Workflow
discussions about workflow from production through post-production
754 topics in this forum
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- 134 replies
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I got a call today for a job on Thursday which the producer thinks might be a 5D shoot. Unfortunately, he doesn't have all the info yet. I've asked for a contact number for the editor handling post which I may, or may not, get tomorrow (Wednesday). If this is a 5D shoot, I'll run double-system, of course, and use a time code slate if possible. What is the latest for this camera? Did they ever implement 23.98 or 24fps as was rumored? Is it still strictly a true 30fps? For sending reference audio, is the mini-jack input at mic level only? How is the input level adjusted on the camera? I figure a Sennheiser G2 with a hot shoe mount would probably be a good …
Last reply by Todd Weaver, -
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https://www.videotoolshed.com/product/bwfmerge/ Tool to eg replace TX with transmitter saved files, merge multiple recorders, patch / re-route etc. It now also can (destructive) alter metadata, with an Undo (so you can do an in-place change and undo / revert to original later on) And, there is now a player that shows all levels of all tracks. The images at the page are unrelated to the current version, and the latest version is for Mac, will update Win on request. Please toy with it and tell me what more needs to be done.
Last reply by Bouke, -
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- 22 replies
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Hi Group, I am currently shooting a TV-Series in Berlin and of course they didn't want to pay me to be on the tech recce. Now I am confronted with the most horrible locations. A little video as an example attached. Since it is a bigger series I didnt even wonder and thought. ADR, of course. So now I have the strange situation that the producer basically says, no ADR. For 80 days of shooting they maybe budgeted half a day of ADR. I know this is ridiculous and they should know better. Now he wants suggestions how to avoid ADR in horrible locations, besides changing the location. I already told him to hire a dialogue editor who really goes…
Last reply by mono, -
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- 5 replies
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I just wrapped a film where the lead actor had to have an earwig at ALL TIMES. Not just shooting and rehearsals - they could not be on set without a fully functioning earwig that was tested and confirmed working. It was their security blanket just as much as it was needed to deliver lines. It was a very sensitive situation and everyone from the director, the actor, and their people were nervous about it. I thought this post might be helpful on the technical side of things to illustrate our workflow. We were more or less forced to use the Roger 2.4GHz system which ended up being fine with only 2-3 little range issues throughout the entire shoot. I had built a r…
Last reply by MEP, -
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- 6 replies
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When Track Names are provided on BWFP files, what is the procedure for the Post Production team to edit a misnamed Name section on the track Metadata? I do not know what program is being used by their team, but they can see the names and suggest they cannot make any changes to them after ingestion. Any suggestion for a hack or add-on for an Assistant Editor to make corrections somewhere in the workflow? Cross-posting in the The Post Place section.
Last reply by igomarsound, -
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Hi everyone, I’d like to share a new app that’s starting to gain traction in the audiovisual world, especially among professionals working on large-scale film and series productions. It’s called Keinema, and it’s designed to dramatically speed up the preproduction process—from script to shoot-ready—in hours rather than weeks. While it’s primarily aimed at art departments, its collaborative features and visual planning tools could be of real interest to sound teams working closely with directors and production designers. You can explore its full capabilities atkeinema.com. It was developed by a friend of mine with years of experience in film art directi…
Last reply by Bernat Gras, -
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Hi everyone. Recently, we acquired some Tentacle Sync timecode generators at my office job to be used in conjunction with our Sound Devices MixPre 6. We have a multicam shoot coming up where we will be using two Sony FX6s, a Sony FS7, and possibly even a Sony FX3. While testing our set up, I was able to sync the timecode between all of the cameras and the Sound Devices with no issue. When I synced the video and audio in post though, I noticed that the MixPre's audio was a couple of frames off from the camera's onboard audio. To figure out what I did wrong, I then set up just one FX6 and the MixPre to do a simpler test. Still, when I synced the audio and v…
Last reply by inspire, -
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- 8 replies
