that organizing audio files in the TIMELINE is
executed sound mix are inexcusable. Conversely, lots techniques as possible to create the sonic world that paramount to optimally interacting with all the files. I first
of blurry, handheld, whip-panned footage with pristine supports the imagery and story. In this chapter, I want create a Premiere Pro project template that has labeled
dialog and a full soundscape can be completely to share my favorite methods of building a successful audio tracks so I know where to put assets into the mix.
acceptable. It can be perceived as an “artistic choice”, audio mix and several audio shortcuts that help me This allows me to instantly see where the files are and
even though shots are out of focus and flailing around. deliver a complex, elegant and pleasing result. makes for an effortless hand-off later when I send my mix
to the Sound Mixer so they can do their work. Audio Post
Audio is the glue that holds a film together: so embrace artists hate receiving a jumbled, unorganized mix and
it. Great audio design and mixing can salvage and will charge you a lot more to tidy it up before they begin
smooth over almost any visual mistake or become their work. My Premiere Pro Audio Mix project template is
incorporated into a sonic style that elevates the film. available at the end of this chapter to help you create an
The right song at the right moment can make a film efficient and structured workspace.
iconic and unforgettable. Subtle foley can create tension,
drama or single out an important story point. The magic All five of these aural components take up a certain sonic
of audio is immeasurable. range of frequency in the audio mix. This general range of
human hearing goes from 20Hz to 20kHz and decreases
as you get older or suffer hearing damage. It’s important
to know where different sounds land in this range, so I can
manipulate them to form an even mix. If too many audio
elements occupy the same sonic register…my sound mix
can become muddy, cluttered and unintelligible. My goal is
to make each separate asset sound clear and clean.
The dialog that comes into my edit bay and is recorded on At both ends of the frequency spectrum, I slope the cut-off Even a slight improvement will make the entire mix sound
lavaliers, shotguns, hyper-cardioids, ribbon mics or even with the other frequencies so it creates a “shelf” which better. Also, I like to EQ dialog while the music, background
iPhones. They all sound different, so here’s one way to bring quickly eats through the frequencies I do not want to hear sound and room tone are playing. If you solo the dialog and
them all into a more unified sound zone. Inside the EFFECTS in my final mix. This tip immediately gives me a full, sonic EQ in a vacuum, you won’t hear how it’s interacting with the
panel, find and apply a GRAPHIC EQUALIZER (30 Bands) spectrum with extreme frequencies removed as a solid environment and the mix.
to the audio clip. I roll off all frequencies below 100Hz to starting point.
remove rumbles, hums, wind and other low-end noises.
Drop the faders on all frequencies below 100Hz within the
GRAPHIC EQUALIZER interface. At the top end, I roll off
everything above 10kHz to remove sizzles, squeaks and
high-pitched noise. Drop the faders on all frequencies above
10kHz in the GRAPHIC EQUALIZER interface.
Tip #7 - Crossfade every clip Premiere Pro has sub-frame audio editing that gives me
access to 48,000 samples per frame of all audio. To switch
The sound of a pop or click in the audio mix is like a dagger from FRAME to SUB-FRAME edit mode, CLICK on the
in the heart to me. These annoying little sounds break the MENU next to the open SEQUENCE tab and choose: SHOW
cinematic spell and take me out of the film every time I AUDIO TIME UNITS. This switches into SUB-FRAME mode
hear one. These noises usually occur at the head or tail and lets you edit the 48,000 samples per frame.
of a clip as the PLAYHEAD passes across the edit point.
There can be remnants of other audio on the edit point or With this precise control, I can chop up syllables and
just general background noise that causes this. reform them into new words with the knowledge I can
finesse them as specifically as is needed. I can chop off
To prevent this from happening and ensuring a seamless the letter “S” from the end of a word to change the vocal
audio listening experience from the very first cut of the film, delivery from plural to singular. By being able to zoom in
I always add a 2- or 4-FRAME CROSSFADE to every clip and analyze the phonetics of sounds, I can cleanly select
in my TIMELINE. I add the crossfade to both the head and in between the letters and syllables to pull the perfect
tail of every clip even when there is no gap between clips. audio chunk. Using this same approach, I borrow words
I strive for 100% artifact-free audio playback and I have a from other takes and can accurately replace them with the
shortcut to automate this process. highest precision for both on camera and off-screen dialog.
