Mixing for Blu Ray, Broadcast, etc...

DigitalVictim · 12th September 2010

Hey guys. I was wondering what standard procedure was when mixing to picture that will be released in multiple formats. I'm working on a 3D animation, where the locked cut I've received is at 30 frames per second.

This will ultimately be on Blu-Ray and possibly Broadcast on TV. If I work at 30fps in Pro Tools, will a Blu Ray finishing house be able to convert the video and audio appropriately? I know the length of the audio can never change, so how do they go about converting the video to the proper framerate while keeping the length of the film exactly the same?

Basically what I'm asking is, is this my problem? Or is it totally up to someone else down the Post Production chain to worry about it after it leaves my hands?

I know this must be an extremely common thing for Hollywood films that are released on TV, Cinemas and DVD.

Vytis · 15th September 2010

Hi,
I think the main concern when dealing with multiple release formats is levels - cinema mix typically has higher dynamic range, whereas TV will be narrower and specifications may differ depending on network, but you'll find lots of useful info regarding these issues in a sticky at the top of this forum.
Regarding the framerate...
There are actually two ways of standards-converting video. One where the duration doesn't change and doesn't affect the audio (but frames are blended and inerlaced in order to include the information that is getting lost (ie 5 frames when going from NTSC-PAL), but the other common way is to set the video playback rate to the desired format and that results in a longer or shorted duration (depending on which way you're going). In such case the DVD Authoring house would quite likely automatically apply the timestretching themselves, but I'd never trust this method as this is something the authoring house worry about the least and would always do it myself using the best possible algorithm. For Blu-Ray there are many framerate options and if they go for 60i you'd not need to do anything extra.
Hope this helps.

12th September 2010	#1
DigitalVictim Gear Head Joined: May 2010 Location: New York Posts: 68 Thread Starter	Mixing for Blu Ray, Broadcast, etc... Hey guys. I was wondering what standard procedure was when mixing to picture that will be released in multiple formats. I'm working on a 3D animation, where the locked cut I've received is at 30 frames per second. This will ultimately be on Blu-Ray and possibly Broadcast on TV. If I work at 30fps in Pro Tools, will a Blu Ray finishing house be able to convert the video and audio appropriately? I know the length of the audio can never change, so how do they go about converting the video to the proper framerate while keeping the length of the film exactly the same? Basically what I'm asking is, is this my problem? Or is it totally up to someone else down the Post Production chain to worry about it after it leaves my hands? I know this must be an extremely common thing for Hollywood films that are released on TV, Cinemas and DVD.

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15th September 2010	#2
Vytis Gear addict Joined: Jan 2009 Location: Vilnius Posts: 427	Hi, I think the main concern when dealing with multiple release formats is levels - cinema mix typically has higher dynamic range, whereas TV will be narrower and specifications may differ depending on network, but you'll find lots of useful info regarding these issues in a sticky at the top of this forum. Regarding the framerate... There are actually two ways of standards-converting video. One where the duration doesn't change and doesn't affect the audio (but frames are blended and inerlaced in order to include the information that is getting lost (ie 5 frames when going from NTSC-PAL), but the other common way is to set the video playback rate to the desired format and that results in a longer or shorted duration (depending on which way you're going). In such case the DVD Authoring house would quite likely automatically apply the timestretching themselves, but I'd never trust this method as this is something the authoring house worry about the least and would always do it myself using the best possible algorithm. For Blu-Ray there are many framerate options and if they go for 60i you'd not need to do anything extra. Hope this helps.