[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Ismael,

Not sure that the edl would ever be able to contain the individual frames of your DPX sequence(S) as it would be massive, although that might not be what you are asking.
For it to work, it comes down to how your DPX image sequences was named on import, and what time-code they adopted. Once you have that in time-line, the grade should in theory be able to import same (it is potentially a lot more complex than that).

It would be helpful to know what kit is used for the grade, as there are a number of ways of using XML instead of edl.

More importantly, is there a reason for handing the original DPX files to the Grader?
Or would they be happy with a High-Quality ProRes or similar file format?
If you are staying digital, and uncompressed, then that might be the quickest and most cost-effective solution.
You could always re-import file to PPro, do a Scene Edit Detection command, and export that as an edl, along side the Digital Master file.

Best advice, although not pure, is to keep it simple.

Please do share if you find another way of doing it.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Dylan,

I am pretty sure that “BBC News After Effects Templates” does not legally exist outside the BBC.
Even so, if you were to credit the person giving them to you, there may be a suggestion of theft involved.

Please let me be kind:
You need to pull your finger out and learn how to do this, or alternatively either:
1) Find a template on a template website that looks like it is doing what it is that you want it to do,
Or
2) Hire an expert After Effects user to do it for you (I am not, so I have no skin in the game). There are many on this forum that I am sure can do a great job for you, as a paid gig.

But to offer a “credit” on stolen goods, is not really OK to suggest in a place full of professionals. As no-one here wants to shoot themselves in the foot.

You have spent the better part of 4 months on this project – that should by now have been enough time for you to have learned After Effects?

It might not feel like it, but I am trying to be kind here.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

It is a tough one, as you would like the job, but gut feeling tells you that it is not straight forward.
In which case you need to make more discoveries, before moving ahead.

Two obvious questions:
1) Have the client commissioned video productions before, and who was their previous supplier?
(As in why did they not go back to their previous supplier(s)?)
2) If they haven’t commissioned productions, what is guiding them through the process now?
An overeager legal department and/or insecurities?

If 1st option – run, as they most likely will keep on grinding you down, like they might have done previously.
If 2nd, which could also go for 1st option; give the client a rate-card of options, including paying for your upkeep for 2 years on a non-compete agreement. One where you can afford to live, whilst building your own projects.

However, the red flags in all of this is that client wants you as a production company, but not willing to accept only the end-product, or necessarily pay full-rate for all of the work and extras.
Then there is the “non-compete” demand which is a concern, unless the client is setting up a production company and wants to use your work to promote their future business with?

Only way through this is to make more discoveries from the client, and when they make “demands” that you can not meet, ask them “How can I do that without hurting my business?”.
On that note, don’t feel bad for charging them upfront for this “pre-production” work, as this is an expense to you and even if they go with someone else, it would still be valuable.
Or, you might have saved a lot of money by not spending more time on the project.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Craig,

If you are doing the end-to-end production from Producing, Directing, Filming and Editing, then I think that it is more than fair not to agree to hand over rushes.
And under no circumstances the project file, as it has your methods of working included, which is yours to own.

Where as if the client sees you as a camera-/editor-operator, the relationship is somewhat different.

Don’t know what the laws are where you live, but normally if you film it, you have the copyright, and assign them to the client.
However, if you are on an NDA or similar, then anything that you film for the client may be owned by the client. Unless they release the right for you to use the footage?

Reading between the lines in your post, would it be fair to suggest that it all comes down to money?
In which case, if the client wants more than “extras” than you are willing to give, charge more money, or be prepared to walk away from the job.

But often the client ask for everything because that is what the Corporation ask them to do, or their nephew have told them to. And, nothing necessarily to do with them wanting to re-edit your movie.
You can to be “helpful” always remove all of the plug-ins used from the edit, so they have a nice and clean version of the edit…

And yes, do let the client know that the “optional” extras in form of stock footage and so forth, is assigned to you, and if they want to use it in other videos or updates. They’ll either have to come back to you, or replace the footage.

However, bottom-line is to manage the client and give them a cost for the “optional extras” that they want, or explain to them know why you don’t sell those.

Just an opinion.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Duke,

Chill – don’t shout at people who is genuinely trying to help you.
It makes people not want to help you, right.

I hear your frustrations, but you need to help yourself, before shouting at people volunteering to help you.

In short, your film will never look the same on two different devices or software playbacks.

Question is:
What is your end-release for your video?
(TikTok, Insta, YouTube, VLC, Broadcast, Cinema?)
Watch it there, and then work your way back from there.

Unless one is actually sitting on your system, looking at your hard-ware and software set-up, there is very little that anyone can do for you except for the excellent advice already given by others above.

For starters, if you want to be taken seriously, at least give us your tech-specs.

But really, you need to work with the end in mind, and none of of us knows what that is.

Hope that this helps.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Oliver,

Interesting blog, thank you for sharing.

Sadly, Avid has been in a slow decline for years.
Although, having said that, I picked up my Avid keyboard late last year and for the first time in 20-years jumped back onto a refresher course.

It was uphill and felt like hard-work, until my one month free subscription ran out, and I had to park finishing the course till later, which is still waiting for “later”. But I kept reminding myself that what Avid is best known for is media/data-base management. Which kind of often got in the way of me working the way I wanted to work with it.