At any point during editorial, SELECT or LASSO any When I switch back to FRAME mode, the edits and
range of AUDIO clips and then use my APPLY AUDIO SUB-FRAME pieces I have created will remain locked in
TRANSITION keyboard shortcut. This one push of the their last position and will often be less than a frame in
button will add my default (4 frames) audio transition to duration and not accessible in FRAME MODE. Any further
every audio edit point within my selection. This ensures I audio editing to access all 48,000 samples must be done
will not have clicks or pops during playback and my sound in SUB-FRAME mode.
mix will flow with no distractions.
I COLOR CORRECTED
ALL 1,200 SHOTS IN
“6 BELOW” DURING
EDITORIAL FOR THE
224 shots from “6 Below”
TEST SCREENINGS.
I took great pride in making sure every shot looked great. Once we locked the edit,
all my color work was thrown out and the colorist started from scratch to create
the final color grade that was released in theaters and on Blu-ray.
Color correction is another critical step in the filmmaking process. In the past this step was addressed The Lumetri Color tools in Premiere Pro include sliders, color wheels and curve adjustments
after the editorial was completed. That is most definitely not the case anymore. It now falls on the
editor to handle some of the color related tasks at the same as they are telling the story because color
is a component of the story.
At the minimal end, an editor will color correct shots At the other end of the spectrum, an editor can be called In the post-production world, jobs are frequently merged and color correction is more and more often falling into the hands
within a scene so they all seem to live in the same world. upon to either color grade a scene or make creative of the editor. The smaller the budget and tighter the deadline the more this becomes true. Even though this color work is
If a shot stands out by being to under-exposed, over- visual decisions that alter the original footage. This temporary (and will be replaced by a professional color grade) it will be viewed during screenings by the whole team and by
exposed or with different color temperature, the edit will can be as simple as adding a color tint to a scene, civilians in test screenings.
“bump” when that shot comes on screen. The last thing applying a day-for-night effect to footage or applying a
an editor wants, for any reason, is to take the viewer, LUT (Look-up Table) provided by the cinematographer I would love to pass on several tips and tricks I have learned over the years of color grading: 10 feature films, short films,
director or producer out of the moment as they watch a to approximate a certain visual look. These are all now ads, music videos and documentaries. I can tackle all these color needs with the Lumetri Color tools in Premiere Pro, even
scene. These shots must be addressed and we have the normal requests of an editor during post-production when working with 6K RED R3D files.
tools within our editing software to tackle this situation. and you need to be prepared and knowledgeable to
That said…the tips I would like to share with you are applicable to all color correction software. To get on the same page,
accomplish these tasks.
let’s quickly go over some terminology that clarifies what is what in the world of digital color manipulation.
The Lumetri Color panel #1 – Shoot with a flat or log camera profile
The LUMETRI panel within Premiere Pro gives you access Capturing footage with the most latitude, information
to 6 tabs of comprehensive tools to cover every color and quality is the goal on set. Cameras often have stock
correction situation you will have to deal with. The BASIC profiles that look contrasty and rich in the camera but
CORRECTION tab includes almost every function I need to when analyzed on a monitor you will have crushed blacks
adjust shots and make sure my entire scene or sequence and blown-out highlights. That is information beyond the
has visual continuity. If you have ever used Photoshop or range of the camera, gone forever and you cannot get
Lightroom, then you will see the same sliders and options it back in the post. On “6 Below”, we shot with RED 6K
used to manipulate a still image are embedded in the DRAGON cameras in REDLogFilm format to capture the
Lumetri Color panel. most dynamic range and have the most options in post.
Every professional camera has some option of capturing in
The CREATIVE tab contains dozens of looks (presets) that LOG or an equivalent to allow for maximum dynamic range
you can apply to your footage including film emulations upon capture.
(Kodak, Fuji), stylized looks from popular films and the
option to add LUTs created for your film by the DP to best
represent the final image. #2 – Trust the Waveform / Vectorscope /
Now that you are familiar with the tools needed to color Parade Scopes
correct footage, here are 7 of my most important tactics
In Premiere Pro, I always have the LUMETRI SCOPES panel
to apply that will help you be as effective as possible in
TIP: Add the LUMETRI COLOR PANEL tab to your open when I am color correcting or color grading. These
creating imagery that best serves the story.
SOURCE monitor tab so it always easy to access scopes give me accurate representations of the footage
when you need to make adjustments. CLICK on that my eyes are not able to see. By RIGHT-CLICKING
the WINDOW menu at the top of Premiere Pro and anywhere inside the LUMETRI SCOPES panel, I can
choose the LUMETRI COLOR option. If it has not yet select the 3 scopes I need to help me address color and
been activated, it will add it as a tab to the SOURCE luminosity accurately.
