PRODUCTION & POST
SVOD REQUIREMENTS
about specialisms like techvis, virtual production and virtual scouting,” says James Whitlam, managing director - episodic. “In terms of workflow, there is a lot of interest in shooting shows partially or wholly in an LED volume. Implementing such a pipeline has been the most challenging aspect of current trends in technical innovation, not just in the management of the shoot requirements, but also in the creation of the in-camera assets.” Whitlam says it’s becoming more
“4k uhd
means more storage, longer
common to deliver 4K UHD. “4K UHD means more storage, longer render times, and longer transfers,” he adds. “There’s also a 4K hit on shot prep, and more care needs to be taken in compositing for UHD delivery, as there is far more visible detail at each end of the spectrum. LED Volume work requires a completely different pre- production workflow from a traditional shoot, and likewise a different set of challenges in post. “Producers should get in touch very
render times, and longer transfers”
early in the process,” says Whitlam. “By being part of the creative process from the get-go we can advise the best course of action and suggest the most appropriate approach for the story at hand. While the old saw is ‘fix it in post’, it’s far better for everyone’s sanity – and budget – to get things right in pre-production.”
Finishing grade “We’ve gone the Dolby Vision route on all our productions, and it works very well,” says Urbye. “I’m able to set the HDR grade, and then the SDR grade becomes a technical pass. Other facilities and broadcasters lean more towards doing the SDR first and do the HDR pass as a kind of secondary. As a colourist with a finite amount of time, I want to be able to deliver the look in HDR and know that the SDR will just automatically come through, not have to do both. There’s going to be a bit of a compromise and you always need to review the [SDR] trim, but you should be able to get the same experience. “HDR grading is quite a bit
more expensive than SDR grading,” continues Urbye. “Compared to five years ago when you’d be squeezing an hour (episode) into two days, you’re looking at around three days for an hour in HDR and then probably just under a day for the trim pass.”
Quality counts Maltby says the streamers will always perform their own stringent quality control process: “they are very focused on QC down to a pixel level. You can internally QC it first and get nice reports, or you can just let them do it, then deal with that slightly
buggy first report.” “Some streamers ask us to hold off
creating any other delivery items until they have done QC on the master,” says Govey. “This can cause issues with scheduling the final deliveries, particularly in respect to the M&E. This can also be tricky to manage when there is another distributor on board. They may want to receive elements before the streamer has signed them off.” For Atmos, Richard Addis highlights
technical QC fails such as dropouts and clicks, as well as creative or content fails, such as stray pans, dialogue sync issues, and level discrepancies. “In short, the process is no different
to Stereo or 5.1, involving a mixture of automated QC and human listening checks,” he adds. “Causes of QC fails often crop up during the non-creative tasks, for example, automation issues introduced whilst conforming timelines, or consolidating multiple source sessions.” Urbye says that it’s not just the
technical requirements in QC you have to be aware of. “Previously you could probably get away with a cable in the background; producers used to be able to push such things through by saying it was ‘creative intent’. Netflix, for example, is much hotter on that kind of thing, even [questioning] narrative points such as ‘why are they driving that way, it was a one-way street?’ It’s much more stringent now.”
Support mechanisms If you’re used to working for a linear broadcaster, it’s all bound to be a bit daunting. Woolfson advises working closely with your post production company. “Engage them early on. Commit, contract with them, and in return for that lean on them for technical expertise. There are no stupid questions,” he says. Also available for help are the
streamers themselves. “There is a huge amount of support from Netflix and Amazon,” says Urbye. “Those guys are very supportive of producers particularly, and directors and DoPs, and they support the post houses. It’s turned into a relationship – we’re part of a collaboration. It’s a positive change.”
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televisual.com Spring 2021
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