HD Post Production Sample Workflows
HD Studios personnel have served as offline editors, CG artists, online editors, colorists, post supervisors, and technical advisors on countless features, documentaries, commercials, concerts, and television shows. Since formats are changing so rapidly, a few of these projects are listed below to give you a sense of HD and HDV workflow.
QUINCEANERA
Drama
In December of 2005, HD Studios LLC handled post production for several weeks on a feature called Quinceanera. On Quinceanera, we provided HD online, color correction, compositing, a 2:35:1 mask, speed changes and subtitling using our Avid DS/HD Nitris. Quinceanera went on to become the first HD feature in history to win both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
Synopsis
Quinceanera is a look inside an extended Latino family living in Echo Park, California. As her fifteenth birthday nears Magdelena, played by Emily Rios, is consumed with her boyfriend, her sister's Quinceanera dress that she will also wear, and lobbying her father for a Hummer limousine that will whisk her to the ceremony in style. This vision is destroyed when she becomes pregnant a couple months before the ritual. Her father, who runs a church in a storefront that also sells tamales, casts her out after she fails a pregnancy test but will not admit to having sex.
Magdelena moves into a coach-house with her great-great uncle, Tomas. Tomas has a beautiful heart when it comes to taking in wayward family. Magdelena's nineteen year-old, gay cousin, Carlos, is already living in Tomas' house after being thrown out by his father for looking at a gay pornographic site.
Tomas' coach-house is located on property recently purchased by two affluent, gay men. These men became inextricably entangled in the private lives of their tenants with terrible results. Magdelena and Carlos grow closer, having both been cast out by sexually conservative Latino families and wish to help their loving 83-year-old uncle. They attempt to navigate around the wave of gentrification as it crashes squarely on their neighborhood. This all occurs as Magdelena's child prepares to enter this world.
Technical Workflow
Quinceanera was shot using a Sony HDW F900 high definition camera. Unlike other "HD" cameras it is has 2/3" CCD chips, captures in 1080 23.976P, and allows for unparalleled control of the image before it records to tape. Although, the camera always records a 16:9 image to tape, masks were set-up within the camera allowing the operator to frame for 2.35:1. With a great understanding of the camera and optics Director of Photography, Eric Steelberg, constantly challenges even the most discerning eye while watching the 35mm print of Quinceanera to tell the difference between a feature sourced with a 35mm camera and one sourced with a Sony F900 high-definition camera.
After Quinceanera's offline editing was completed on Final Cut Pro 5.0, HD Studios LLC performed the online, color correction, compositing, speed changes, 2:35:1 mask, and subtitling using an Avid DS/HD Nitris. Once finishing was complete, Quinceanera was mastered to HDCAM and then transferred to 35mm film for its first screening at the Sundance Film Festival.
Distribution
After eleven days of screenings at Sundance, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland (co-directors/co-writers of Quinceanera) realized a dream. Their movie became the first HD feature to win both the Audience Award and Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, won numerous other festivals, and Sony Pictures Classics picked it up for distribution. The feature had a limited release in New York and Los Angeles on August 4, 2006 and opened across the country in late August. The trailer of Quinceanera can be viewed at http://www.sonyclassics.com/quinceanera/.
STAR WARS: EPSIODE III
DVD Extras
From March to August of 2005, Lucasfilm selected HD Studios as its post finishing house. HD Studios provided online and color correction for LucasFilm for web documents, trailers, commercials, and behind-the-scenes DVD extras for Star Wars: Episode III. Our Avid DS/HD Nitris and editor were used for the project and online and color correction were performed at our offices in Los Angeles and Northern California.
The advantage of using an Avid DS/HD Nitris system is that in addition to being an extremely capable online and color-correction system, it can also be used for offline and compositing. It is a remarkable stand-alone finishing system.