Sorry, not really important, except it is – Avid is offering free software to students, but not to industry professionals that want to return to it. No, I am not going to enrol into “higher education institutions”, when they could watermark the output of the full MC and disable exports of AAF, OMF and other data.

And therein is the problem for Avid, the company are putting up obstructions for customers, old and new, whilst PPro, FCPX and Resolve are eating into their lunch of core markets, such as Broadcast News and scripted drama (serials and feature films).

IMHO Avid already took a wrong-turn when they purchased and “killed” Softimage 3D – if only they had hold on to that part, and developed it further. Maestro is not even on my radar, before I just now did a search Avid and Graphics – which demonstrates how far behind they’ve let themselves fall.

The danger right now is that Avid might follow in the footsteps of Lightworks, which went through a number of owners with no idea of NLE, nor knew how to make money out of it (Tektronix deserves a “honourable” mention in breaking something that worked perfectly well). Some of my best editing experience, ever, was on Lightworks, back in the days of DOS – and the Steenbeck like controller was just an amazing experience back then. Have not been inclined to return.

I don’t think that Avid should be broken up, as both Adobe, Apple and Blackmagic has shown that a good NLE comes with a good work-flow, including Audio – and on that point a Media Composer and Pro Tools set-up, is arguably still the Rolls Royce of Post Production. Although Avid as a company, based on visiting the website, seems to think that Media Composer is secondary (menu placement) to Pro Tools, which might be half of the problem…?

Adding that there are no obvious takers – unless, the value of the Patents that Avid should be holding (unless they sold them off too!?), could be worth more than the combined set of products.
In which case Apple, Adobe, Amazon (AWS/Prime-video), Microsoft and Google/Alphabet will soon be queuing up to buy the burned-out-ashes of what used to be the synonym for “Non-Linear editing” – I still remember a time, “when a facility manager never got fired for buying an Avid, no matter how inflated the cost was”… – me, I went for discreet edit* at the time of starting out, and that is another warning from history of NLEs, courtesy of Autodesk.

Bottom line: It is only Avid’s management and owners that stops Avid from being excessively profitable in today’s marketplace.

Just one opinion 😉

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Herb,

I’ve done two smaller projects in 23.4, and so far OK-ish running on a PC i9-Intel, with 64GB Ram and SSD.

I hear your frustrations.

Although, despite promises to the opposite, it does feel that Adobe is not that serious about Premiere Pro, and would rather migrate us all to Express and Rush. And instead spend $ 22 Billion on buying companies that is for growth of plc, rather than spending cash on making the products work, and work together across the Creative Cloud business.

I’m still waiting for Adobe SoMe Product Management to get back to me on a question(s) that I asked of them on the 14th of December.
That was 2022, in case anyone get confused…

Never-the-less, when a company stops caring, customers normally migrate.

Just saying that it would be nice if they showed a little bit more love for their long-time users.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Robert,

If the colour is isolated and uniform, then any editing/compositing software should allow you to make a key/replace colour effect on it.

Then there is also the question of if the camera moves?
Or if you have movement in front of the part that you want to change colour on?
For advanced rotoscoping there is Mocha Pro as an example, that comes in packages that works either within After Effects, FCPX or PPro. Not tried it myself, but I would expect Resolve to be able to do it too.

If the camera does not move, you can also generate a mask in PhotoShop.

If you get a bit more “adventurous” there is online A.I. tools that might be able to help you out.

Hope this helps.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Anne,

Nothing more awful than when a year of hard work won’t play ball on delivery.

Absolutely follow Ben’s advice.

If that does not fix the problem, I would add:
Investigate if the source file is corrupted, by playing it outside of FCPX?
If in need of delivering soon, split your Library up into smaller Libraries and render out your project in chunks.
Where it crashes, disable the media and render out as black frames.
Re-import “chunks” into new Library and insert missing media. Then render out a full length master.

Obviously if Media is corrupted, you will hopefully have a back-up drive that you can restore it from.
Also worth checking whether the editing media drive is “dying”, and replace with another drive to do the work from.

Atb
Mads

[Mads Nybo jørgensen]

Hey Johnny,

You can upload to YouTube or similar, and post link here to video.

However, you are likely to get the same answers, which includes that passing the quality of your film is all subjective to the person(s) watching it.

Before getting to that point, you have to be on top of this:

1) Ask the film festivals where you want to submit your movie to what their specifications are for delivery.
They are likely to ask for a lot more than just the movie, such as who owns the the movie and asserts copyright on it?
Has the movie been cleared for a public showing?
More importantly, has it already been shown in public, in which case a lot of festivals will say thank you, but no thank you.
Has all the 3rd party copyright, such as music, been cleared and registered?
Some may also ask for proof of liability and Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance.

2) Create a DCP (Digital Cinema Package).

The above list is not even close to be complete of what you have to go through, but it is a good starting point for showing festivals and distributors that you are serious.

There are a number of ways to get around the above, but they will all take time, cost money and/or a share in the earnings of the film.

Hope that this helps get you on the right track.

Atb
Mads