Grading and Deliverables

[JT Thurlow]

I have not worked with a professional grader or needed to have a DCP etc made before but will need to do so on a current project. I have been researching the topic but am left with some questions. Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated....

When working with a colorist - will it be a case of taking all the HDDs from our project to the colourist/facility, or is it necessary to export/conform the final cut to another file format? If using the 4K R3D RAW files used from the edit we have 20TB of footage on 4x HDDs.

Is grading with 4K R3D RAW files/creating a 4K DCP possible on a very low budget? Does 4K always really hike up the cost or might it depend on who we're working with? If it's in no way feasible to work with the RAW files, can I trust myself to use the right ISO/Temperature settings if I have a far from advanced knowledge of what is optimal for adjustable RAW settings in regard to prepping them for grading/where they will end up?

Our deliverables would be DCP (ideally at both 4K and 2K...if we can afford 4K), HDCAM (potentially both NTSC and PAL) and then files for VOD and Home Video. I'm wondering if all of these need to be created by a post house and the manner in which this is done? We would certainly like to use a post house for the DCP creation but are not sure what needs to be done every time we need to provide a DCP to say a film festival, or if things like files for DVD and VOD can easily be done from say the DCP or Cinema Master that we might be provided with initially. I have read about DCDMs but am not exactly sure of their purpose - I presume they allow for the creation of say more DCPs and other files? Looking for the cheapest/best way to go about creating all of these.

Regarding the files put into a DCP, I understand these are MXF for the video and audio and XML for related info. I am wondering what is the last stage that is it possible to alter the edit/files the graded files, if say I needed to create a stripped down TV edit that was 30 minutes shorter at a later date? Would this entail doing certain elements all over again or can the MXF files in the DCP or Cinema Master be edited/cut down in order to create alternate versions?

Any thoughts and tips on the processes would be hugely appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Marc Wielage]

You should find a way to media manage all your files so that only the R3Ds that actually wound up in the finished film are sent over to the post facility. Talk to them in advance and find out how they'd like the files to be organized. Start a database to track each set of shots and each version of the reels to facilitate organization.

I personally request that the film be cut into 20-minute reels (long industry tradition), simply because it makes it easier to make editorial changes on down the line and the file saves are faster. If you make -- say -- a 2 shot change in the movie, it's easier to change those two shots in one 20-minute reel than it is to do so in one 2-hour reel. It's also more convenient for the sound department and the VFX department to deal with reels when fixes and/or changes are required.

There are pros and cons to using R3Ds vs. ProRes or DPX log files for final color correction. Hundreds of major summer blockbusters have been done from DPX with no problem, and many dozens of network TV series are routinely done from ProRes Log with no problem. In a perfect world, I'd prefer to go from the R3Ds, but there are efficiencies to be had with ProRes, particularly for projects with limitations of time and budget.

It's very, very important to use the correct ISO and color temperature settings, whether you output ProRes or grade from the R3D files directly. I find sometimes going a little bit under (say, an ISO of 500 or 600) can give you a little more apparent headroom from ISO 800 files, but it doesn't make a huge amount of difference since you can make that up either way within the available controls in most color-corrections software. The color-temperature controls do need to be right on, just to provide a better starting point for the grade.

Assuming the film was edited with proxies, I request a small QuickTime LT copy of each reel just to use for reference so we can make sure the R3D or ProRes 444 files represent the exact same cut as the version seen by the editor and director. I also use that color as a general guideline of how you've been watching the movie -- again, just as a starting point. If there were any custom LUTs used, I have a discussion with the DP to outline what was done and how we can reproduce that look in final color. I have been through situations where we completely through out the client's LUTs and just started over, and the pictures we got in the final were considerably better in terms of range and detail.

I like the look of RC3/RC4 and RedLogFilm, and think you can get a reasonable look out of that just with the existing primaries, secondaries, and curves. It does help to provide the post facility with any and all camera charts shot on each day of production to help give them an idea of how the camera was set up and what the lighting conditions were on set.

There are arguments you can make pro and con in color-timing in a DCI projection facility for theatrical release, vs. color-timing in a traditional grading room with a large calibrated Rec709 monitor. My take is, if you plan on a large theatrical release and have a committed distributor, go with the former. If this is a small film with a more narrow audience, time in a Rec709 room and convert to P3 colorspace for a DCP later on. The moment you have your DCP in hand, view it from start to finish in a calibrated DCI theater so there are no surprises during release.

