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EDL, XML, or AAF for conforming new edit for feature film?
So I’m trying to figure out what to send to the studio that is doing the sound mix on my feature film…I originally sent the locked cut of the film with omf’s etc. at which point we did a bunch of ADR etc…So now I’m actually sending them a new OMF which has all completed music, which I’ve composed…however, I’ve now noticed after watching the film with all the music now there, that it really needs a few scenes cut! I’m not really sure what to do here?? Besides the fact that I don’t know what he (the studio) is going to say since this is extra work that I’m sure he doesn’t want to do considering this is a low budget project…but it’s really going to improve the film so…he works in Protools so I just send him a self contained mov file along with all audio…so we would have to reconform all audio (of which much editing has already been done at his studio) to the new video file. So do I send him an EDL or XML or AAF file from the original video mov file AND one of the new mov edit to compare them and then reconform? I’m just not quite sure about how the process works…I’ve actually tried calling him but he hasn’t got back to me…he’s pretty busy on a big network TV show…and I’d like to have everything ready to go when I talk to him next. I’m working in FCP 6 btw. I’ve also considered just writing down the cut times by hand since I don’t think there will be a lot to cut out..but would be easier to just copy the sequence in FC and cut away!..and then just generate a cut list afterwards of the new sequence. So hoping one or several of you guys have some good advice for me here 🙂 Is MUCH appreciated!!
David
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5 Replies
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so for the best advice you do need to talk to the sound person involved.
so in my experience they want the new OMF, new PIC guide, plus an EDL of the old edit, and an EDL of the new edit
so that implies that have some sort of way to conform, in which case you may or may not need notes,
but who knows if that’s the case or not? oh, they do,
so you do need to talk with them.so the conform DOES take time is is fairly boring (non-creative) work for them.
so if they totally object and cant do the work for the budget, you could re-jig the mix after the fact,
so you will definitely need to get the audio in STEMS, which is the separate elements of the mix: Dialogue Effects, Music, and separate VO if it is a documentary.most films benefit from being as lean as possible,
so good on you for following through on your instincts.nick
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Thanks for the reply Nick. I can do the EDLs then..however, I’ve written down the cuts by hand since cutting out some scenes yesterday..not too time consuming really..think it’ll be pretty easy just to give him the list…he actually did mention that he thought I could probably cut 10-15 minutes from film when he first watched it…I think it’ll be a bit less than that…closer to 5-7 minutes maybe..but we’ll see if he doesn’t mind having a shorter film to have to mix and do SFX..hoping he’ll be open to the idea.
Thanks!
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If your notes are absolutely frame accurate then that’s good info. My experience with reversioning is that a few frames missed here and there happen and it gets into a right mess.
Editrace is online software that takes an EDL of the video track of both versions and makes a new EDL of the changes with reference to the original cut so it shows how blocks of the old need to be moved to create the new. Some software like Fairlight can run such an EDL and do the recut in minutes, followed by hours of fixing the various tracks that are machine hacked like atmos & music.
Nick is right. You must ask. Personally I never want another OMF or AAF as it has tons of audio that I have already edited and cleaned up and it makes an extras mess. New QT reference video for sure plus change EDL is my preference. Even then it is largely a manual job. Imagine doing a few tweaks from notes on a video edit with 40 or 50 tracks of audio and vision. It might make a better film but in an ideal world sound post should never start until the edit is locked.
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Yeah an OMF seems like a lot as far as organization and track cleanliness…I would prefer not to have to send an OMF except for the final music stereo mixes on my FCP timeline. Curious as to if the EDL conforming software will actually cut out the audio that is not there anymore in the new edited version or if it just tells you what needs to be cut and you have to do envy thing by hand??
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I use Editrace (which is available online) to make a change EDL from the video track only. It can do audio tracks as well but I prefer to keep the recut info simple manually adjust by listening to the new guide on the quicktime.
The are so many elements to cut down that it is mostly a manual task once you have highly accurate timecode info.
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