A 10-bit, three-way primary color corrector is augmented by a secondary color corrector. Mattes can also be used to target only specific areas for color-correction as well. Countless effects trees can be built to perform a specific chain of events to manipulate the image.
SOVEREIGNTY
Public Service Announcement
HD Studios' and 900 Frames produced a commercial encouraging Iraqi citizens to vote called Sovereignty. The commercial aired before the country's first democratic elections.
After the commercial was shot using a 35mm camera, the film was telecined to DigiBeta. The footage was then digitized into the Avid DS HD Nitris. The Avid DS HD Nitris is not only capable of HD online, HD color correction, and compositing, it can also do SD offline, SD online, and SD color correction. Therefore standard definition offline editing could be done on the Avid DS HD Nitris. After the offline editing was completed, it was time for compositing. The storyboard called for military convoy consisting of jeeps, tanks, and helicopters. We had access to 24 vehicles including three tanks and one helicopter. The camera was locked down, and tracking points were set up in between the columns of vehicles to establish reference points for compositing. Multiple passes were then conducted and shot.
In the Avid Nitris, these passes were then composited to form columns which consisted of 50 vehicles, including nine tanks and three helicopters. In order to complete the illusion of a military column dust was added and the sky was augmented.
Sovereignty was then mastered to DigiBeta (Digital Betacam).
The use of the Avid DS HD Nitris on this commercial demonstrates the power of this SD and HD editing system. It was used for offline, compositing, online, primary color correction, secondary color correction, online, and audio finishing.
SUICIDE TERROR LIVE (STL)
Public Service Announcement
Technical Workflow
Sister company 900 Frames was involved in pre-production as well as producing the 60-second Sovereignty commercial spot. Suicide Terror Live was shot on 35mm and included a 120 camera still array (Matrix/Swordfish). HD studios performed offline as well as online editing and color correction on the Avid DS Nitris.
AFTER THOUGHT
Horror/Thriller
Synopsis
After Thought is a parapsychological thriller where a teenage girl learns of her gift to communicate with the dead. She uses this power to help solve a local string of murders.
Technical Workflow
The film was shot using the Sony F-900 camera.
After editing was completed on Avid Express Pro, HD Studios was brought on to the project for online editing and color grading on the Avid DS Nitris.
AFTER...
Thriller
Synopsis
The feature After is about extreme urban explorers. They are a growing breed of thrill-seekers who thrive on infiltrating the planet's most dangerous man-made structures... just because they can.
Technical Workflow
The film was shot using two Sony HDV HVR-Z1Us and three DVCAM PAL "Lipstick" Cameras.
After... was cut with Final Cut Pro and Avid Express Pro, HD Studios onlined, color corrected and locked picture using the Avid DS Nitris.
THE RIPPLE EFFECT (in depth)
HD Studios' Sony HDW F900 HD cameras were rented to shoot a high definition feature starring Forrest Whittaker and Virginia Madsen. HDCAM tapes were downconverted on-set to DVCAM.
Offline editing was done in Final Cut Pro 5.0 using the following steps with a HD online/conform in mind:
- Since media was sourced in 23.976P and downconverted to 29.97i DVCAM, it is digitized into FCP at 29.97 using a DVCAM deck.
- These digitized clips were then converted to 23.976 clips using Cinematools, which was done with the online in mind.
Basically the HD downconversion process converts 24 progressive HD frames into 30 interlaced SD frames (called 3:2 pulldown). There are only 6 downconverted frames per second which accurately represent the original progressive frames. These are called the "A Frames," and can be found on downcoverts with timecodes ending in :00, :05, :10, :15, :20, and :25. The remaining 24 downconverted frames are either blended or interpolated from progressive frames.
- Cinematools performs a 3:2 remove to give the offline editor 23.976 clips. A 23.976 sequence is created in FCP and these 23.976 SD clips are used to produce an edited sequence. By using 23.976 clips, any frame can be used as an in-point. The EDL references the appropriate source frame during the online.
