Producing a film and then editing it according to the director’s choice is an art in itself. The whole post-production workflow seems like the last step of the editing timeline, but it consists of several steps. Managing the workflow without any error requires years of experience and management skills. With the increasing experience, editors understand their comfort workflows and streamline their own procedures.
This article will give you a detailed insight about:
- The methodology of the post-production workflow in a stepwise manner.
- Why workflow is essential for video post-production workflow.
- These are the tricks and strategies that are most commonly used by beginners.
Whether you’re looking for a better working method after the shoot or the tips which could enhance your productivity, this article will make all the difference. Production and post-production crews look after the schedule and workflow of curating digital video. Learn about methodology of pre-production, production, and post-production.
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Table of Contents
Post Production Workflow Template
This diagram will give you an overview about the steps in which you can go through to begin your editing process. Keep in mind that there are various steps which can go in parallel for better experience.
Streamline Your Post-Production Workflow
Post-production is the last step of the entire process. There are three steps in video project or photography editing. The first step is pre-production, where the production company goes through the necessary arrangements before the film shooting starts. This includes confirming the script, costumes, shooting set, direction, makeup, location, and all the necessary details.
The second step is the production when all the shooting takes place. Actors need to be in the location where the set is built. It includes the steps of audio and video files optimization.
The final step includes a series of steps where you will have to optimize your editing process.
Understand Your Editing Workflow
It is one of the most essential steps in organizing your ideas. Only in the initial steps can you decide on a working environment that suits you. It is also the step where you can manage your footage before delivering it to storage.
Refer to metadata in the editing process for better structure throughout the whole post-production. You can also go through the script again to figure out the requirements for the final video production workflow. You can aim at the script and logically conceptualize the further steps to edit like a pro.
Storage And Data Management
It is a video editing process where you transfer all the files into the storage folder. You can delete the videos which are of no use and move along with the transfer process. You must focus on renaming the raw cut videos in a sequential manner for better reference in the future. You can use management software as well.
A good video content editor manages all the footage in an organized manner. It keeps you from getting confused at a later stage. If you are shooting for a video, then you must have a lot of audio files as well. Arrange them in the order you arranged all the video files for a better sync.
Video Editing Process
Video editing goes through a variety of multi-step processes that are important for final video production. You have all the videos available in sequence, and they need to be edited professionally for a final film production.
Building The Rough Cuts
Out of the footage taken by you, it is time to select the main scenes that complete your storyline and seem like the best option for you. These videos are then arranged in a sequence. They are then approved by the team members. Generally, rough cuts or raw videos give an initial idea about the theme of the film and are not declined by the superiors. The most important thing to take care of is to include all the scenes, script lines, and locations in the rough cut. These rough cuts are now referred to as the first cuts. Remember to keep a copy of the rough cut handy with you.
Curating the Fine Cut And Picture Lock
After the first cuts are approved by the director, it is time to have a look at the fine cuts. Now, fine cuts are not focusing on the film as an overall. It has to focus on the details of the film. Details such as refining the transitions between the scenes, enhancing the quality of the videos, processing the visual effects, and maintaining the rhythm of the music. They are also called as final cut.
Once the fine-cut film is approved and no further changes need to be made, the video will be ‘picture locked.’ Picture lock is a term used when the pictorial representation of the video is finalized without the need for any kind of editing in the timing, transition, scripted scenes, and placement of the videos.
Video Editing With Respect To VFX Team
The next step is to enhance the video and put it into animation with the help of the VFX team. In various scenarios this step goes along with the rough cut editing when the majority of the movie is based on the computer generated graphics.
VFX team focusing on creating the real world like scenarios in the film using graphics. Scenes which require specific or extensive weather, a particular animal or some live action can be fixed and enhanced using VFX. VFX also plays a major role in the cartoon movies where the non-living objects are animated.
Through VFX you can also improve the texture and lighting of the film. Texture is when you want to give a 3D outlook to something specific in your movie. It also provides appearance and life to the characters of the movie.
One of the techniques used in VFX is rotoscoping. It helps to separate the character of the movie from the background. It gives a 3D effect to the character and limelight to the scenes, which matters in the script.