MONITOR. CLICK on the LUMETRI COLOR tab and
OPEN the Basic Correction option to reveal the The WAVEFORM scope shows the luminance/brightness
core functionality. The added benefit of this set-up of an image. RIGHT-CLICK and choose WAVEFORM TYPE /
is that when you SINGLE CLICK on any clip in the LUMA. The scope will now visually represent the brightness
TIMELINE, the LUMETRI COLOR tab will become of your footage at the PLAYHEAD. On the left side of the
active in the SOURCE monitor. This allows you to scope is a range of numbers from 0 to 100 units of IRE.
instantly interact and adjust any clip in the TIMELINE 0 is PURE BLACK and 100 is PURE WHITE. The white area
and quickly make your adjustments. in the scope corresponds to the luminosity of your footage
and should always remain between 0-100 at all times to
maintain maximum fidelity of the image.
#3 – Order of operations #5 – Adjust your lift / shadows / blacks first You will notice that moving the BLACKS or WHITES up
TIP: The next 4 points rely on the LUMETRI COLOR or down will affect the entire WAVEFORM so there is a
To maintain image quality and to preserve the footage panel used in concert with the LUMETRI SCOPES By adjusting your BLACKS first, you get a baseline started give and take dance as you work back and forth. MIDS
fidelity as much as possible, it’s important to do things in panel. Make sure the LUMETRI COLOR panel is to balance your image. I like working from the bottom up do not affect the BLACKS or WHITES too much and that
the proper order. Just as you wouldn’t ice a cake before tabbed to the SOURCE monitor and the LUMETRI and getting my BLACKS just barely above the 0 IRE on the is why you should work with them last. Lastly, if you do
you bake it: choosing when you apply a correction or SCOPES panel is tabbed to the PROJECT PANEL so WAVEFORM scope. Use the BLACKS slider in the LUMETRI raise MIDS, you will lose overall saturation to the image,
effect is critical. I have always achieved the best results you can see both of them at the same time. OPEN COLOR panel to lower the graph until it is close to but not so compensate by bumping up the SATURATION to keep
following the advice I learned from post-production guru the BASIC CORRECTION tab within the LUMETRI lower than 0 IRE. the colors popping. Always refer to the WAVEFORM scope
Stu Maschwitz. Applying color correction and effects onto COLOR panel and then SINGLE CLICK the first clip in as you make any adjustment to ensure you keep all values
your footage in this order will help you maintain maximum Next, I use the WHITES slider in the LUMETRI COLOR panel
the TIMELINE to begin color correcting your footage. between 0 - 100 IRE.
quality through your pipeline. Not all steps are needed for to raise the WAVEFORM graph and get some contrast
every shot, but the optimal order of operations is: into the shot. Raise the whites but do not exceed 100 IRE
on the scope. Even white clouds in a sunny sky are not
1. Remove artifacts and denoise your footage 100 IRE. In a dark night time scene, the whites might only
2. Balance the exposure, saturation and white balance reach 60-70 IRE if there are no light sources in the shot.
3. Relight within a shot using power windows or masks Finally, I adjust the MIDS as needed. To do this you open
4. Add gradients, diffusion and other lens filters the COLOR WHEELS & MATCH tab within the LUMETRI
COLOR panel as the BASIC CORRECTION tab does not
5. Add vignettes have a dedicated MIDS slider. In the COLOR WHEELS &
6. Grade your images MATCH tab, you will find the MIDTONES slider that moves
vertically up or down. Raise the slider to make the MIDS
7. Add a film stock or LUT
brighter or lower the slider to darken the MIDS.
8. Add film grain
9. Resize / sharpen / soften footage
THERE WERE
205 VFX SHOTS IN
THE FEATURE FILM,
“6 BELOW.”
Every one of them was critical to the story and
had to look 100% real or the illusion would be
ruined and the spell broken. Never underestimate
the power that an invisible VFX shot adds to the
telling of your story to an audience.
Chapter 8 In “6 Below”, almost every single shot benefited from some
sort of manipulation. In this chapter, I will open my bag of
MAKING GREAT
tricks and share some of the most commonly used effects
and techniques I use to coax more emotion from a single
shot or enhance the dramatic tension of a sequence. This
helps the editor contribute to the final narrative of the film
STORIES GREATER
via the stock visual effects found within Premiere Pro.
