workflow advice please!

[Mark Rimmer]

Hello all

after shooting several music promos on video, I finally have a budget that will allow me to shoot on film.

The idea for the promo is a single shot (hoping to avoid too many takes!) but what I wanted some advice on is the postproduction workflow. I need to finish on Digibeta, so would anyone recommend telecine first and then digital grading, or grading the negative and then telecine? What would be the difference in picture quality, and what would be the difference in cost?

all comments welcome.

thanks

Mark Rimmer

Prague, Czech Republic

[Dominic Case]

You always need to do some grading on the telecine at the transfer stage.

 

Typically this would be a "flat" transfer, ensuring that the maximum tonal range of the negative is copied to the tape, allowing the colorist the greatest scope for correction later on. The image that you transfer will look like crap, but it's not designed to be looked at, it's designed to store information. All will come good at the grading session after editing.

 

The alternative is to do a full grade at the transfer stage. Some people argue that this gives a better result as it doesn't waste the tape's limited dynamic range on shadows and highlights that you are going to grade out - but on the other hand it does limit you to the colorist's choices on uneditied footage - so you don't see the material in context.

 

Another choice is to transfer twice: the first time, you do a rought grade for the editor. The second time through is basically the on-line compile, directly from negative: you only transfer the selected takes, and you do a full grade on telecine as you go. Probably the best results of all - but lots of telecine time.

 

In your particular project, it's all one take: so the second alternative seems the obvious choice.

[steve hyde]

...If it is all one take under the same light conditions, wouldn't this be a relatively easy transfer for the colorist without a lot of grading? It seems like a good way to go might be using a double system workflow: Ask for a simul record to both DigiBeta and DVcam then make off-line edits from DVcam and conform to DigiBeta in the online. This way he only has to transfer once.

 

Steve