Color Correction And Grading
Color correction and grading are used to set the theme and mood of the movie by upgrading the visual colors. It depends on the script and aesthetic of the professional video production to decide the color coordination of the film. It has to be maintained all throughout the film. You will have to use video editing software for this purpose.
Color Correction
Color correction refers to the enhancement of the visual colors of the same scene in different footage to give them a completely realistic feature. The most crucial thing is to maintain the consistency of the colors in the film. It requires precision and knowledge of the colors describing the different moods of the film.
It requires a technical and experienced mindset to carry on with the color contrast, color balancing, red eyes, and neutral color balancing.
Color Grading
Color grading is the next step after color correction which focuses on setting the mood of the story. After the color correction is done, it is clearly noticeable to see the coordination in the movie. Color grading provides an extra effect to the scenes. Color grading gives the texture to the scenes with real-life features.
Color grading is when special effects are given to the video in the form of a few filters which suits the theme. There are a variety of color palettes from where the best visual colors can be chosen by the director and producers. They will give you an idea about their vision from the film. To give their thought a reality, color grading plays an important role.
Audio Editing Workflow
After you are sure of the video editing, you can move to the audio post-production. It becomes easier to edit the music and add the background music in the film in this step. There are editors who prefer creating a video and audio in parallel to avoid excess confusion. Here are a few things to be taken care of while offline editing:
Design Your Sound
This is a crucial step in creating a real-life aspect of the movie. It is not only about the script lines, but there are various other sounds in the background, which gives the movie its life. Sound effects such as footsteps, door closing, trees waving, weather changing, birds chirping, and many more.
The sound editing and mixing are done according to the requirements. It provides a narrative to the story and makes it interesting.
Automated Dialogue Replacement
Automated Dialogue Replacement is also referred to as ADR which is to rectify the unclear audios. ADR is used for looping and dubbing purposes. There can be times when the background noises or microphone misplacement disturb the sound of the audio. That is when ADR comes into use.
Actors can perform dialogue delivery in a studio matching the exact timeline of the video. It enhances the quality of the audio and makes it clear for the audience to listen. During ADR the major work falls upon the actors to deliver the same kind of emotion which is projected in the scene.
Mixing The Audios
Mixing of the different audios is itself an art and requires certified mixing engineers. They need to take care of all the background noises of a particular scene while the dialogue delivery is going on. No sound effect must overpower and distract from the main plotline of the scene.
To maintain the cohesiveness of the scene, mixing is done by reducing the volume and intensity of the audios according to their distances from the main frame. There will also be the need for equalization, dynamics, and limiting factors of the sounds.
Mastering The Sounds
Mastering is one of the last stages of analyzing and editing the audio when placed together. The final editing is done by equalizing the audios so that they go together in a coordination. When the audio is perfectly polished is when you know that your work is done.
The next step is to save the audio file with appropriate name tags and track names to avoid any confusion. This is one of the last stages before it is ready for distribution.
Timeline Of A Finished Video
Now that the video production process is finished and ready with all the editing and mixing, the next step is to deliver the film to the audience. It can be called a video workflow process. Before that, it is important to give the entire film a final check for the quality, compatibility in various post-production software and the formatting.
Finishing The Film
Finishing the video also involves a few steps of its own as well. During this step you must check for the final touches of the video. Check for the color correction and color grading to correlate the full movie in a streamline manner. You must also check for the clarity of the video and the sound after mixing.
This is also the time when you must check for the final compatibility of the final movie. It includes checking the footage in various other players and software. You must have incorporated various titles and subtitles in the movie; check if everything is properly aligned. Tools like frame.io can help you with the frame reviews.
Packaging And Optimization Of The Movie
Packaging involves the optimization of the movie to make it compatible for various platforms you might be delivering to. There are various platforms such as the television industry, cinemas, and OTT platforms. Each of them requires the movie in different formats.
Packaging will also require the added materials required for the movie. It is necessary to keep in mind that everything should be delivered together with labeled tags.
Final Delivery
Finally, delivery includes File Transfer Protocol (FTP), where you get a chance to transfer all the related files to the cloud storage or hard disks. In such cases, transcoding is also used throughout production. Transcoding is the process of converting files from one format to another. It can be done through online converters, which are known as online editing. When it’s time, film post production schedules the delivery. Delivery must be done in an assured environment so that it maintains its quality.
