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Estimated time to online feature film?
I’m doing my first online/finish of a feature film from HDCAMSR..
Trying to figure out how long I’d need the deck.
What is the typical time frame to online a feature film?
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10 Replies
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This depends on how screwed up everything is.
Also, how many cuts, total run time, was everything properly logged & media managed, were the EDLs made properly… IOW, see above!
I’d book the deck for at least a week.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
So many variables and so little information.
Do you need the deck to playout the final or are you recapturing everything from tape? How long is the program and how many cuts? Are you grading or just final online?
Is the director fast or slow in decision making? How many cooks are stirring the pot? How many version do you need to output ( with text, textless )? How fast is you machine at rendering and what codec(s) are you using?
The answer may be just one day but again it depends on so many intangibles.
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Here are some answers, sorry for my vagueness. (this a mega low budget project ironically shot on 35mm)
Idea is this..
Online the feature to ProRes 4444.
13 Tapes.
Not a ton of cuts.Color grade without the deck! (save money)
re rent deck when grade is done.
output to HDCAMSR or DVD/Blu-Ray if money is depleted.
My question is how long does it take to just online the feature, no grade or fx.. that is a separate number.
I’m just trying to make sure I don’t underquote the deck rental or over quote it.final output will just be the feature, no versioning.
machine is
8core mac pro 2.26 with 12GB ram.
ATI 4870
8tb raid -
So you are recapturing from tape. As Arnie said how has the project been managed? Is the offline done on FCP? How were the rushes captured? What frame rate is both the offline and online?
The variable that most affects machine rental will be if the edit to online workflow is solid so if you want some help you really need to give a lot of details because managing the workflow is the only way to save money on a low budget show. Ironically the mistakes made on low budget films are inversely proportional to the budget as inexperienced people stumble around without research.
It is commendable that you are doing your homework but you need to tells us a lot more before we can guestimate in a useful way.
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For a 90 minute piece: loading from HDCAM based on an offline typically takes me 1 day. Perhaps 2 if there was crappy logging in editorial. I prefer to rent the deck for an entire week just to not feel rushed, especially if editorial was a disorganized mess when they were loading.
The ONLINE/FINISHING can take anywhere from speedy week to 3+ months. It’s completely beholden to the complexity and needs of the film.
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[Michael Gissing] “Ironically the mistakes made on low budget films are inversely proportional to the budget as inexperienced people stumble around without research. “
Yup, that’s the beauty of it.
Now you’re going to find out something unpleasant, like that they crash captured their miniDV downconverts without timecode, and you’ll have to spend a couple of days (or weeks) hand writing your EDL. Or that they didn’t number their tapes when they first captured. Or both!
IOW, you really need to take a long, hard look at their project & see how messed up it is before you can reasonably estimate this. And then add at least a couple of days for unexpected problems. Kind of like a painter needs to come into your house & measure your living room before he can tell you how much it’s going to cost to paint it. And skim coat.
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/ -
I guess I’m hoping that I can create an offline of the project and recapture to prores 4444 smoothly.
I’m not sure on the fps used in the offline. I’ll have to give that a look. I’m glad I asked here, forgot about the potential roadblocks!
3 months to do the finishing? What type of finishing work does that include?
I’m only planning on doing the color grade and online.
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[Arnie Schlissel] “IOW, you really need to take a long, hard look at their project & see how messed up it is before you can reasonably estimate this. And then add at least a couple of days for unexpected problems. Kind of like a painter needs to come into your house & measure your living room before he can tell you how much it’s going to cost to paint it. And skim coat.”
sage advice!
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I don’t think 3 months is out of line for a 90 minute feature.
As everyone said, there are so many variables, but heres an example.
Did a low budget western this summer, about the same length. Source was 42 HDV (miniDV) tapes, that were A-B, so 21 per camera. No logging notes, and had to work from a script with no shooting notes. Logging took a month alone. Two months to get a rough cut, and an editors cut, with some preliminary CC work, and mix with SFX/music. This was with two of us ‘tag-teaming’ the project on two systems.
Long story short, this project had a lot of problems, not logged, missing footage, continuity, picture and sound problems, but shows that 3 months can get used up pretty quick. -
[Rick Turners] “3 months to do the finishing? What type of finishing work does that include?”
If you’re conforming a documentary with different formats of footage at different frame rates. Or an indie feature shot with multiple cameras that don’t match. Or a film with a lot of VFX shots…
Arnie
Post production is not an afterthought!
https://www.arniepix.com/
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