Documentary Filmmakers, Do You Want Your Post-production To Go Smoothly?

Here are 10 organizational tips to make sure the post-production on your new project will go smoothly and not slow down to mollasses or cost a small fortune:

1) Shoot everything at 23.976fps. OK, except for high frame rates to be used as slow motion.

2) Stick to the same frame size, format, codec, picture profile, LUT as much as possible. Expose properly, strive for consistency.

3) Take the time to set your camera(s) properly so that the same clip name is not repeated at nauseam across days and cameras, no one wants to deal with a gazillions of "Clip0001".

4) Record Time Of Day time code, and jam-sync your cameras and main sound recorder several times a day. Imperative after powering-off, battery swaps, power outages. If that's not possible, use whatever clock your device has, and manually adjust the timing information on each piece equipment so that they are in close proximity. Watch for the pesky 12hrs. difference.

5) Always record proper temp audio (decent signal, not saturated, not garbled) on all cameras. That's another way to sync the footage in post if timecode is missing or wrong. Use a decent microphone on each camera, do listen.

6) Always record PCM uncompressed audio at 48k and at 32bit or 24bit if you your recorder allows it. Else 16bit.

7) There is no need to record 12 tracks of audio when 11 of them are empty. Learn how to use your sound recording equipment and turn off any empty/useless track.

8) Be generous with Preroll and Post roll. 

9) Offload your footage with a proper offloading software like Hedge, and keep camera cards structure intact.

10) Organize your footage in folders by day: 2020_01_30, 2020_01_31, and by device/card: A001 (camera A, card 001), A002, B001 (camera B card 001), S001 (sound card 001), etc.

BlackmagicDesign DaVinci Resolve 15 Beta Is Mind Blowing!

 BMD just released Resolve 15 Beta and it's overwhelming! This great color grading tool has evolved into a full-on post-production in a box software.

Check the 19min. YouTube video below if you don't believe me.

https://youtu.be/84e7iCI9Jkk

Now it's very likely full of bugs and lacking many a functionality. And it doesn't have (yet) specific things we like FCPX for: Overall fluidity, Magnetic timeline, Roles, FilmStrips View, Smart Collections, etc.

Nevertheless, you have to recognize the beauty of this thing, and the beauty of where I think it's heading.

I see this new release as a full integration of all the steps in Post-prod with very advanced specialty tools just a button away: Media Manage/Edit/Color/FX/Sound/Delivery. No more clunky back and forth between departments. It's not only all under one roof, it's all under one app!

Now while we wonder and experiment with the shiny new Resolve, BMD folks will be working on Collaboration. As I foresee, editors, colorists, sound people, fx people, we will be working on the SAME Resolve project.

The editor will rough FXs in the Timeline, and "pass" them to the FX artist in an INSTANT. No more managing media, sending notes, screeners and rough comps, it's all in there!

While color, FX and audio people are working in their specialty pages, with auto-linking/management of each comp/media/project, BMD cloud will upload the newly created media in the background for all to see and use when ready. The Timeline will update AUTOMATICALLY at a push of a button, or as set in the prefs.

No more conforming as it is now BUILT-IN. And you will be able to choose when this happens: end of day, in the background, or right now!

Let's see how stable it is under stress, and where this new paradigm leads us. A lot to dig in!

Exciting times!