Re: Final Cut Pro 7 wishlist

[Tom Wolsky] "Clients just want to see finished look every time they look at the product, and not place holders or proxies or colors that change because it's not been graded, or partially graded. "

You've just hit on one of the biggest differences in workflow between film and video.

In the feature film world, directors and producers are used to working with proxies or temp tracks during editing. The last stuff to get done is the audio mixing, color grading and completed VFX shots. It's quite common to see film trailers that have medium-quality temp VFX shots, which are ultimately replaced with much better quality completed shots in the theatrical release.

The video world is much different - turnaround times are much faster, and producers want to see everything happen in real time right in front of their eyes. Much of the time they can't visualize something without actually seeing it in front of their face. That's why as long as production budgets remain large enough, Smoke/Flame/Quantel suites will still be with us.

I find in my work that clients consistently overestimate what today's technology can do. Perhaps they've seen too many behind-the-scenes DVD segments on visual effects, but they assume that anything can be created or fixed in post. They are almost never surprised or impressed by what can be accomplished with the latest hardware and software - instead, they usually are surprised by how long everything takes. Only the really savvy clients appreciate the time, effort and skill that goes into finishing a spot or a show. "What do you mean it has to render?" "Why can't I see it now?" "Well how long is that going to take?" I hear that a lot more often than I hear "Wow, that's amazing! How did you do that?"