In the post-production world, more and more tasks fall upon the editor
3 Digital zooms (push ins and pull outs)
4
during editorial. The combination of better hardware and software
capabilities allow the editor to proactively address a lot of the VFX Split screens
demanded by a project.
6
if these effects are not the final version, they will get the film closer to
the finish line and give the viewer a more rewarding experience. Green screen removal (chroma keys)
7 Custom presets
(available at the end of the chapter)
The Effects panel in Premiere Pro The adjustable parameters are colored BLUE to show that Lastly, if I SINGLE CLICK on the MOTION header in the
the editor can interact with them. There are four methods EFFECT CONTROLS panel, this engages the interactive
The access point to manipulate any effect is found within to change the BLUE parameter values. All four methods will controls within the PROGRAM monitor. I know it is active
the EFFECTS panel. I always keep this docked next to the instantly display the changes on the PROGRAM monitor when a BLUE bounding box lights up and I see crosshairs
SOURCE MONITOR panel so I can easily pop it open and TIP: If the EFFECT CONTROLS panel is active, and on an external monitor in real-time. in the middle of the frame. I can now CLICK and DRAG with
make my adjustments. The EFFECTS panel by default you can SINGLE CLICK on any other clip in the my mouse, directly within the PROGRAM monitor to adjust:
holds the MOTION and OPACITY parameters for the clip. First, I can CLICK and DRAG the numerical value LEFT or position, scale, rotation or anchor point. CLICK on the gray
timeline and the EFFECT CONTROLS panel will
Any further effect you add to a clip will also appear here. It RIGHT to change a value. DRAG left to decrease the value area outside the frame or on any other panel to exit the
instantly update to show you the parameters
also holds the AUDIO EFFECTS, covered in Chapter 6. or right to increase the value. active adjustment mode.
for that clip. Also, in the SEQUENCE menu at the
top of Premiere Pro, if you have the SELECTION Second, I can DOUBLE CLICK on any BLUE value and type
To access the EFFECTS panel for a clip, DOUBLE CLICK a
FOLLOWS PLAYHEAD turned on, the EFFECTS in the number I want. This is useful if I know the exact
clip in the TIMELINE to load it into the SOURCE MONITOR
CONTROLS panel will update to reflect wherever number of pixels or degrees I would like to apply. TIP: To reset ALL values back to the original
panel. Then CLICK the EFFECT CONTROLS tab to activate it.
your PLAYHEAD is positioned in the TIMELINE. No settings, click the CURVED ARROW icon to the
To see all the parameters for MOTION or OPACITY, CLICK extra clicks needed. Both these methods will save Third, I can DOUBLE CLICK on any BLUE value to activate right of the MOTION header within the EFFECT
the “>” icon next to either, to expand the categories and you time as you won’t have to load a clip into the it, then use the UP or DOWN arrow keys to INCREASE CONTROLS panel. If I need to reset an individual
reveal all the options within. If you are familiar with SOURCE monitor every time to access the EFFECT or DECREASE the amount by one unit per click. This is parameter, CLICK the CURVED ARROW icon to the
Photoshop or After Effects then you will see identical CONTROLS panel. extremely helpful for micro adjustments and offers the right of that specific parameter header.
controls for the options located within Premiere Pro. most precise control.
(Cont.)
1. Add the effects I need to a clip. Adjust the 4. CUSTOM PRESETS can be exported and added
parameters as needed. There is no limit to the onto another workstation. I keep all my CUSTOM Vashivisuals - Vintage Lens Presets (16 presets)
number of effects that can be included in a CUSTOM PRESETS on a flash drive and carry them with me Download Here ›
PRESET. It is important to note that adjustments to at all times so they are readily available. To export a
the MOTION or OPACITY parameters can be included CUSTOM PRESET, first open the PRESETS folder in
in the CUSTOM PRESET. Even keyframes will be the EFFECTS panel. RIGHT CLICK on any preset and Jarle’s Premiere Pro Presets (106 presets)
baked into them. choose EXPORT PRESET.
Download Here ›
2. Once I finalize my CUSTOM PRESET, I save it as a 5. To import my CUSTOM PRESETS on another Step 2
stand-alone preset. To do this, CONTROL-CLICK workstation, CLICK on the MENU icon on the right
on all the individual effects used in the EFFECT side of the EFFECTS panel. I Choose the IMPORT
CONTROLS tab. Once they are all highlighted, RIGHT PRESETS option then navigate to where they live on
CLICK and choose SAVE PRESET. Assign it a custom my flash drive.
name and CLICK OK.