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For short films, I always record on poly wav with mixL & mixR on track 1&2 and iso on the rest of tracks. With a clear sound report and clear track naming, usually it's sufficient for the editor/DIT or whoever is in charge of syncing to sync. However, I've been requested by a specific post house and some freelancers coming from it to offer separate files with only two mix tracks in them. At the first time, I politely asked the syncing guy for the reason, and she got back with a baffling and cold answer: for them, syncing means to sync for mix files only, not the files for all tracks, which didn’t explain too much. Although from my view, she could’ve e…
Last reply by The Documentary Sound Guy, -
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I know a lot of you are staunch mono-mix supporters, a lot of you are split-track supporters (whether that's boom L, lavs R, or boom 1 L, boom 2 + plants R, etc etc), and I know this has been rather extensively discussed in the past, but most of those discussions seem to be from over a decade ago. How is everyone mixing in 2025 and beyond, with the ever-changing landscape of filmmaking (particularly narrative, of which I come from), shooting on 2, 3, 4+ cameras all the time, and ever increasing cast counts, plus all the other challenges of modern day filmmaking. Has anyone changed their approach towards production sound? Those of you mixing to 2-tracks,what ar…
Last reply by Oliver Mac, -
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I'm getting close to a final mix on a personal documentary that I've been working on for the last five years. We are in post sound right now, and starting to look at studios for a final theatre mix. I'm getting sticker shock, and wondering exactly what I'd be getting from a day in a mix theatre that I can't do on my own. In an ideal world, I'd really like to have a pair of experienced ears on my film in a theatre that will let me know what it sounds like in an actual screening. But it's not an ideal world, so I'm trying to figure out how important this is. My sound designer and I are both location sound mixers. I'm confident we can get it sounding good on…
Last reply by Bouke, -
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- 4 replies
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Hello, I'm looking for a sound report software that isn't Wave agent wich is great for a start but there is a lack of features and it need a lift up. Any ideas. Would love to enven buy a license if there is a new tool in development. Patrick
Last reply by Jeff Wexler, -
Conversion Method - 96k to 48k Production Recordings, preserving original TC: For those days when you record your production sound at 96 but need to deliver in 48, whether on purpose or accidentally. The below is written for Mac users; I'm not sure if Wave Agent or Twisted Wave are available in other platforms. Wave Agent is free and is from Sound Devices Twisted Wave has a batch processor, and is available on the web; commercial and reasonable though I think is subscription at this time, it's my understanding licenses are perpetual if your subscription expires. OUTLINE: Issue is: TC is calculated based on samples since mid…
Last reply by jeremiahmoore, -
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Hi all, First post here and what a great resource this site is! I've done a search but can't seem to come up with much at all on my issue. So, I accidentally recorded an interview for a documentary yesterday at 24bit/96khz instead of 48khz. I'm about to hand over the files to the production company and was thinking I'd like to convert all the clips to 48khz to make their life easier in post (Avid MC) and preserve my reputation (I'm a relative newb to the audio side of things) with the post facility/producers by not making things harder for them than they need to be. My question is, is it worth doing or am I worrying about nothi…
Last reply by jeremiahmoore, -
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I'm about to start a show that has just informed me, that they will use a Scorpio telescopic crane throughout the whole shoot. We're shooting everything inside a studio and I was wondering, if I should expect a lot of noise from the crane itself. I'll try to have a listen for myself before we start the show, but the last time I've worked with a technocrane a few years ago (different model though) it was quite noisy. Has anybody of you worked with this particular crane before and if so, was it a bigger issue? I doubt, that I can change much, but at least I want to make production/director aware of potential problems. Thanks in advance :)
Last reply by Wyatt Tuzo, -
- 2 followers
- 10 replies
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Working on an (online / cloud) database system that will be fed by several sources, including Qtake. Anyone got some experience with delivering stuff in a manner like this? Eg, sound reports in CSV / XML or alike? Does that go into Qtake or is this processed elsewhere? Where do your recordings go, to video assist / data wranglers? Are those always the same people who keep track of metadata? Questions questions... Bouke
Last reply by Philip Perkins, -
- 4 followers
- 11 replies
- 6.7k views
Has anybody attempted a solar powered cart? Obviously, no use indoors, but I think a modest cart should be well within the power output of a reasonably-sized travel panel, with the possible exception of the charge station. I'd back it up with batteries, but the goal would be to be completely independent when shooting outdoors, and to have a break-away charging station that can be left outdoors when shooting inside. Just wondering what other people have done in this area, if anything.