TV edits have different parameters depending on the specific deliverables list from the distributor. It's very likely you could use 90% of the color decisions made for the theatrical versions, then just make an alternate version of each reel with the cuts and replacements made and render the "TV safe" versions separately. Ideally, they should use the same color corrections and drop right in, but the mix will most likely have to be changed as well.

Titling also has to sometimes be handled slightly different for TV than theatrical, depending on whether the filmmakers want to change the aspect ratio for TV. If the final film is 2.39, it's generally recommended that you create a 2.39 and a 1.78 full-frame version for home video. (A handful still requires a 4x3 1.33 version as well, but these are finally starting to go away.) Different distributors will want different file formats, different kinds of slates, different drives, backup tapes, and even HDCam-SR submasters -- surprisingly, videotape still survives in some quarters.

I also believe it's wise to hire an experienced post supervisor who knows how to guide projects at this difficult stage. He or she can arrange deals, book sound editorial sessions to finalize dialogue and the need for ADR, hire a sound designer to come up with an overall philosophy for the mix, hire a music supervisor to get affordable tracks that help tell the story (either through songs or orchestral pieces). hire a VFX supervisor to get all the composites and CGI done, and create a schedule for each facet to be accomplished, along with a proper budget. Ideally, the post supervisor should help you save money, and also make sure every one on the team is kept up to date as how the film is progressing, what changes are made, and also makes sure each part of the team has access to their materials at the right moment.

Finding the right grading facility requires finding a colorist who's artistically comfortable with the project and someone who has the right personality to work with the director and cinematographer's demands. You also need to establish early on how many hours the project will need to conform and grade, how much time is allotted for fixes, and enough time to render all the files needed for final delivery. Note that multiple soundtrack files -- 5.1 mixes, 7.1 mixes, M&E-only mixes (for foreign), split mixes (for TV) are also mandatory, as sometimes are stereo mixes. The mixes must be done in theaters that observe normal industry guidelines for reference levels (typically 85dB for theatrical and 79dB for TV), and you can't automatically use one type of mix for the other.

 

[Chris Henze]

I wouldn't concern myself with 4K anything when you're working with a limited budget. It's taxing enough on systems and dollars to complete a well done HD master. Finish the piece, sell it and use the fame and fortune for your next piece that can be properly budgeted for a 4K finish. Also, I watched my 2K movie in major theaters all over the US and it looked great, I haven't had one person tell me that they really liked the movie but it would be better if I finished it in 4K. So be weary of that old filmmaker ego that fools us into believing unless we're on the cutting edge our stuff isn't good enough.

I also agree with Marc.

 

[Björn Benckert]

To sort the used media. I usually do this.
In FCP go trough the edit and pull out all fades, timewarps etc in a way so that all the material that was used in the edit is still in the timeline. So for example a 200% speeded clip becomes twice as long and can be placed on a layer above the edit or such. So simply all frames in the films used in a timeline with only straight cuts spread out on layers. And yes before you do so you should have saved a copy of your master edit timeline.

So this new timeline you can export as XML and import in for example RCXP or resolve or any such program and from there export r3d trimmed with ( I would do) 100 frames of heads and tails. Make this export to a seperate disk, It will not be much material just the duration of the film and 200 frames extra for each cut. While doing this you can also take the time and adjust your color settings for these clips. Usually I do some balancing and iso and then switch them to RLF.

When the r3d trim export is done you can double check your media by opening your fcp project and relink to the new drive and it´s content from your master timeline. If all goes well, well then it should do the same in the grading suite.

And yes do all than Marc wrote above.

1. devide it into 5 acts / 20 minute segments.
2. Export progress proxy files preferably also with sound from each act. Do this with low quality. Proress LT or proxy and at HD resolution. Then it´s not slowing down to much when used later, it does not need to be 444 or any fancy codec.
3. export XML for each act.

Tell the post houses you fancy that you got the above, and describe what you want done in terms of grading, mastering, dubs.

If it was me I would make only one 4k 444 master and then strike all the dubs from there. That way you can also wait with some of the dubs until they get requested and you got a main master that got resolution to last for post HD times.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I wouldn't concern myself with 4K anything when you're working with a limited budget. It's taxing enough on systems and dollars to complete a well done HD master. Finish the piece, sell it and use the fame and fortune for your next piece that can be properly budgeted for a 4K finish.

And that's a very good answer, too. If your distributor specifically asks for 4K, then finish it in 4K. Otherwise, for movies with a limited budget, a 2K or HD finish is affordable and practical. 4K adds quite a bit of time to the whole process, but it's certainly doable if you have very few visual effects and lots of time to get it done. But just solving the monitoring situation is challenging.