START your project with Post.

(so we don’t have to “fix it” later)

“Oh we’ll just fix that in Post.”  

“Oh we’ll just fix that in Post” …Those are 7 of the most famous words in all of media production.  Whatever happens in the field, it doesn’t matter, those technical wizards in the darkened rooms with computers galore can make it absolutely perfect.   And that IS true if you have an endless budget, we can pretty much fix and create anything your heart desires.  But as I’m sure many of you don’t have an endless budget, there is often a more cost effective solution.

Get Post Production involved right from the beginning of the project.   Seems when most folks get a project started they call together everyone necessary to make it happen EXCEPT post production.   It’s like the Post isn’t important even though that’s where your project is going to end up and be finished.

First off, in today’s digital world, solid media management is paramount to any project.   When you erase your digital card / hard drive / storage device you’re using in the field, that data is gone forever.   In post production, we’re used to managing a tremendous amount of data for any given project so we can help establish a solid data management workflow from file naming convention down to storage and archiving the data so everything you shoot is protected.    If you simply shoot the project and walk into a Post facility with a bunch of drives, the first thing you’re going to pay for is someone to go through and organize the entire project into something manageable.

Not to mention one of the biggest issues we run into is lack of complete camera data.   This happens constantly when we receive raw camera data from the field and at the very least you can lose timecode and at worst loss of picture or audio or both.   It’s so important to transfer the digital camera data correctly for the type of camera you’re using or information will simply get lost between the field and Post.   There’s nothing more frustrating for a Producer than having hours upon hours of footage that all starts at timecode 00:00:00:00 from Reel 001 and trying to give notes to the editor.   Get Post involved at the get-go and you can be better prepared from the moment you walk in the door.

Getting the editors, graphic designers, animators, sound designers and even colorists involved from the beginning can also add a lot more creative input on your project.    When you share your vision and plan for your project, very often those who will finish the show can share some insights on projects they’ve recently completed, ideas to make your project different, additional camera angles and shots and so on.   Post artists can also help determine what’s better to shoot practical in the field or create digitally later.   In other words, starting with post production can oftentimes lead to a much better end product and certainly help you to get the most bang for your budget.

So while we’ll never be able to completely eliminate the classic “Fix It In Post” problem, if you bring Post Production into your project from the start, we can help create a smoother workflow, less headaches, and more creative end product.

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Article by Biscardi Creative

5D Leaks

This is the introduction from a very good article from Phillip Bloom's website by James Miller about an interesting technique called "Lens Whacking." If you don't want to bother with creating the technique in-camera, he has a set of post productions presets...that are on sale this week! Details at end of post.

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James Miller is a talented guy. Apart from designing a lot of my graphics and the background for this site he has been my right hand man on many of my UK shoots. Having a talented shooter as your right hand man makes your life so much easier. He has become synonymous with “lens whacking” which he explains about here. You can see more of James’ work on his vimeo page here. One bit of advice. This is a great and cool effect. But like all effects use them in moderation for the most impact! - Phillip Bloom

Lens Whacking, whats its all about then?

When a cameras lens is fixed firmly to a camera the only light falling on the sensor is through the lens. Thats great most of the time and when you want something different you can either add effects, layers, overlays in post. Or you can remove your entire lens.

- Read the Full Article Here -

Here are a couple of examples of James' work and what the effect looks like when done with a camera.

James also sells a set of presets that he calls "5DLeaks" that can be added in post.

20% off code for 1 week only with code philipbloom at checkout expires on 8th February 2012

- Visit the 5DLeaks website -

New Vimeo is Coming!

What’s so new about the new Vimeo?

In short: pretty much everything. We made zillions of improvements that cover the front end, the back end, and the parts in between to create a Vimeo that is bigger, faster, smarter, and more fun.

I don't know about you, but I'm excited about the changes!

Check it out for yourself! Vimeo.com/new

The Editing & Post Production of “Courageous”

Here are a couple of articles that I found to be very insightful and that I highly recommend especially for filmmakers! I really enjoyed the info about the post production process from editing to film prints! Both articles are very in depth and instead of re-posting them here in their entirety I have instead included links for you to check out. To get you started, here is a short excerpt:

Articles By: Steve Hullfish

"This article and the follow up will discuss the entire workflow of getting the R3D files from the camera, archiving them, transcoding them, organizing the files, making editing decisions with the director, and eventually, delivering the edit and raw files to PostWorks in NY and following the entire on-line post-production workflow getting the RED files and a Final Cut Pro 7 sequence up on the big screen in over 1,200 theaters nationwide.