Last reply by Wandering Ear, -
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If I sync two recorders with SMPTE timecode (i.e. not genlock), how precise is the synchronization? I take it for granted that it's precise within a frame or it wouldn't be reliable for picture sync. What I'm wondering about it audio sync: If I'm trying to maintain phase coherency between tracks for a musical recording, is syncing with timecode sample-accurate? I kind of assume it wouldn't be (since there's no precision below frame level). And, if that assumption is correct, what's the best way to sync two recorders with sample-level precision? Genlock (but isn't that for synchronizing camera clocks)? A shared input recorded on both recorders? Is sample-level …
Last reply by rocketamari, -
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- 5 followers
- 13 replies
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Seems like the popularity of biscuit rigs (pod driven process trailers ) has been on the rise at least for me lately for me on my last few shows. These self driving process trailers allow more flexibility for camera since they can be reconfigured easily and the camera can shoot more angles whereas a traditional process trailer with insert vehicle is quite limiting in comparison. For me the RF workflow & challenges when mixing from a follow van ( since most of the time we can’t get on these rigs ) requires careful planning and execution since I don’t have the benefit of riding in the front of an insert vehicle which allows for more controlled workflows. Bag drops …
Last reply by S Harber, -
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I'm frankensteining together a surround tree with a Mid-Side front and an almost-ORTF (ORTF with hypercardioids) rear. I'm using it for ambience recordings for what will ultimately become a 5.1 theatre mix for an indie film. The sound designer is more than happy to accept any form of multi-channel ... he was pleasantly surprised and very enthusiastic when I told him I was capable of doing this setup. I've done next to no 5.0 recording, but I know a little bit in theory. I know what I'm doing doesn't really fit into standard practice, but I also know there's close to a dozen varieties of mic configurations that get used, so I'm assuming there's some room to play. …
Last reply by inspire, -
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- 7 replies
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Hello guys, may I pick your brain? I’m pitching for a job. Requested is a way to record a cast with 30 talents mobil in a way, that different producers should have the possibility, to listen into everyone talking or pair 2 and more talent, to follow the different conversations. Thank you
Last reply by Mike G, -
- 4 followers
- 13 replies
- 12.1k views
I’m looking for a powerful RF coordination iOS compatible app to have in the bag on a small IPad. It should be able to import CSV scans, do coordination for wireless mics, and have up to date TV band info by location. Does this exist? I’m familiar with all of the macOS windows software. Was hoping to find something that is on par with the Mac/PC versions. Would happily pay top dollar for this kind of thing.
Last reply by Fred Salles, -
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- 6 replies
- 2.3k views
Hey everybody, long time lurker taking the plunge. I'm on a project and just found out that tomorrow there will be a segment shot on an iPhone. I'm still waiting on details from production, but I wanted to ask how others have handled working with the iPhone. I'm assuming sending audio to camera isn't realistic, so I'm thinking double system with a TC slate. I see to get conflicting information online regarding frame rate. Does it shoot 29.976 frames or true 30. As far as I know they are planning on shooting in the iPhone camera app and not an app like filmic.
Last reply by LuisT, -
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- 4 replies
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Sometimes I record discussions, which, in addition to recording the sound itself, involve sounding the space for the listeners. So far I have been using a bodypack transmitter with a lav microphone. The audience soundstage was small, so it could be used, but it was bordering on crosstalk from the speakers and also feedback. Now I will have to sound a bigger hall and I am afraid that it will no longer be usable because of the feedback. A headset mic or a hand mic would certainly be more appropriate in these situations. But is it possible to use a lav mic on the chest in these situations, is it commonly done in practice? Or are headsets or hand mics always used? How to prev…
Last reply by The Documentary Sound Guy, -
- 2 followers
- 9 replies
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Hey all, wanted to improve my workflow for recording time stamped notes when field recording and on some jobs. It saves locally on your phone and just needs an internet connection to start the device time sync for inserting Timestamped notes. You can then export as a CSV file of all your notes. This is very much version 1.0 so let me know what else you would like to see. https://soundrolling.com/blogs/news/notes-app-with-tc-timestamp
Last reply by Derek H, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 4.5k views
A very good client of mine just offered me a very challenging audio job and I would like to get some advice from the forum members here since this is out of my wheelhouse. The shoot consists of up to 20 actors doing a table read. Ideally they would want an iso track of each actor and an automix of the entire session. I am not familiar with what gear exists to get this done. Are there automixers that have 20 inputs? My first thought was to stack four Sound Devices 664/668s to record the isos and then direct out to an automixer. I'm thinking that there is a better way to do this. Any expertise would be greatly appreciated.
Last reply by Phillip C Dent,
