Going with the flow

This has been the state of my head for the past couple of weeks:



I thought I was relatively au fait with computers, videos and technology, but trying to nail down the workflow for Hero & Leander has been the one of the most complicated things I've ever tried to work out.

Nobody should have to go through this amount of short circuiting headaches to get it all sorted.

After hours upon hours of reading through manuals, posting on various internet forums (the best one being the Creative COW ones) asking friends, colleagues, and filmmakers such as Chris Jones, I've finally nailed down a solid workflow for H&L.

Well almost. The only things I'll need help on will be outputting the final master to various tape formats, such as DigiBeta, Betacam SP, and/or HDCAM SR. That will involve taking my digital master (and Final Cut Pro project, probably) to a post house/facility, and using tape decks and other equipment to record it to the tapes.

But apart from that - it's all worked out! I'll be able to create DVDs for PAL and NTSC regions, with a minimum amount of fuss and artifacts, as well as an HD digital master that I can keep for a variety of other formats.

Understanding this workflow has allowed me to be happy and confident with the road ahead for Hero and Leander, knowing that I'll be working with the highest quality, most compatible options all along the way.

I think I'm going to create a YouTube video with loads of relevant tags, so hopefully anyone doing a similar thing and in need of help, might stumble upon it.

But for now, here is the text version of Hero & Leander workflow:

Step 1: Creating Assets
1 Scan in original artwork at best resolution possible.
2 Process each scan in Photoshop
3 Save .psd and .tif versions of each element required
4. Back up elements
5 Create a working directory of assets

Step 2: Creating Shots
1 Create HnL After Effects project template:
Master Shot Comp
1920x817, 23.976p fps, 16bpc Rec 709 linear,
Working Comp
23.976, 16bpc Rec 709 linear.

2 Create unique AE project for each required shot.
3 Import relevant elements for each project/shot
4 Animate
5 Output:
Master
Apple ProRes 444 movie
Offline
Apple ProRes 422 transcode

6 Back up each output

Step 3: Perform Offline Cut
Final Cut Pro Settings: Same as AE Shots
1 Cut together video (Cross Dissolve is the only transition to be used in Final Cut Pro, all others must be done within the After Effects shot itself)
2 Work with temp Sound FX and music
collaborate with friends on master SFX and music
3 Complete offline edit

Step 4: Online reconform
1 Use Media Manager to create duplicate offline project, with ProRes 444 settings
2 Re-connect offline clips to Master ProRes 4444 assets.
3 Check online conform is correct.
4 Save and back up project.
5 Use 'Send To Color' command to use an .xml to create a Color version of the project

Step 5: Grade
1 Perform grade in Color
2 Render out final graded online clips
3 Send back to FCP by using .xml to create a new FCP project "...(from Color)" that will be automatically linked to graded ProRes 444 clips.

Step 6: Final Output
1 Ensure mastered video clips are correct
2 Complete final SFX and music
3 Output final digital master

Step 7: Format transcodes
note: this is the stage where the 1920x817 (2.35:1) master image may be letterboxed to a 16:9 format.
1 Create best possible quality framerate conversions for PAL and NTSC
(this uses advanced Frame Contol settings in Compressor)
2 Create MEPG-2 versions, best possible quality
3 Create DVD masters for both regions.

Step 8: Tape-outs
note: this is the stage where the 1920x817 (2.35:1) master image may be letterboxed to a 16:9 format.
1 Contact post houses for options on tape-outs...

And that's it!

It has been so confusing trying to work out all the incongruities between all the myriad formats.

The main headaches have been framerate and video formats. But just to be clear:

USE 23.976 (called 23.98 in Final Cut Studio, but Adobe CS4 calls in 23.976) frames per second (progressive) FOR YOUR BASIC WORKING FRAMERATE!

Do NOT use 24 frames progressive, unless your only output is going to be a film print.

Do NOT use 25 frames progressive, unless your only output will be to a PAL video format and you are certain you will never ever require a different framerate.

23.976 leaves you with the most options for converting to other regions/framerates, formats, and media (DVDs, tapes, Blu-Rays).

In terms of video formats, if you want to be extra cautious, create a master TIFF image sequence of every animation shot.

But for your working 'offline' media, use Apple ProRes 422 (or a lower variant) for use in Final Cut Pro.

For you master resolution 'online' media, use ProRes 444. This will be sufficient for grading in Color.

At least, this is the conclusion I've come to.

More soon on systems and software.

Locked?

I almost saved and ouputted the 10th storyboard a few days earlier. But then I looked at a structure graph I drew for the story, then at my timeline of the storyboard, and it suddenly hit me just how long the third act was (when Hero is on the roof). It was almost half the entire piece!

I thought this was just too long, and makign it shorter would not only make it more climactic, but the shock and emotion of it all would hopefully be all the more powerful.

So I savagely cut away probably half of what was originally drawn for Act Three. I've also made the montage clearer and other little bits too...



The result, I think, works. After spluttering and stumbling to this spot, I think I'm finally at the stage where I can re-board no longer. I've worked myself into this current three act, under 10 minute form, and with the content/direction I've gone for, I really fail to see what else could be changed.

So this has given me some thought on the rest of the process. Coming up in the next post: I spend some money, and produce a workflow overview...

