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Offlining – Onlining – Tips, Tricks, Advices, Techniques
Posted by Andrei-cristian Murgescu on July 11, 2005 at 11:09 amIt just crossed my mind that I was never involved in a on line off line process but soon enough I will be. I would like to ask you more experienced guys to share (if you wish and have the time) your 2 cents, eurocent, pennies, yens & such on this topic. Timecode, keycode, EDL’s, offline and online project management etc. etc.
I would really like to hear a few things about how to do this properly.Thanks guys.
CBAndrei-cristian Murgescu replied 19 years, 7 months ago 2 Members · 6 Replies -
6 Replies
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Person Lastly
July 11, 2005 at 4:19 pmwhat, no telecine? it’s all pretty basic. the key is organization of elements and getting the proper specs from the people doing the finishing.
check with the online folks about edl specs (cmx 3600 A mode is quite popular-no clip names), formats for offline layout, how to get them these materials (disc or email). hopefully you properly named your sources. 6 characters is all they see normally, i.e. TAPE01, TAPE02…if you didn’t, then modify the source names or bring notes to tell them which tape is which. if you’re using more than one layer of video, then supply each layer as it’s own edl. in the Avid you can select V1, V2, V3 and so on. i usually title each edl LAYER 1, LAYER 2, etc. use the offline to eye match your composite, titles, etc. sometimes you may not need to supply additional layers as edl’s if it’s simple enough to eye match it to the offline (like a title for example).
if you have a laptop or access to a computer, i would recommend you bring a quicktime movie of your offline so that you can shuttle around to view your offline without stopping the conform (i especially recommend this for a telecine session). once the the picture is conformed, the online guys should show you a split screen of the offline and online to make sure all is frame accurate.
the next step would be the mix (or for many of my projects, being done simultaneously because we are against a quick air date). if you are just using your mix (which I don’t recommend), then ask the online folks how to supply you that stereo mix. aif’s are common. include a 2 pop. if you’re going to a sound designer and/or mixer (recommended) then check with them what they need. omfi’s are quite popular. again, check with them for the specs.
if you are going through telecine, then let me know. that requires attention. you don’t want to show up to online with a shot missing. bad.
good luck
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Andrei-cristian Murgescu
July 12, 2005 at 8:32 amThanks Reggie,
Lots of valuable information in there. In my case though I will be doing the HD online based on DVCAM copies that were made on set. One of the firs issues I met is that the copies are losing one frame of video from time to time. I didn’t have the opportunity to check if the loss happens at equal intervals or if it is random. Downconversion from HDCAM was performed through a Miranda unit attached to the Sony F900 camera. I would like to know if you have any idea on that.
I am also interested into the telecine process. One particular instance was a music video (it wasn’t a project I worked on) that was edited in Avid and that featured lots of inframe pan and zooms. The thing is that, as far as I know, along with the edit the guys back at the lab also reproduced the pans and zooms made in Avid. I wonder how they did it.
Second, what about EDL interoperability between say, Avid & Premiere Pro, or, as it in my case ofline on FCP and online in PPro?
Thanks
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Person Lastly
July 12, 2005 at 3:12 pmas far as loss of a frame here and there, just make sure you split screen the offline to the conform and adjust as needed. i run into this when editing 29.97 (out standard in the commercial world) for HD 24p. since a cut could land on a pulldown frame the avid just picks a frame on either side. this can through me off a frame. we just eye match in flame or smoke or whatever against the offline. fortunately i’m working on spots, not long form for this. though, it really isn’t a big deal.
anytime an image is blown up, zoomed and scanned, it should be done in telecine or (if being finished standard 525) bring it into a flame or smoke or whatever at HD and then blow up and move around. then downconvert to 525. it’s all about retaining sharpness. and as we know, just blowing up video is UGLY. if doing it in telecine, just match the offline move frame start to end. if you are not totally sure, then do a couple passes. the colorist or his assistant will offset the timecode by a minute, or ten minutes, or whatever. just take note of it and bring those notes to the online. let the online know in advance of any multiple passes so they can bring them in (i.e. your edl won’t tell them). also, this might be something the director could do in advance of the edit. meaning doing a best light xfer of all his/her footage with any special passes/fx work. i would recommend that if doing zooms/pans/scans that they should save it for the offline process.
the new coolest color correction suite out there is the Lustre. i’ve used it a couple times. this is made by discreet and is non-linear. popular for top hollywood features. the images are scanned in edge to edge. and retain all the details from light to dark. the color correction is done digitally. my favorite part is the ability to look at multiple shots at the same time. giving a kind of overall feel to the images and how they look together. it’s also very selective. meaning i can just tweak certain parts more precisely. the power windows are also closer to matting than just circles and boxes. really powerful tool. very selective. very cool. highly recommend it. though $$
the last question i’m not sure what your asking. i’m heading out on vacation in a few.
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Andrei-cristian Murgescu
July 13, 2005 at 9:59 amI already had a few instances when I had HD on my hands and obviously, since it was meant for PAL broadcasting, I took advatage of the bigger frame do do zooms and pans. I was just curious of how they do this where work on film is concerned.
My las question was about the compatibility or lack of it when sending and EDL generated say in FCP to Premiere Pro or Avid.
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Person Lastly
July 15, 2005 at 9:36 pmjust got back from my short vacation. an edl is an edl. pretty universally accepted. though not entirely full of information. does fcp create omfi’s? the other option is a program called automatic duck. it’s a translator. i wouldn’t know about anything more about fcp or adobe or anything non-avid really. sorry.
did i answer the film (telecine) zoom/pan & scan question?
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Andrei-cristian Murgescu
July 18, 2005 at 9:22 amdid i answer the film (telecine) zoom/pan & scan question?
Yes, quite satisfactory. Thank you. 🙂
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