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6.3: When the Shooting Stops

  • Page ID
    120191
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    Transitioning to Post Production

    Technology is rapidly blurring the line between production and post production. In some cases, post production starts the same time as production. Most features are shot digitally so they can be viewed immediately. Gone is the time that films shot on film had to be processed, viewed and then sent to editors. This can all happen immediately after the director yells "Cut".

    Some features actually have the editors working on the set along side the actors to get an immediate review of the scene being shot.

    Example \(\PageIndex{1}\)

    Here is a five-minute example of the value of having the editors on a shooting set:

    Backing up the Digital Master Files

    Most features are shot digitally to an SD card, hard drive or cloud-based system. Each day these cards need to be backed up to multiple sources. All the hard work that has come before is now come to this, a small piece of technology which can be held in one hand. It is important to make immediate and multiple backups of your footage. There will be one main receptacle or master for all the scenes and a copy of that for the post production team of editors, special effects and graphic designers - each may have their own copies. It is important to have one more copy stored in a separate location from the master drive. If the master drive location were compromised because of a fire, flood, or other disaster like a drive failure, there needs to be another exactly duplicated master to continue on with the movie. As each post production activity is accomplished these will need a backup to the master footage as well. There needs to be a strategy in place that keeps track of this daily workflow so that the loss of a drive does not set back the production.

    DIT's Role in Post Production

    The Digital Imaging Technician (DIT) is in charge of this process of transitioning the footage from the production set to the post production crew. The DIT makes daily backups, labels the footage, and relates the production information about scenes, camera settings and LUTs to the ones who will be finishing the film. The DIT may continue this role long after production ends and all the way through post production.

    Scene as seen on the camera's LCD screen
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Scene as seen in camera's LCD screen (from "Disbelief", Laney College 2021). (Creative Commons License; Susan A Bradley via Laney College)

    This page titled 6.3: When the Shooting Stops is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Steve Shlisky (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative (OERI)) .

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