POST
SHORT FORM TO LONG FORM POST
Changing Ends with post work from 1920
we’re looking at cloud solutions,” says JAM’s Andreopoulos. A new ops director has been brought in and more MCR talent too.
In vfx, says Unit’s Luckwell, “there’s most certainly an investment involved,” but “it depends on what type of vfx you want to do. If you want to do the invisible effects, you’re probably okay with the commercials pipeline. If you want to then go and branch out and do something a little bit more involved, then you’re into an investment.” With greater complexity of vfx, suddenly, “we need an effects department, we need an animation department, we need an environments department. And at that point, it’s a much bigger undertaking.”
Dealing with the workflows of long form HETV require changes too. “Film and Episodic work will quite often be multi-vendor. This brings with it a strict and detailed pipeline you need to adhere to so the work from all vendors is consistent with each other,” says James Etherington-Sparks, Head of Film and Episodic at 1920. “This type of work will generally be worked on over a much longer period than a commercial, so you’ll often find a project evolves more over time in terms of shot count and scope of work which also makes shot tracking all the more important.”
Coffee & TV’s Moreton says the company 108
televisual.com Summer 2023
quickly realised “it couldn’t just be us with a spreadsheet anymore. We needed a proper pipeline to formalise our process.”
And while commercials clients are unsurprisingly security conscious about their content, HETV clients like Netflix require everything to be watertight with a long checklist of physical and data security measures in place for post and vfx suppliers. “Unless you have a TPN [Trusted Partner Network] certificate, you’re pretty shafted,” points out Luckwell.
“Building and IT security is really critical on longform shows with facilities requiring access-controlled rooms, ‘air- gapped’ networks and tighter working practices all coming under the scrutiny of auditors and studios, this is something that traditionally hasn’t been required for the vast majority of commercial projects,” says Freefolk’s Wright.
Customers like Netflix don’t just require greater security, they also require assurances that a supplier can handle the work. “Netflix, understandably, want you to prove that you can deliver the work,” says Moreton. “It’s not just TPN. Have you got those bums on seats? Have you got that amount of artists? Can you deliver this volume of work?”
The bidding process in long form also has marked differences from commercials. “Longform projects take longer to quote,
Netflix’s Cursed with post work at Freefolk
with multiple stages of bid refinement, therefore demanding a larger investment of time and focus from the team,” says Freefolk’s Guidon.
But it is also a refreshing change. “The main difference is that we get to rebid if anything changes in HETV (it’s a very accurate Shot count),” says 1920’s Hurst. “Quite often in commercials we strike an all-in agreement and don’t get to rebid,” when changes are made.
COMPLEMENTARY
If it’s set up right, many agree that running both commercials and long form post work at the same time can be an advantage.
“It means you can ramp up with staff to do the long form work and, when the commercials come in, you can pull them off the long form because you’ve got capacity and the timelines aren’t as strict as in the commercial world. So it actually works really well as a model,” says JAM’s Andreopoulos.
Freefolk’s Guidon similarly says that “the good thing is that each discipline can support the other, if jobs are delayed or times are lean in one versus the other.”
And variety is often the spice of life. “It’s made it more fun,” says Luckwell. “It’s certainly given me back a spring in my step.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112
