Re: Never a dull moment...

Thought I'd put in my two cents.

First, I try where ever possible NOT to do any prep to a FCP sequence. And if I have to do prep you better be sure I charge for it. We have produced a PDF and short video that we distribute to clients describing how to prep their sequences for FCP including rendering out self-contained QTs, media managing a project. Other things we discuss are how to handle things like composites, text, slow-mo etc. I put the onus on the client to prepare things, they're not coming to me for my prep skills their coming to me for my color/creative skills. This why my companies moto is Relate • Educate • Create. We help our clients figure out what the best workflow for their project is, we educate them to handle technical issues, and then we create what they want

Secondly, I think people forget a lot about a very simple workflow for preparing sequences that have a billion unsupported features, effects. We have suggested this workflow to several broadcast clients who don't want to prep.

Simply export a self contained QT of the show > import back in to FCP and place on the highest track in the sequence. Use the blade tool or add edit to add edit points, drag transitions on to cut points where appropriate so you'll have handles and overlap in Color. When you done delete the original footage and send this single track to color. You might have to do some minor keyframing between shots and the biggest bummer for sure is you can't use groups to group clips because everything is called the same thing but it works. Alternatively, you could invest in EDL Mirror to auto notch the project.

Five or 6 days a week I'm grading shows with clients with whom we've educated about prepping projects and rarely do I run into major issues. The only major issue is that of a re-conform but there are workarounds for that.

To be honest I'm really sick and tired of the price war/class of system talk that predominates this forum sometimes. If you don't like the tool, find a new one that best suites you. Because you can't afford the Pablo or Lustre doesn't mean that all you should do is bash Color, it just means you need to save up for those systems if you feel they best fit your needs. Truly, call a Quantel, or Discreet sales person and they'll arrange for you to get to know the system (they really need people to buy systems these days). In fact we just evaluated a Pablo for a few days without buying anything but paid for training on the system to see if it would fit us, it was money well spent even though we felt the features didn't justify the cost.

Finally, I think all of us have a thing or two to learn about valuing time. If a client brings a project to you that will require days of prep instead of just doing the prep and then having to suck it up on the back end talk them first. I've been amazed by being transparent with clients about overages that they usually have no problem paying or adjusting - maybe just weird luck. The point is all of us should be charging in some capacity for time we spend working on project including prep. Sure your client will push back, but that precisely why I invested in the time in producing documentation and training FOR our clients on how to do the things that are time consuming and ultimately cost them money if I did it for them.

Robbie

Robbie Carman
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Colorist and Author