- After the 23.976 sequence has been edited, a CMX 3600 EDL is output for Avid HD online editing. Final audio mix can be done at this time as well. HD Studios recommends conducting your final audio mix after the online if time permits. We recommend this workflow because occasionally producers/directors wish to edit during a HD online session. Editing at this stage may affect audio timing.
AVID DS HD Nitris Overview
The Avid DS Nitris system offers multi-stream, 10-bit uncompressed HD, Avid DNxHD, and SD finishing and mastering as well as 2K/4K file-based editing with real-time 2K playback. It combines advanced creative and finishing software with high-performance Avid Nitris Digital Nonlinear Accelerator hardware for guaranteed real-time editing and effects. Create, edit, and master TV programs, films, and commercials with the resolution-independent Avid DS Nitris system.
If you know what a competing system can do compared to an Avid system there's no question which system you'd ideally wish to use. Video and audio editing, compositing, paint, character generation, special effects, image treatment, and media management are all integrated within a single interface.
Avid DS Nitris systems automatically re-create virtually every detail in high definition for projects edited on Avid Xpress and Media Composer editing systems. This obviously saves vast amount of money when it comes time for your HD online editing.
Combine the power of Avid Nitris processing with the efficiency of multi-resolution, 10- and 8-bit Avid DNxHD™ encoding for real-time HD productivity over Avid Unity media networks.
Juggle uncompressed HD and SD with comprehensive I/O connections and deliver the highest-quality results with multi-version editing and mastering.
Key Features of AVID DS HD Nitris
- Real-time uncompressed HD and SD: client-driven environments demand the highest quality at the fastest speeds. Avid Nitris hardware delivers 2 streams of uncompressed HD or 8 streams of uncompressed SD with real-time primary and secondary color correction, a real-time DVE or blur, and a real-time title and graphic on each stream. You can also mix and match SD and HD in the same timeline, in real time.
- Real-time 2K playback and DI conform: resolution-independent Avid DS Nitris systems support 4K and real-time 2K editing, with even greater productivity using a seamless HD proxy workflow. Streamline your DI workflow with seamless DPX file tracking in tandem with Media Composer Adrenaline HD editing systems.
- Advanced Conform: save valuable time in the online suite. The industry's highest level of AAF and OMF conform ensures that work created on Avid Xpress and Media Composer editing systems is automatically re-created on Avid DS Nitris finishing systems.
- An integrated creative environment allows you to keep the creativity flowing with sophisticated paint, compositing, and effects tools built into the editing and finishing interface. Take on more advanced projects, increase productivity, and keep client session moving with a seamless nonlinear workflow.
- Motion tracking and stabilization: when a re-shoot is out of the question, producers count on the finishing system to correct shaky camera footage and to merge real and synthesized elements in the frame. Avid Nitris systems offer integrated image stabilization tools that make precise, multi-point tracking and rock-solid stabilization fast and easy.
- Avid DNxHD encoding: work with all popular HD sources in a real-time collaborative environment and minimize storage and infrastructure costs. Avid DNxHD encoding is engineered to maintain mastering-quality images over multiple generations while consuming a fraction of the bandwidth of uncompressed HD, making it ideal for facilities who want to add high-quality HD capability to their existing workflow.
- Remote processing: free up your most valuable tools and talent by rendering in the background using an Avid DS Nitris RP (Remote Processing) system. Editors spend more time creating and less time watching—and waiting.
- Integrated hardware/software architecture: revolutionary Avid Digital Nonlinear Architecture (Avid DNA) integrates software and hardware into a single turnkey system for guaranteed performance, built-in scalability, and long-term technology investment protection. And only Avid can deliver one-stop service, support, and training based on nearly two decades of nonlinear film and video editing innovation.
High Definition Finishing on AVID DS Nitris vs. Final Cut Pro HD:
DS/HD Nitris v7.6
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Final Cut Pro HD
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