The Producer Report: File-based production
The secrets of file- based production
Adopting a file-based workflow can save both money and time but only if new workflows placing proper data management at its core are taken on board. Adrian Pennington talks to the experts about the dos and don’ts of tapeless production
A
s productions shift from tape into data acquisition the lessons gleaned from years of trial and error are hardening into
widely accepted procedures. As Andy Shelley, chief operating officer at hire company On Sight
states: “The quality
and economy of high-end digital cameras has opened up the market from feature films to TV documentaries. File-based is the future of TV and filmmaking.”
WORKING CLOSELY WITH POST Each production will have its own idiosyncrasies of course and will need to be treated on its own merits, but risk-free, efficient file-based workflows are being regularly delivered as production managers arm themselves with the questions they need to make the right decisions. Chief among them is
involving a facilities
supplier at an early stage and making them an intimate part of the project. “Before confirming any decision about the
cameras you aim to use, check with your post house,” urges Emma Riley, head of production
30 theproducer Summer 2011
technology at Mentorn Media and Sunset + Vine. “There are new versions of edit systems appearing all the time which may have changed since your last project. The smallest thing that seems really logical to a director needs checking with experts because it could have implications down the line. Speak to a facility up front about how they want you to deliver the media to them rather than the other way around.” The next step is to devise a full test of the
workflow: Shoot something, view it, log it, ingest, conform it, deliver it and put it in the archive. “Record test footage on drives and in folders,
labelled, as if for the actual production, send that back to the edit suite to make sure the whole process is going to work and publish it to everyone,” recommends Olly Wiggins, company director at hire company S+O Media. “If you do this two weeks before shooting then there is time to fix any problems.” If this is done, everyone has the opportunity
to agree or disagree and then accept whatever workflow has been decided. “This should also clearly establish who is responsible for what,
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