Step 3
Step 5
THE EFFECTS
Every element of “6 Below” pushed the technological boundaries of
post-production including finishing the 205 visual effects in the film.
This total number of visual effects is modest, compared to many
Hollywood blockbusters. The challenge was all the shots were to be
completed in After Effects at 6K resolution to work in the Barco
Escape format and then downscaled for our 4K theatrical deliverables. By frontloading our pipeline with our DELL Precision 7910
20-core workstations and the powerful NVIDIA M6000
For comparison, the vast majority of VFX for films today are completed in 2K and/or GPUs, we were able to wrangle the 6K pixels and push
HD. Some directors and producers are pushing for a full 4K finish but often the VFX through the computations and still hit our deadlines. This
are finished at 2K and then ‘uprezzed’ to 4K for delivery. The amount of data and combination was the only viable solution we found after
computational power makes a true 4K finish difficult, especially when you’re talking months of extensive testing.
about simulations with elements like smoke, fire and water.
We had two on-site artists working on the VFX shots of “6
Below” and farmed out a handful of heavy rotoscope shots
to a vendor in India. VFX lead artist Jon Carr personally
handled multiple roles, including working as the assistant
editor and creating VFX shots. We worked exclusively in
the Adobe ecosystem and relied on DYNAMIC LINK to
move effortlessly between Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Without a system, things can easily spiral out of control Chapter #9 asset
as each new version of a shot begins to add up and things
can be very uncomfortable when a director pops into your Our VFX lead editor Jon Carr has kindly made available
office to check the status of a shot and you secretly have his custom Google spreadsheet that he used to track
no idea how to locate the most recent version. Organization all VFX shots for the duration of post-production. As
is crucial in every element of post-production no matter the he explained in this chapter, a document that the entire
size of the project. Always take pride in your work. team can reference at any given moment is required to
“6 Below” was a rewarding process. It pushed us to Organization is crucial in every keep continuity and a well-organized workflow.
find creative solutions to all the impossibly demanding
technical requirements. No other team in the history of
element of post‑production no The chance of mistakenly using an old version of a VFX
shot will always be a possibility and that dreaded feeling
The VFX Google Spreadsheet
post-production had attempted to tackle an entire feature matter the size of the project. of seeing an old VFX shot pop up during screening will
film in 6K resolution for all the editorial and for every VFX teach you a hard lesson. Always refer to this document Access the Spreadsheet Template ›
shot. It was not an easy journey, but we are all better and triple check it against the most current cut. This
filmmakers for taking on and conquering this challenge. has nothing to do with creativity and everything to do
with due diligence and pride in one’s work. Work like a
professional and you will be treated like one.
“6 BELOW” WAS
EXPORTED IN 14 FORMATS
FOR DISTRIBUTION AND
THEATRICAL PRESENTATIONS.
Chapter 10
DELIVERING THE
MASTER FILE
The film is completed so we begin the last critical stages of The last steps before making the master file are two-fold.
post‑production. Creation of the master file, generating the First, we exported the locked film (6K footage) to the
colorist so he could grade the film to match the vision of
deliverables for distribution and theatrical markets and the director and cinematographer. Second, we shipped
archiving our project are the final steps. the temp audio mix (28 tracks) to our audio team for full
sound design and the final mix. Premiere Pro is capable of
During editing, the film is crafted into a complex tapestry of video exporting all these components directly from the timeline.
clips, effects, transitions, music, sound, dialog and graphics. Once this Using Media Encoder and our custom presets (included at
painstaking process is complete, months of work gets compressed into the end of this chapter) we created the exact files that both
one file with Adobe Media Encoder. That’s the MASTER FILE. departments needed to accomplish their work.
Creating a master file is a purely technical process. It’s not about artistic The 6K RED R3D files were exported from Premiere Pro
decisions. It’s about careful quality control and knowledge of optimal as DPX files (8TB of files) and graded by Mike Sowa at
settings for each different deliverable. It takes time and energy and is Technicolor. Here are the EXPORT settings we used to
taxing on the system and on the team, but that’s what you have to do to create the 6K DPX files.
get a pristine final result.
