Avid Xpress Pro for the Independent Filmmaker. Avid Post Production

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Dustin Rice
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1 Avid Xpress Pro for the Independent Filmmaker Avid Post Production

2 Table of Contents Introduction Production Capture Prep and manage Output and post processes Summary

3 Introduction Never before has there been such an abundance of camera and format choices available to the independent filmmaker. And the decisions content creators are required to make in acquisition must be weighed against an ever growing list of delivery methods, including theatrical, DVD, podcasting, and more. Even though these choices can be complex, the choice of post production tools need not be. The solution is an editing tool that can easily adapt and manage the variety of formats and workflows while preserving them for any type of distribution from DV to HD to film. The versatility of Avid Xpress Pro software makes it ideal for independent filmmakers. [Figure 1] Production While technical in nature, formats and frame rates are a creative choice: a choice that is often dictated by budgets and equipment available. Avid editing solutions are based on 15 years of editor feedback generated from every workflow imaginable. From small personal films to large-scale features like King Kong, the careful balance of a creative editorial toolset supported by robust and integrated metadata management makes Avid second to none for any kind of production regardless of format or destination. Of even greater importance to the independent filmmaker is the support for 24-frame formats; whether from film or 24-frame video cameras. When moving from 24-frame capture into post production, the filmmaker needs to preserve the highest quality image when going back to film for a theatrical release. Avid has been supporting native 24-frame editing since 1992 and was the first nonlinear editing company to do so. This technology 1

4 changed the way Hollywood made films and resulted in Avid winning an Oscar statuette in 1998 for Scientific and Technical Achievement for the concept, design, and engineering of the Avid Film Composer system for motion picture editing. As the industry changes, so do the workflows. Because of the proliferation of low-cost 24-frame cameras and low-cost HD-based DI (digital intermediate) solutions for film productions, many more filmmakers have access to high quality tools to tell their story. Avid editing systems offer unique and highly refined features designed to meet the specific needs of the independent filmmaker. These features can be found throughout the application; from input to output. Capture Avid editing solutions provide the most flexible capture solutions for 24-frame workflows on the market today, including the Normal and Advanced cadence types in DV cameras such as the Panasonic AG-DVX100 series and the Canon XL2. Flags are embedded in the DV stream to identify the redundant fields of the 2:3 pulldown cadence from 24 fps sources when working in 30 fps video. For example, dubbing material captured with Advanced pulldown to any other format using SDI strips the flags from the DV data stream. Only Avid allows both types of cadences to be captured over FireWire even when the flags in the DV stream are not present. Avid editing products can still capture this material correctly over FireWire or over SDI. Another common issue is when dubs are made for offline editing. The design of the Avid Xpress Pro capture model allows any pulldown cadence on any timecode relationship to be captured. Other solutions, such as Apple Final Cut Pro, require an A frame to always fall on numbers ending with 0 or 5 (:00, :05, :10, :15, :20, :25) for 30 frame non-drop timecodes. Although this is a recommended practice it is not always the case in film-totape situations. In fact, this method only represents 20% of all possible pulldown/timecode relationships. Avid allows the full 100% of possibilities to be captured for either pulldown cadence type. The refined film capability of Avid Xpress Pro technology allows the filmmaker to keep making creative choices without technical barriers. Audio processes during production are also important to consider. As the industry moves towards file-based audio recorders, support for BWF (Broadcast Wav File) and its associated metadata become more and more important to the overall workflow. In addition to the metadata contained within the header, Avid also supports.1% sample 2 rates (such as khz and khz) to support 24 fps and fps digital audio workflows. This makes it possible to maintain a pure digital audio pipeline from acquisition to delivery with no sample rate conversions, regardless of project type.

Prep and manage In today s evolving production environment, a project may include frame-based, filebased, film-based, and video-based assets for all frame rates!

