Re: New blog post from Philip Hodgetts. Worth the read.

[Jeremy Garchow] "Ok, let's break this down to a tv show."

I think in this whole break down you are making some incorrect assumptions about workflow.

1. A film is never cut according to "best" takes decided on set. When I deliver a "first assembly" it is almost never made up completely of the "circle" takes. I have made my own judgement calls about what I think is best and that's not always what was picked on set or location. Sometimes I'll use pieces of all takes to build a scene, because an actor might have been better at the beginning of a "bad" take than in the supposed "best" take.

2. If an assistant has to load info anyway, then from the editor's POV, both systems are equal. It may be faster for the assistant, but it's irrelevant for the editor. Unfortunately there's no way to know, because collaborative editing - as is possible in Media Composer, Lightworks or FCP 7 - is all but impossible in FCP X.

3. Not all scene/take data is always entered. If you are going from the written script supervisor's notes, then that is already sorted out for you. Simply pick your favorites or subclip then - either way, one NLE is about as fast as the other.

4. If you are working on a film show, a lot of the scene/take info was already organized by the colorist. If you get an ALE or an XML, then no need to re-enter it. Many digital shows still go through a telecine process so the workflow is the same.

5. If the editor wants to use Avid's ScriptSync, then FCP 7 or FCP X are completely inadequate. Although ScriptSync requires some assistant prep work before editing can begin, it has one distinct advantage over all other NLEs. You can click on a line of dialogue in a bin (script text is displayed) and all coverage can be reviewed for that line of dialogue, even though it occurs within the body of each media clip.

The reason to view all the footage is not to generate a bunch of metadata, it's to make creative editorial decisions based on camera work and acting performances. One NLE isn't going to make this any faster than another. It's just whether you like one mode of organization or another.

- Oliver

Oliver Peters Post Production Services, LLC
Orlando, FL
http://www.oliverpeters.com