On doing DS Nitris work for legendary filmmakers
A: I usually work on Avid’s DS Nitris, which is a great conform system that has the ability to do advanced effects work. I got my start on the Avid Symphony, conforming and color correcting long format television and documentary films. When I was working on the Symphony the more complex effects needed to be outsourced to After Effects or Flame artists, but when I switched to the DS I realized I could do a lot of the effects work in the same system where I was conforming-as well as on the same timeline.
Where the DS really excels is in its ability to work simultaneously with nodes and timeline layers. After creating a complex effects tree for compositing, you still have the ability to modify and nest more effects on a layer that is being fed into the tree. This helps me stay organized and efficient on more complex composites. These effects range from broadcast television work to 2K feature effects.
Q: Beyond the editing software, what tools are most important to your HD editing projects?
A: Having a good monitor and viewing environment is the most important thing for me since I am usually the last step in the process before a program is sent for duplication, broadcast, or film out. If anything is out of place, people rely on my eyes to catch it.
A good calibrated HD monitor is the standard that we work to. An easy introduction to the world of color management is to look at the difference between how something looks on your computer screen versus the actual video output. Without the calibrated monitor we might be color-correcting to make the computer screen look best, as opposed to what is best for HD broadcast. The goal of our viewing environment is to be able to say, “what you see is what you get.” It gets trickier with DIs, but it all goes back to getting the image that you’re looking at during conform and color to match your final viewing environment as much as possible. The environment will change (theatrical, television, DVD, internet), and that’s why I treat our image-science specialists with reverence.
Q: What’s the video storage requirement for a typical (two-hour) HD project? Do you have a formula?
A: I like to have enough to store three to six times the final program’s total running time at 10-bit uncompressed resolution. My main requirement is that we capture at 10-bit uncompressed and render effects at a minimum of a 16-bit sampling. Eight-bit renders often lead to banding and color distortion.
The reference image (an output from the offline cut) is loaded at a compressed resolution. We usually work at 8-bit 36 DNxHD compression. That way I don’t eat up much storage with the reference. After the load, the first step is to check the output of the offline cut against the conform.
Q: What’s the best way to mix and match SD and HD formats on the same timeline? What are the challenges?
A: Using a Teranex or Snell & Wilcox hardware solution to a standardized timeline that matches your delivery is the best way to work. This goes back to the “what you see is what you get” formula. If something is going out to film, I want to be working in a 24p (23.98 in the video world) environment. Software can create a good conversion, but having a dedicated piece of specialized hardware in the pipeline is a great luxury.
Q: Is Final Cut Pro powerful enough to complete an entire project? What type of workstation is required?
A: There are a lot of great Final Cut solutions that are powerful enough to complete an entire project, but for certain complex projects and frame sizes where real-time performance is a factor, there may be better solutions out there. For those projects that are appropriate for Final Cut, a system with a high-powered video card and plenty of fast storage is often adequate.
Q: What’s the biggest misconception about HD editing?
A: The biggest misconception is that it is no different than finishing in SD. There are more formats and frame rates, and the computing power and data bandwidth you need for uncompressed HD is far more than SD. Uncompressed HD cannot run off a FireWire drive, and complex effects take longer to render.
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