Designing the Right Workflow

[Will Luker]

We are a fast growing company that likes to push the limits. In the last few years, we've grown our creative department to a place where we now have the RED Helium and the RED Weapon amongst other cameras, the latest and greatest Movi's and all sorts of aerial and ground-based mounting and filming options. We are shooting content for our businesses to use, and occasionally license the footage to be used by others.

The challenge we're facing is the fact that we are shooting so much footage (mainly 6k and 8k with the REDs) that it is becoming a nightmare to manage. We never really took the time to design a workflow that meets our needs, and instead have relied upon our editors to design the way they want to work. The result is an un-organized file structure with multiple folder structures and duplicates.

We are in the process of purchasing a MAM (Cantemo) but the MAM isn't going to magically solve our problems. MAMs can be powerful, but they need to be configured to support our workflow. I would like to get some insights and possibly consult with people who have been there, done that so we can start managing our videos in a way that makes sense.

We currently are shooting video with the RED, and shooting photos with Canon cameras.

Video Uses:

• Training videos
• Product videos
• Hiring
• Marketing
• Brand awareness
• Documentation
• Experimentation
• Productions for a client
• Marketplace

Programs we use:

• Adobe Premiere
• Adobe After Effects
• Photoshop
• Landr

Hardware

• 48 port 10 GbE switch
• 24 port 10 GbE switch
• SanLink2 for each Mac Pro editing station
• Late 2013 Mac Pros
• 45 Drives Turbo 60 XL storage with 50x 8TB WD Drives (225 TB Usable) running FreeNAS
• Supermicro server with 36 8 TB drives (un-used)
• Supermicro server with 24 4 TB drives (un-used)
• Overland 48 slot LTO6 tape library
• Overland 48 slot LTO7 tape library
• Archiware P5 server to control libraries
• Supermicro server with 2x Intel 12 core Xeons, 128 GB RAM, 8x 4TB HDDs and Nvidia p5000 Graphics Card (MAM / Transcoding box)

We just bought new hardware to support the MAM and to support transcoding and we have 10 GbE connectivity to all storage, servers and workstations.

What does the ideal workflow look like?
What are the biggest mistakes to avoid with regards to workflows?
What's the best format to use for proxies? ProRes 422?
Where does the workflow start to get complicated?

Are there any amazing example workflows out there?

Workflow is one of those things that's so important, I want to make sure I get it right the first time and RED suggested to ask here.

 

[Marc Wielage]

With this kind of investment, my advice would be to hire a guy and not ask on an online forum.

My observation is that 8K is not necessary for the kind of production you're doing and I'd take everything you shoot and transcode it to 4K RedLogFilm DNxHR -- one set of files with a down-the-middle Rec709 correction for editing, and one with a RedLogFilm correction for final color. ProRes 422 or 422HQ can also work, though be aware that you can't render this format from Premiere in Windows.

Your workflow also depends heavily on monitors, so don't forget the need to have calibrated monitors at every step if possible. The assistant editor, the editor, and the colorist should all see pictures that are reasonable close to a known standard like Rec709. I would also suggest you need a room dedicated for sound and a room dedicated for color, particularly if you want to wind up with consistent results. Premiere and After Effects are fantastic programs for what they do, but to me they're better suited for editing and VFX (respectively). You need something better and more specialized for sound and color. I'd go with Pro Tools and Resolve, but good arguments can be made for other platforms.

Michael Cioni of Light Iron has often said that <paraphrasing> "post production is a train, and the caboose is basically the final delivery where everything ends up. You need to work your way backwards from that final delivery file in order to figure out how you're going to get there." And that means looking at VFX, sound, color, editing, client approval copies, dailies, and the original production format.

 

[Simon Dunne]

Hi Will,

Where are you based?

 

[Will Luker]

Detroit, Michigan