Sherwood Pictures’ last theatrical release was the number one independent movie of 2008, “Fireproof,” which beat out “Slumdog Millionaire” for the honor. That film focused on a firefighter struggling with his heroic image at the firehouse compared to the image his wife had of him at home. At its heart, it was a movie about saving a marriage. For “Courageous”, the heroes are cops who are courageous on the streets, but need to show that honor begins at home, as they struggle with their roles as fathers when their beat is done.

My role started after principal photography had been completed. Director Alex Kendrick had planned on editing the feature himself, along with the help of on-set editor, Bill Ebel, who was also an editor on “Fireproof.” However, the previous Sherwood Pictures releases had been edited from approximately 40 hours of footage each, but when the final day of shooting on “Courageous” was done,  there were over 130 hours of raw footage coming from multiple RED cameras. (The production took place in the spring and summer of 2010, so it was shot Red One, pre-MX.) Getting through 130 hours of footage to deliver a first cut in just a couple months would be impossible for one or two people. Just watching 130 hours of footage would take a month..."

PART 1 - PART 2

FILM PIPELINE - Part 3

Post Production

"At last, we get to the end of the film pipeline.  Postproduction is everything that comes after shooting has finished."

Topics:
- Acquisition
- Visual Effects and Effects Editing
- Editing, Sound (Editing, Design, Foley, Dialog Editing and A.D.R.) and Music (Scoring)
- Job Descriptions for Post-Prod Jobs
- Sound Mix
- Color Grading / Timing and “D.I.“
- Print It!
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By Stephan Vladimir Bugaj

- All the "Film Pipeline" links can now be found in the Basics drop-down menu in the header bar.

Visual FX - Camera Projection

Anyone who does any kind of After Effects work probably knows about Andrew Kramer and Video Copilot. He has a lot of great resources on the site and he also posts a lot of free tutorials on his blog. One of his recent posts is titled "Camera Projection.'

"One visual technique that I find so fascinating is Camera Projection. It allows you to project imagery on 3D surfaces and then fly a camera around in 3D. It has it’s limits but the capabilities are amazing."

Camera projection test from Bart Janssen on Vimeo.

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Tutorial links and another video can be found here.

"What If" Post Production Blog

I posted a while back about the production blog for the upcoming film What If. Now that the project is in post production, director Dallas Jenkins is posting a weekly video update about the status of the film and basic "how to" for each step. They are 3-5min videos and I found it interesting to see the behind the scenes process that you don't usually hear much about. You can see the videos on the blog here.

Tons of Tips for Filmmakers

The 3 Steps of Production
"I haven’t made a lot of films but I have witnessed the witless as they go down in flames on their own sets enough times. The key is to learn from their mistakes. You have three opportunities to completely mutilate your film and pile heartache and unnecessary work on yourself. We call these preproduction, production, and post production. Three lessons for each stage. While these may seem like common sense it still amazes me how uncommon sense seems to be." Read the full article here.

12 Tips for Better Film Editing
"I’m currently cutting a digital feature and this has made me think about editing styles. Here are an even dozen tips that I feel will make any budding film editor better at this craft. I’m sure not everyone will agree with all of these points, since they come out of my own approach and style. Nevertheless, I hope they offer some takeaway value for you." Read the full article here.

10 Tips for a Better Final Cut Experience
"Many experienced editors making the transition to Apple’s Final Cut Pro often struggle with some of FCP’s core operating features. This is especially true of many Avid editors who view working in Final Cut akin to learning a different language. Here are 10 quick tips on how to run and organize FCP edit sessions that will hopefully ease your frustration." Read the full article here.

Dealing with a Post Production Facility
"The do-it-yourself filmmaker might view the traditional lab or post facility as a place of last resort. That belief stems from a fear that – like a visit to a doctor or lawyer – every minute is billable. Most finishing facilities are actually easy to deal with and have the producer’s best interests at heart."

"Sometimes, clients simply don’t know where to start, what to ask, or what’s expected of them. I posed some of these questions to a roundtable of post professionals, including Terence Curren, owner of Aphadogs (Burbank), Mike Most, chief technologist at Cineworks (Miami), Brian Hutchings, freelance colorist (Los Angeles) and Peter Postma, US product manager for Filmlight." Read the full article here.