Modern Post

Workflows and Techniques for Digital Filmmakers

Scott Arundale, Tashi Trieu

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• eBook ISBN: 9781317753049
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Film & Video

With the shift from film to digital, today's filmmakers are empowered by an arsenal of powerful, creative options with which to tell their story. Modern Post examines and demystifies these tools and workflows and demonstrates how these decisions can empower your storytelling.


Using non-technical language, authors Scott Arundale and Tashi Trieu guide you through everything you should consider before you start shooting. They begin with a look to past methodologies starting with traditional film techniques and how they impact current trends. Next they offer a look at the latest generation of digital camera and capture systems. The authors move on to cover:

* Preproduction- what camera is best for telling your story and why, budgeting for post
* Production- on-set data management, dailies, green screen, digital cinematography
* Postproduction- RAW vs. compressed footage, editing, visual effects, color correction, sound and deliverables including DCP creation

The book features cutting-edge discussion about the role of the digital imaging technician (DIT), how you can best use the Cloud, motion graphics, sound design, and much more. Case studies show you these solutions being applied in real-world situations, and the companion website features videos of techniques discussed in the book, as well as timely updates about technological changes in the landscape. www.focalpress.com/cw/arundale

Part 1 Retrospective on Traditional Filmmaking

Chapter 1.1 Retrospective on Traditional Filmmaking

DOI: 10.4324/9781315797274-1

Filmmaking as a tradition spans over 100 years and has a language and a discipline that is specific to its craft. Students of film should be encouraged to study and learn the origins of this medium much in the same way that religious scholars will read the ancient manuscripts and pore over the writings of their predecessors. We must acknowledge the past in order to gain a greater understanding of where we are headed in the future. By examining the methodologies of traditional filmmaking, we gain a greater appreciation for the reasons why we do things today.

Even as we cross the threshold into an all-digital landscape, young filmmakers will some day marvel at the concept known as “celluloid,” with all its moving parts and its chemistry. In the not-too-distant future, film will be considered “hip” and “cool” again. If they ever wish to experience the magic first hand, then before embarking on such a journey, they may elect to revisit the past.

1.1.1 Historical Approach in Shooting and Projecting Film

For over 100 years the film industry relied on the tried and trusted method of exposing film negative to light in order to capture and store an image. Black-and-white or color pictures can be recorded on a variety of film stock using different emulsions. The most common gauges used in professional productions are 16mm and 35mm, running through the camera at a frame rate of either 24 fps (American) or 25 fps (European). Motion pictures are achieved through a succession of still images. When projected very quickly, they appear as a moving image, and our eyes can no longer distinguish individual frames. The illusion of continuous motion is known as persistence of vision.

The film negative is wound onto a reel, housed in a lightproof magazine and advanced behind the lens through a gate by means of sprockets that grab the film perforations. Each frame is exposed by use of a shutter that opens and closes in a precise timing pattern, allowing light to strike the emulsion. After a frame is exposed, it is advanced into the take-up side of the magazine until it is later removed and “downloaded” from the mag. The image is captured on this high-quality picture negative, but must first be developed at a laboratory before it can be seen. Before film can be viewed or projected, a positive print copy (generally a contact print) must be made from the negative.

Figure 1.1 A film projector uses the same technique of transport and shutter as the camera but instead employs a Xenon lamp to beam bright light through the film print and into a lens which focuses and projects the image onto a screen

1.1.2 Developing and Processing at the Lab

After shooting ends each day, the exposed negative is downloaded from the camera magazines, carefully placed in cans and shipped along with camera reports to the lab for processing. Camera rolls are logged along with any special instructions for development, which consists of a series of chemical baths that are expertly regulated and controlled by laboratory technicians. Labs develop negative overnight and this may take three to six hours depending on their workload. There is usually a cut-off point where no further work is accepted for that shift.

Breaking Off

For productions that are in remote locations and require air transport to the lab, it is sometimes necessary for productions to “break off” during the middle of a shooting day in order for the exposed film to make a flight. Likewise, shows that start late in the day or plan on shooting through the night may elect to do the same. This allows for at least partial processing, and thus avoids delay in getting footage to the editor.