5 Prep and manage In today s evolving production environment, a project may include frame-based, filebased, film-based, and video-based assets for all frame rates! The Avid Xpress Pro software is able to manage and track all the metadata (from all acquisition formats) directly within the editorial toolset. Other solutions force the editor to use external database programs, a method limited in both ability and security. Only Avid integrates the ability to track every type of metadata, regardless of its source type. At any point in time the user can instantly track source and record metadata on any frame. User-created custom columns and dozens of other standard columns are available for data tracking, in addition to frame-based metadata, camera roll, scene, take, UNC, and LUT information. The following is just one example of metadata generated from a single source element as it travels from the set to the editor. In managing picture and sound acquisition, film production requires a double system process in which sound and images are recorded to separate media. Although it is technically possible to record picture and sound together to tape for video-based projects, including HD, it is usually desirable to employ double-system production here as well. In both film and video production, Avid offers superior source management tools. Primary among them is the AutoSync feature, which allows for quick and easy 3

6 synchronization of picture and sound via common timecode, IN points or OUT points. After the AutoSync process, syncing to the frame is also available, providing sub-frame accurate sync when needed. Once the sync is performed, the clips can be quickly converted to a source sequence, recreating in one step a sequence that frame accurately matches the source video dailies. From here it is a simple, and often used, process for doing an audio layback to the video sources with high quality and perfectly synced sound. All of these elements are easily managed in the project/folder/bin hierarchy that is available within the editing application. The user can also sift and sort through any bin to find the clip or clips needed for the edit. But there are other, even more powerful methods for managing material within the Avid Xpress Pro software. Script-based editing is one such tool. With the exception of many documentaries, the shooting script is the heart and soul of every production and is the source of the lined script, or editor s bible. Avid offers a unique Script-based Editing interface allows all the footage to be synced to the text of the script itself, making it easy to reference coverage of any line of dialog as well as to loop/play review takes. This lets the director and editor find the exact performance, look, or moment that makes the story come alive. Output and post processes In most projects, editorial is not the end of the process. Film, for example, will go through conform, finishing and mastering steps to get it ready for the chosen distribution channels (theatrical, HD, SD, DVD, etc.). Avid provides the industry s most complete and accurate set of metadata output for any downstream process. There are a growing number of these output formats and projects often require delivering many of them, including:g EDLs, OMF and AAF, cutlists for negative and DI workflows in HTML, TAB files, or printed lists. All are needed to satisfy diverse collaborative environments. As with any creative process, the only thing that s constant is change. Avid also provides change lists for picture and sound to allow any downstream process to work simultaneously with editorial; resulting in the most efficient and cost-effective workflow possible. Sound post is also critical; bad sound is a sign of a low-budget film. Avid interoperability between picture and sound editorial is second to none. Avid sequences can export 4 OMF, AAF, and all media to Digidesign Pro Tools, the industry leader in audio post production solutions. After selecting sequences and source clips, the user only has to do

7 a one-step selection of Send to whatever formats they desire. Avid Xpress Pro software does the rest by grabbing all necessary media assets and sending them to any prescribed destination a local drive or via DigiDelivery to any WAN destination. Summary Host CPUs get more powerful and less expensive year after year due to the increase in computing power and the cost decrease in components. As a result, today s Avid Xpress Pro software offers greater speed and editorial functionality today than a Media Composer system from the mid 1990 s. Even on a laptop. While editorial performance is critical, it remains a single point in a much greater process. The success of the editing tools themselves is largely dependent on how fluid they are in accepting and delivering elements that exist outside the edit suite. Avid solutions, scaling from single producer/director/editor workstations to full LAN/WAN collaborative workflows, have been tested and refined in the most demanding production environments. From independent features like Hustle and Flow, to the blockbuster Spider-Man series, Avid editing systems remain the professionals choice. 5

8 Corporate Headquarters AVID (2843) Asian Headquarters European Headquarters To find your regional Avid office, visit Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product features, specifications, system requirements and availability are subject to change without notice. AutoSync, Avid, Avid Xpress, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, do more, Film Composer, Media Composer, OMF, and Pro Tools are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. FireWire is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective companies. AXPIFWP0606

Avid HD Workflows. Avid Postproduction

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