The temp audio mix was exported as AAFs and shipped
to Oscar-nominated sound mixer Greg P. Russell and the
E2 sound design team at Warner Brothers to create the
final 5.1 and 7.1 sound mixes. Here are the settings for our
AAF exports.
Once the color graded DPXs and final sound mixes (5.1 and
7.1 WAV files) were returned to our edit bay, we dropped
them into a Premiere Pro 6K sequence from which we
could finally create the Master File.
Master File With the batch process functionality of Media Encoder, we
encoded all the exports at one time and had a chance to
The proper procedure is to always export a single master step away from the workstation as it cooked the files.
file, often called a “Texas Master” that all subsequent
deliverables will be transcoded from. This is preferred
to individually creating files directly out of Premiere Pro Batch exporting files from Adobe Media Encoder
for each deliverable. The master file would then be used
to generate DCPs, 4K versions of the film for theaters, a
slightly different 4K version optimized for online streaming
and a variety of HD version for different TV broadcast
standards. We created 14 deliverables in total. This
master file is always at full resolution and with the least
compression possible. A popular flavor of codec for master
files has been ProRes 422HQ or ProRes 4444.
Low Storage 1
There are four steps for creating a DCP from a 23.976p timeline in Premiere:
1 3
The output must be converted to true 24p, The image must be encoded with a very specific
either by duplicating every thousandth frame or flavor of JPEG2000 file. JPEG2000 is a very
speeding up the picture and audio by 100.1%. flexible data compression architecture, allowing
one channel for RAW images or three channels
2
The image must be converted from the editing for RGB images. Optionally the encoded file
color space (usually Rec.709, Rec.2020 or P3) can be encrypted for secure delivery and
to CIE XYZ color space. playback control. DCP-o-matic
4
DCP-o-matic is a free open source DCP creation toolset. It
The JPEG2000 files need to be wrapped in an can handle all four steps of the process, but we found an
MXF file with several other metadata files to even more efficient way to utilize it in a hybrid workflow.
make the complete Digital Cinema "Package."
DCP-o-matic https://dcpomatic.com/
• The Wraptor plugin at 2K export took 3x runtime with the wrap taking 1/20th
A few things to keep in mind when using of the runtime and the encrypted version taking 1/6th of the runtime. Our ten
DCP‑o‑Matic: minute 2K test took 33 minutes to encode and 30-90 sec to wrap.
The final factor to consider in this intricate dance of DCP creation is the bitrate.
Within our workflow, the maximum limit available was 250Mb/sec.
After our testing, we would recommend 200Mb for 4K and 100-150 for 2K.
Higher rates than that did not show any visible improvement in image quality.
We spent the next week creating all final deliverables The final deliverables included:
for distribution and theatrical presentations. We had
to watch every output and make sure every frame was 1. 4K DCP 2.76:1 aspect ratio Chapter #10 asset
pristine and audio flawless. We then sent all our files 2. 2K DCP 2.76:1 aspect ratio 20 Adobe Media Encoder custom presets created for
for final QC approval at Deluxe in Burbank that ran each “6 Below.” These presets were optimized and tested
3. Three 2K DCPs 7:1 aspect ratio for
deliverable through their rigid and demanding tests to for maximum efficiency to provide the highest quality
BARCO ESCAPE 6K format (theater)
ensure ultimate perfection. results. They are literally our “special sauce” culled from
4. 4K ProRes 2.76:1 aspect ratio years of experimenting. Now they are yours to help
5. HD ProRes 2.76:1 aspect ratio deliver the best results in your projects.
6. SD ProRes 2.76:1 aspect ratio Import them via the IMPORT PRESETS button inside the
7. HD Blu-ray 2.76:1 aspect ratio Presets panel of Adobe Media Encoder. This will allow
8. DVD standard definition version you to export all the formats we used for creating the
final deliverables during post-production.
9. HD version for domestic and international airlines
10. 4K version for online streaming services
20 Adobe Media Encoder custom presets
11. 1080 HD version for online streaming services created for “6 Below.”
12. 720 HD version for online streaming services Download Here ›
13. Standard Definition version for streaming services
14. The 6K full frame 6144 x 2592 master file
Once a film leaves the edit bay and enters the world...it will live there forever.
Every decision you made is on the screen. Every great decision will shine on forever.
Every mistake will leap out at you forever. 10 months of work is infused into the film.
We emptied our tanks to tell a story that would hopefully resonate with every person
that sat down to watch it. I hope in sharing our process with you, it will help you
achieve the same success we were blessed to receive on “6 Below.”