Digital Video - February 2008 - (Page 41) WHAT IS A WORKFLOW? BY JASON OSDER AND ROBBIE CARMAN The following is an excerpt from the book “Film Cut Pro Workflows: The Independent Studio Handbook” (Focal Press, 2007). While the book is specific to FCP use, the general methodologies presented here can be applied to any NLE system. workflow is a plan. If every postproduction project is a journey (and most are), then the workflow is a map with your intended route highlighted. Like any journey, it is sometimes permissible to take a detour, or to alter your route on the way, but the workflow is the plan you make before you embark. There are certain steps in every postproduction project, and therefore a generic workflow that is adapted to fit the needs of each particular project. In addition, workflows extend both before and after the editing process, and are applicable to the production and delivery aspects of a project (for instance, DVD interactivity). The focus of this book is using Final Cut Pro as a versatile and robust tool that fits centrally into many different postproduction workflows. However, the ideas here can (and, if possible, should) be implemented before any footage is shot, through final delivery of a project. Understanding workflows and workflow thinking will help your projects be much more efficient regardless of what role you have. It will make communication within your team and with outside vendors clearer. Ultimately, good workflows will save you time and money. We use a specific set of symbols and icons to show workflows, but boxes and arrows are not what make the workflow. It is more a matter of telegraphing each step of the process in detail. This can be done on paper or computer, in writing or with diagrams, or any combination. It is important to document your workflow so that it can clearly be shared with other members of the team. A GENERIC POSTPRODUCTION WORKFLOW The Ingest Stage of the project covers the process of getting media into the Final Cut Pro environment so that you can edit with it. Often, when we talk about ingest, we will be talking about Log and Capture. However, these terms are not always synonymous. Log and Capture refers specifically to ingestion from tape formats (usually a large part of the content for a video project). Ingest is a broader term that includes preparing all assets for use in Final Cut Pro, including scanning and adjusting photographic elements, preparing and importing audio assets, and graphics. Postproduction technology changes just as fast as other areas of computer technology. Recently, these developments have led to the term “ingest,” incorporating new and exciting hard-drive, solid-state, and optical acquisition formats such as P2 and XDCAM. These IT-friendly formats offer exciting new possibilities in the postproduction workflow, offering the ability not only to save time and money, but also to open the door to new resolutions and frame rates previously not found in one acquisition format. Whether the initial source is film, printed material, recorded audio, digital videotape, or solid state, all of your media need to be converted to a digital file that can be saved or transferred to a hard drive that is accessible to FCP, and imported into an FCP project, where it is represented in the browser to then be used in your project. As you might expect, the ingest stage is key in workflow thinking and media management. Along with “sucking in” media, the ingest stage is also your first and best opportunity to apply organizational thinking. You can rarely have too much organization in the early stages of a project. For the purposes of the generic workflow, we define the Editing Phase broadly, as everything between ingesting the footage and making the final outputs. This includes assembly and editorial, as well as graphics, compositing, audio mix, and color correction. Of course, these are distinct steps, and they are treated as such, but in the simplified generic workflow, the edit phase is just the wide middle where you do all the stuff with your media. Many of the individual steps in this category can be performed within the Final Cut Pro interface. However, this is not always the case. Indeed, the interaction between different postproduction tools is an important aspect of workflow thinking. This interaction involves various types of outputs and exports. DETAIL YOUR POST PROCESS METHODOLOGY BEFORE YOU BEGIN. www.dv.com dv february 2008 41 http://www.dv.com
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