Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - Efficiency in the cutting room and dub stage

philper · 12th February 2009

So when you folks load everything for a dramatic feature up into a super session, do you still have big markers or etc to show you where the reel breaks will be? The film still has to be edited to accommodate film reels, and so when do you do the pullups etc? After the mix is a separate session? In TV doc world we've been in the super session mode for a long time, for better or worse. It is more efficient in terms of getting at sounds from other places in the film, and gets everyone thinking how the film will play as a whole right from the start. But it is more taxing to the DAW, and as was said, there is a greater possibility of Automation Disaster if you aren't scrupulous about backups. In the earlier thread about fading all regions, it seemed to me that most DAWs have a way to preset how it cuts files, ie as a default fade of some length and shape, and that works pretty well. I don't see a need to "fix" a fade if the clip in question is sitting well in the track.

An issue that hasn't been brought up yet in this "efficiency" thread is how you set yourself up for doing the dreaded TV network "undipped" split-stems. I'm continuing to tweak mixer and busing setups to try to get the number of bounce passes down re this issue, but there are some things that are still mutually exclusive and can't be done at the same time, or so it seems to me. I'd love to hear how some of you heavy hitters set up to deal with making all those wonderful deliverables as easily as possible.

The issue of how an editor sets up their tracks which then get OMFed to us will always be a bone of contention I guess. I don't see how I will ever avoid the hours of detective work finding everything in an import, although some basic organizing on the part of the editor certainly helps.

A last question is how you handle an editor who thinks (possibly with good reason) that they have essentially "mixed" the film already, and wants their mix used as the work goes on--including pans, levels, EQ and maybe even more complex signal processing?

Philip Perkins

12th February 2009	#11
philper Lives for gear Joined: Dec 2005 Location: San Francisco area Posts: 2,419	So when you folks load everything for a dramatic feature up into a super session, do you still have big markers or etc to show you where the reel breaks will be? The film still has to be edited to accommodate film reels, and so when do you do the pullups etc? After the mix is a separate session? In TV doc world we've been in the super session mode for a long time, for better or worse. It is more efficient in terms of getting at sounds from other places in the film, and gets everyone thinking how the film will play as a whole right from the start. But it is more taxing to the DAW, and as was said, there is a greater possibility of Automation Disaster if you aren't scrupulous about backups. In the earlier thread about fading all regions, it seemed to me that most DAWs have a way to preset how it cuts files, ie as a default fade of some length and shape, and that works pretty well. I don't see a need to "fix" a fade if the clip in question is sitting well in the track. An issue that hasn't been brought up yet in this "efficiency" thread is how you set yourself up for doing the dreaded TV network "undipped" split-stems. I'm continuing to tweak mixer and busing setups to try to get the number of bounce passes down re this issue, but there are some things that are still mutually exclusive and can't be done at the same time, or so it seems to me. I'd love to hear how some of you heavy hitters set up to deal with making all those wonderful deliverables as easily as possible. The issue of how an editor sets up their tracks which then get OMFed to us will always be a bone of contention I guess. I don't see how I will ever avoid the hours of detective work finding everything in an import, although some basic organizing on the part of the editor certainly helps. A last question is how you handle an editor who thinks (possibly with good reason) that they have essentially "mixed" the film already, and wants their mix used as the work goes on--including pans, levels, EQ and maybe even more complex signal processing? Philip Perkins