No budget feature. Why reels?

[pethenis]

DCP release? Last two i did went straight to the DCP Factory. Editor cut the film in reels, but the color correction guys just delivered one long image sequence to the DCP people. Still they requested delivery in reels instead of continuous files.

[smurfyou]

I'd guess either they have an experienced editor who is used to editing in reels or they have big hopes of making a film print someday. Most likely the latter given they probably didn't have money for an experienced editor.

You pull everything into a super session right? So mixing is straightforward in one project... Is it just making the deliverables you don't like? If so I'm with you. I'd much rather record, name, and export 1 mix rather than 5 separate pieces if there is no reason for it. Maybe it makes it feel like a "big" movie to see it in reels.

[philper]

Well, one super reel saves all the time figuring the pull ups etc. I was requested to do the last project I took to a dubstage (indie feature) in reels, even though it was an all ITB show once on the stage. They seemed more comfortable dealing with the smaller chunks, re video files etc.. I never did get a full answer.... All projects I do here on my own are one-session deals.

philp

[danijel]

Originally Posted by pethenis

DCP release?

+1 - DCP requires reels.

[smurfyou]

Originally Posted by danijel

+1 - DCP requires reels.

That could be it. But if its the kind of no-budget film I'm thinking of, DCP is not in the picture. Its usually a straight-to-DVD deal.

[thierryd]

I recently talked about DCP Reels with one of our picture colleagues upstairs.
Theoretically it's perfectly possible to make a DCP feature film in one file without reels.
There are 2 reasons why it's not done:
1) there might be a 35mm print needed later on
2) the file handling becomes an issue. One large DCP file is more difficult to send back and forth over networks, intra- and internet. And when there's a picture- or sound-update in one of the reels, it's easer to just adapt that one reel and QC it again, then to go over the whole film again.

Maybe in the future DCP without reels could become a new standard, but until now picture post prefers reels.

That said, picture prefers to receive sound reels without beeps with the exact length of the picture reel, because otherwise they have to cut the beeps and it is more handling for them (I had this answer from several picture houses)...

Greetings,

Thierry

[Mundox]

So would it be feasible to print the whole timeline then chop it to reels and export? If they want exact length then no room for cross fade handles.

[russeff]

Hello from Bulgaria! My first post. Accept my apologies for my bad english DCP packages needs to be in reels when there's dcp xml subtitle file in the package. When the *.xml file is large(more than 200 subtitles) it generates errors. The subtitle file is rendered by the server in projection. In my opinion this is the only reason that there's still DCP's in reels(and the 35mm). We are making a lot of DCP packages and the only reason to generate them in reels is the subtitles and the international versions. I'm re-recording mixer, but I'm interested in DCP packaging. Here in Bulgaria most of the films for TV are with subtitles yet. Only the foreign animated films for cinema are dubbed and there's no need to be in reels no matter they are 2D or 3D. The 3D package is with larger size of course

[MusicTrax]

Originally Posted by Henchman

Why do no budget feature makers still insist on delivering their final mix in reels.

I can think of several reasons:

1) tradition

2) providing the ability to work on self-contained reels out of order, which is a necessity when other pieces of the movie are being loaded / dismantled / changed / updated

3) complex rippled changes are easier done on smaller files rather than massive 2-hour or 2.5-hour files

4) backups, file transfers, and fixes are generally easier with shorter files as well.

TV shows generally come to video post as one 43- or 44-minute file (assuming a 1-hour episodic episode), but features are always around 18-20 minutes per reel. From a color-correction and editorial point of view, I'm much, much happier working with a 20-minute reel with hundreds of keyframe events than I am a massive 120-minute reel with thousands and thousands of events.