Once the film is processed, it is handed over to the negative assembly technicians where the sequential camera rolls are consolidated into lab rolls (up to 1000 feet for 35mm and up to 1200 feet for 16mm). This is done to streamline the efficiency of dailies review and telecine by eliminating excessive reel changes. Multiple camera rolls are spliced together to form longer lab rolls; however, the camera roll information is still vital to the editing process and is maintained through camera reports and reflected in the slate at the beginning of each take. The head of each roll is hole-punched in preparation for telecine. Blank plastic leader is added to the head and tail of each roll so that it can be threaded onto a telecine. The negative is cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, removing dust, hair and other debris that may have collected on it after development. The negative is then placed in a plastic bag and box.

At this point a work print may be struck from the original negative. Film “dailies” are made using positive film stock and require additional development. Before printing, a lab technician will measure the densities of the negative and create a report containing the “timing lights.” This set of values is obtained by viewing the color charts and gray scales shot on-set to balance both color and brightness to create an acceptable “look” for the work print. Printer light numbers are also used by directors of photography (DPs) to check that they are maintaining consistent exposure throughout the production.

If time permits at the start or end of each shooting day, dailies are screened at the lab or studio or even on location with a portable projector. Watching a physical print of the film allows the key creatives the opportunity to check focus, exposure, hair, makeup and lighting questions as well as performance issues. Watching dailies in a theater during the first few days (or weeks) of production is particularly helpful in catching and solving any problems.

A set of documents are collected by the assistant editor that reflects the previous day’s work to include the lab reports showing the timing lights, sound and camera reports, and script continuity notes and logs. Additional comments made by the director can be added and duly noted during the dailies or at any time during the shoot schedule.

1.1.3 Editing using a Film Work Print

Work print dailies (or rushes) are delivered early in the morning from the lab to the cutting room where the assistant editor or apprentice will mark and identify the slates (clapboards) for each shot. The same is done for audio dailies, which are transferred to the same gauge of film (typically 35mm single stripe magnetic sound). With both picture and sound clearly labeled, the assistant spends the first part of each morning syncing the takes. This is done on a bench equipped with rewinds, sending picture and sound through a synchronizer and listening to the track with a “squawk box” (audio amplifier) to a pair of headphones. Depending on the amount of footage, this may take a few hours. Once the reels are matched perfectly they can be viewed in a theater or flatbed and editing can commence.

Figure 1.2 Two and four gang synchronizers

Flatbed editing tables allow the editor to view the reels, often stopping and starting, and have the ability to rewind or advance at high speed. Some systems carry an extra set of plates to accommodate a second picture or soundtrack. This method of “linear” editing requires winding through material to get to a specific point. When footage is taken out of the dailies’ reels and placed in a “cut” as part of an assembled sequence, slug or filler is placed in the sound or picture reels to maintain synchronization.

As shots are trimmed or removed from the cut, they may end up being placed in bins. The bins contain several rows of pins upon which material may be hung and laid into a large soft canvas bag. This allows for quick retrieval should an editor require replacing or adding to a shot. Ultimately, footage is either returned to the daily roll or included as part of the cut. Waste film may be discarded and it is not unusual for unwanted footage to end up on the “cutting room floor.”

Figure 1.3 KEM Flatbed Editing Table

The work print may experience significant wear and tear as it is run through synchronizers and flatbeds, not to mention a projector. Each splice (or join) is achieved using an editing block (rivas butt splicer) consisting of a large blade, pins to hold the film and a tape dispenser. As splices are done and undone, film and sound elements may suffer damage or break. Reprints from the original negative or sound master can be ordered, but this may take up to a day.

Previews take place in the cutting room or theater. An additional track containing music and/or sound effects may accompany the reels. A feature film consists of ten or more reels each of picture and sound. A reel measures up to 1,000 feet in length constitutes about ten minutes of film time. The advantage to previewing on a flatbed is the ability to run back and forth, sometimes referred to as “rock & roll,” a practice first developed by early sound mixers.¹ While it is convenient to play a film on a flatbed, it cannot replicat...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of Figures
• Foreword by Alan Baumgarten, A.C.E.
• Preface
• Who Is This Book For?
• How to Read This Book
• Acknowledgements
• Part 1 Retrospective on Traditional Filmmaking
• Part 2 The Digital Film Frontier
• Part 3 Best Practices for Production
• Part 4 Editing and Post-Production
• Part 5 Visual Effects and Titles
• Part 6 Sound Design and Final Mastering
• Part 7 Restoration and Archiving
• Part 8 Budgeting and Scheduling for Post
• Part 9 Case Studies
• Glossary
• Useful Links and Resources
• Bibliography
• Appendix
• About the Authors
• Permissions
• Index