s16mm post-prod workflow

[etiennecaron]

I'm gonna be editer for a first short made in S16mm by a young filmmaker.

 

Here the price for the post that the Lab (Montreal, CA) bring me :

 

1- FILM PROCESS

2400' of 16MM + cleaning = 384.00$

 

total = 384$

 

2- RUSHES TRANSFERT

Film transfert techlight 16mm SD = 720.00$

Synchro SD = 108$

Betacam SP's tape (30 min.) = 25$

Disquette 3.5" = 2$

 

total = 855$

 

3- MASTERING SD (ONLINE)

FCP Online SD (4 hours) = 500$

Color correcting SD (4 hours) = 800$

Titles creation (4 hours) = 400$

One Digital betacam's tape = 38$

 

total = 1738$

 

GRAND TOTAL = 2977$

 

Thats way too much for the production, because the budget of that short (around 20 min.) is 5,000 $ So i plan to do:

 

1- A 16mm techlight rushes transfert in DVCPROHD. (with timecode and keykode burn in the black stripe area)

2- Edit the whole movie ONLINE in FCP able to handle the workflow. (with a AJA Kona 2's card)

3- Color Correct in Apple's Shake or whatever on my computer.

4- Mask the timecode and keykode to do a SD output in plan to burn DVDs for film festivals application.

5a- If accept, send the DVCPROHD version of the movie to a post house that will transfert to a HD's tape for digital projection.

5b- If accept to a any major film festival like Sundance, Canne, Clermont ferrand or whatever... beg for more money and send the EDL's cut list to the lab and re-do a film transfert techlight with the only shoot needed in HDCAM SR or a 35mm blow up.

 

I'm totally green and only edit DV movies for friends... would like to know if my workflow make sens ? Do i will have more trouble then the normal flow (offline in DV)? Will cost too much ?

 

nyways, will call the lab to have some price...

 

thanks...

[Michael Collier]

I see a few places you can cut the cost, if you want a cheaper post solution.

 

First place is sycro. you can do your own sync. it might take a little bit more time, but the advantage is you ingest straight from your recording medium, and skip the transfer to beta, which you inherantly loose quality doing (depending on your audio recording method, 24bit/96khz I believe is better audio than an SP tape. And should be equal to a digibeta for master)

 

secondly titles could be cut. Your working on FCP, and you should be able to create titles. If you had complex 3D titles it would be another story, but if that were the case you would be paying more than 400 for it.

 

I am also wondering why you have FCP listed for 4 hours of master, when you say you have a computer with FCP and an Aja card? if you have all that in hand you could even do SD color correction (provided you are comfortable with that and have acceptable experience in color correction) Then all you would need to do is hire a digibeta deck to output, or send the final cut to a post house and have them do it (or make friends with someone at a local TV station that shoots on digi and work out a deal to borrow their decks for 10 minutes to output the file)

 

You have cheaper options availible, you gotta look at your resources and what you absolutley need. Be careful though, a low number is great, but its no good if later you find out you need more money to finnish.

[etiennecaron]

I am also wondering why you have FCP listed for 4 hours of master, when you say you have a computer with FCP and an Aja card?

 

The director of the short that i'm going to edit ask the lab for a price's list. So they come with that list in a workflow that you edit offline in DVCAM and use an EDL to reconnect the footage for a Online editing and color correcting.

 

I was just wandering if the DvcproHD workflow (as mention previously) make sens since i can have access to a G5 well equiped for DvcproHD's editing and i wanted to know if s16mm transfert to that codec will be too much and we'll loose somes 16mm film quality. What i'm sure is, i will not be able to do extreme color correcting since DvcproHD is 4:2:2 in color sampling and i will have to deal with noise i guess. But in a sens, i know that the Panasonic varicam is using the same codec and its might be well when youre tight in budget...

 

i'm waiting for a new price's list from the lab... they seems not too open to that "workflow"... they want to do money as everyone i guess.

 

thanks again