Coming into focus

Behold the 9th board:



Much better than the 8th, much more cut and juggled around (including the end this time), and I think the first half of act two works this time.

The main thing I think still needs work is the passage of time: it just doesn't feel like a lot of time passes.

I've also used temp music from the superb True Blood score, which kind of works.

However, it's got to that stage now where I can barely see the wood from the trees, and part of me is feeling "I can't rework it any more!!!" But in saying that, I still don't feel totally satisfied with the storyboard, emotionally. But this is where I get confused because I've seen it so many damn times maybe it's inevitable that I'm desensitized to it all.

I've asked a few mates to watch it over, so hopefully I should be getting some feedback soon...

Build it up, tear it down!

The storyboard is back to 10 minutes:



Not altogether sure if it's an improvement. I'm not a huge fan of montages, and I think what I've done has actually made things less clear. I may have to rejig the last act a bit more.

I feel it's like I'm a couple squares away from a completed rubik's cube . . . but will I have to undo everything to fix those?

Hiatus over

Just like Toy Story in the cinemas, I'm back.

I've been back from the film job for a month now, and am filled with various feelings.

The job was awesome, can't think of a bad thing to say about my time on it.

I'm slightly unnerved about waiting around for the next job. Everyone I talked with said more or less that's all you can do, just wait to see what comes up, which is just . . . worrying.

However, it does mean I've been able to get back on track with Hero and Leander.

I spent a week up in Norwich with Sam Zuppardi, who has three enviable talents: he's half Itlalian, incredibly well read, and an amazing artist. What's more, he's lovely and modest about it all.

So we got down to some serious storyboarding action, besides the odd episode of Jonathan Creek, and I think the results are simply awesome:





For the first time, I feel this storyboard is really there in various ways. It's made the goalposts tangible.

There are various things that still need work, but I really only a few more revisions and I should be there.

I'll post more thoughts soon, I might include some of the research I'll be doing into Hellenistic times, but for the time being, some film reviews:

Adventureland: Cute
Away We Go: Great
Sin Nombre: Gripping
Creation: Crap
Surrogates: Dire
The Soloist: Dissapointing.
Toy Story 3D: Superb!

Split/Shift

Well, those four weeks have just sped by. I've come to the end of my first stint of night shifts, and am using the bank holiday to switch back over to days.

The experience was certainly lonely (nobody else was in the cutting room block, or the studios, at night), but not necessarily weird. I could play my music as loud as I wanted and basically do what I wanted as long as the work got done. Usually all the actual work would get done around 2am, after which time I just have to monitor the backing up processes.

But as I say, it got to be extremely lonely. I would turn up for work and everyone would go "Hey Will's here, lets go home!" And then it would just be me and BBC iPlayer for the evening.

In terms of inspiration for ideas, I did start thinking about some kind of sci-fi love story called "Split/Shift" about two people separated by the routine of their work. I was drawing symbols of split clocks, they ying yang, and developed into two satellites orbiting a planet.

I thought one satellite could be some kind of emitter of something, beaming directly at this planet, and the other satellite (on the exact opposite orbit) would receive whatever signal got through. Together they're either studying this planet, or saving it from dying, or making it die or whatever. But the point is they're both tied to their split shifts. GEDIIT?!?

Anyway, I was pondering over it when I realised I was making the exact same mistakes as my first year feature back at Leeds - I was focusing on the science of the science fiction, and not the characters.

But I do find it an intriguing nugget, so will probably carry on drawing inspiration from when I switch over to days.

Back to the job at hand though, and one of the good things about the night shift is that the workflow really is sweet. I was in a rather good rhythm by the end of it, which is always a good sign.

So, I now just to have to stay awake during the day. I got back fairly early last night (5am) and slept for a couple hours straight away. It's now 9.30am, the mission: stay up.

Oh yeah I've managed to catch some movies:

Star Trek: Frickin' awesome. Never even seen an episode before but thought this was a brilliant movie.

Coraline: Meh, saw it in 3d but still rather . . . boring.

Wolverine: Not a masterpiece, but not as bad as some people make out.

State of Play: wonderful

More soon...

Dark Was The Night...

So this was the week that was my first experience of a proper big budget hollywood movie. On the previous film I worked on, which was a low budget independent, I used maybe three of four hard drives in total for backing up the data (i.e. the raw footage). On my first day I walk into the Data Wrangler room . . . and there are three entire bookcases full of hard drives.

That was my first eye opener to the scale of this production.

The beginning of the week was a bit rocky as the finer details of the workflow were still be ironed out, but by friday we were on a smoothly running ship. I was really back in the flow of the previous film. Collecting hard drives, running back ups, running transcodes, checking footage.

It sure beats working for a living.

The major new aspect is the hours I'm starting from monday - the night shift. I've been prepping my body clock all weekend. I slept in as much as I could today, had my breakfast at about 6pm, just had lunch at about midnight, and it's now 2.30am. I aim to stay up until about 10am tops. If I make it to that, then I'll be all set for the night shift hours.

It's actually quite exciting. I'm really looking forward to the kind of weird state it'll put me in, because I think it'll be inspiring for stories.

For now though, I'm going watch some movies, read some books, and just try not to fall asleep.

More soon...