Template Strategies For Post-Production Workflow
The post production phase can get very complicated as you move along the process. The management of the footage and audio could take a toll on your skills as well. That is when it becomes important to keep yourself organized. There are a few tips you would catch on with the experience. Here are a few tips to manage your editing process in an efficient manner:
Plan And Organize
The initial step of the production stage is to manage the footage and audios compiled in a file together. It is a traditional trick but earlier in the process editors used to save the files according to scene and shot number. If there are a lot of shots in a particular scene then it can have a sub-trach under a file. With this you will have a clear idea about the number of shots taken in a particular scene. It will streamline your post-production workflow.
Another thing that you need to plan is the timeline. After you have got the scenes with you, you can get a vague idea about the time required. In this way, you can create simple milestones for your post-production team members and work accordingly.
Replicating The Project Template
One particular scene will require one individual template. If you can create the template and save it with you, you will be able to save time. Creating video production workflow templates will give you organization ideas. It will automatically give you an idea about different scenes and split the media accordingly.
Learn The Most Used Shortcuts
Editing software has a lot of shortcuts for various features. The most used features would have a particular shortcuts which can be learnt. You can also list down the shortcuts somewhere which would help you a lot during the editing.
Proxy Files
There is one trick that is mostly used by the editors working on a big film. It is used to create proxy files with less resolution. It will require less storage and will be easier to transfer. It will be advantageous in various ways:
- The system will not get out of storage easily.
- The transfer will take less time.
- Your system will not get slowed down or get hanged.
- You can delete the unused or useless shots.
Choose The Right Software And Tools
Working as a video editor of a film would require you to have knowledge about the software and tools used by the professionals. If you are a beginner, then you might not have access to expensive tools and software subscriptions. There are a variety of software available that are free or have a minimal subscription fee. Tools like Premiere Pro will help you with it.
There is also a chance that your superiors might provide you with the collaboration tools and software themselves. This kind of opportunity could ease your work and make the whole process easier. You can try online editing software tools as well.
Regular Quality Control Measures
While working on technology based things, there is always a risk of corruption, virus, and damage. That is why you should implement regular quality check meetings just to ensure if every shot of the scenes are running properly. This will prevent any kind of mishappening in the remote editing period.
Regular Editing Reviews
If you are leading the editing team, then do not leave anything solemn on your team. Before bringing the edited work to your directors and producers, have a look at them yourself. Keep reviewing every detail of editing yourself. Take note of the reviews given by your committee, directors, and producers. Keep evaluating the edits from the audience’s point of view.
Always Keep The Worst Case Scenarios In Mind
Always keep the worst-case scenarios in mind. It is very important to think about the risks and the damages which could happen at the later stages. Have a second plan for your damages. Do not lose hope and leave the work in the middle.
Summary
Post-production workflow is a tactical process that takes months of time for a big movie. It will require you to arrange a team of editors who specialize in audio, video, mixing, VFX, and so on. Your production team will need tools and software to create a template with assembled video. No doubt it is exciting to keep in touch with the contemporary mindset of the different movies. Yet, it could become difficult if you do not manage the work from the initial stages itself. Make sure that editing is done in the steps and no step is skipped. Keep reviewing the video and have a critical mind by your side.
FAQ
1. What is a post-production workflow?
It is a part of the editing process which takes place after the shooting is completed. It refers to the process of editing after the film is wrapped up completely. It is when scenes are assembled together in sequence. It includes visual and audio editing with the inclusion of VFX, animation, and color corrections. It is a method to give the scenes continuity and provide life to the scenes. It makes the scenes and movie look as if it is happening in real life.
2. What are the steps of post-production?
Editors tend to choose their editing order according to their ease, yet there is a certain set of rules. The first step includes the management of audio and visual files. The second step is to edit the visual aspects properly with color correction, grading, VFX, animation, rotoscoping, and enhancement. The next step is to edit the audio and merge them into the videos. People might also choose to work on audio and videos side by side to keep reviewing efficiently. The last step is to finish the editing and get it ready for delivery.
