Workflow
discussions about workflow from production through post-production
759 topics in this forum
-
- 134 replies
- 66.4k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 714 views
We're location sound people, and we got tired of the same three options: re-typing BWF metadata into Excel at midnight, paying for slating bloat we never use, or companion apps that only work with one brand of recorder and die when cell service does. So we built WaveLog Pro. It is on the App Store now for iPhone, iPad, and Mac: iPhone / iPad: https://apps.apple.com/app/wavelog-pro-sound-reports/id6802046237?platform=iphone Mac (wrap-night / Finder): https://apps.apple.com/app/wavelog-pro-sound-reports/id6802046237?platform=mac - Point it at your recorder's folder (Sound Devices, Zoom, Deity, Tentacle — anything writing BWF/i…
Last reply by Mit Dac, -
- 3 replies
- 602 views
Hi everyone, I'd like to introduce fcp2aaf, a native Mac app (Apple Silicon, macOS 14+) that solves a well-known problem in post-production sound: Final Cut Pro cannot export AAF. fcp2aaf reads the FCPXML that Final Cut exports and builds a standard AAF ready to open in Pro Tools (also compatible with Nuendo, Fairlight, Reaper and DaVinci Resolve). A few things that might be relevant for this forum: - Before converting anything, a window opens showing the whole session: tracks by role, fades, markers, clip gain, volume automation, and you can play any clip to check everything lines up before handing it to the mixer. - It resolves c…
Last reply by Cesareho, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 798 views
Audio is my first love, but I also do a lot of one man band interviews. I love my Sound Devices PIX-E5 with the XLR module and meters. It allows me to have SD preamps and pro audio features and a video monitor, and eliminate the mixer. However, the video recorded on the PIX is only 4k, plus it records the supers and false color I use while monitoring. Anyway, I record on the recorder the smallest file size option for video, and use these files for my audio tracks, just like I would from an audio mixer. I wish I could just record audio and not video but I can't. Anyone know how I can export or extract the audio from these files--AND PRESERVE TC--so I can th…
Last reply by Bouke, -
- 1 follower
- 1 reply
- 1.1k views
Hi there! I 'm hoping to get in touch with sound mixers from the Netherlands for support. I'm heading there next week for travel-shoot across the country, starting near Emden / Germany and heading via Amsterdam all the way to Zeeland. We'll be having up to 8 wireless mics running. Now I've just been over there for another project last month and had serious issues finding working frequencies in different cities. The SL-2 scans looked horrible and at times I had to deal with only 3-5 meters range before dropouts occured. Are there any fellow colleagues who can help me out with information? Thanks a lot! Christ…
Last reply by codyman, -
- 3 replies
- 461 views
Hi all, Aulio Studio founder and developer here. I'm looking for real-world feedback from production sound folks, not beta testers or tech reviewers. If you've ever spent time cleaning up location recordings before handoff to post, I'd genuinely value your take. Quick context on what the app does: Runs entirely on-device, no uploads (matters for NDA work and spotty location connections) Noise reduction, hum removal, filler-word editing Batch processes a full day's worth of files One-time license, no subscription I use RX myself for heavy lifting, but it felt like overkill for quick cleanup passes on interview dailies. That's …
Last reply by Amit Nadir, -
- 1 follower
- 60 replies
- 13.3k views
Hi everyone. For the first time I have a massive recording issue with the new BP-TRX Audio recorder. As always I synced the files with my video in Post, but the file from one transmitter/recorder shows a duration of zero seconds in tentacle sync studio, although it can be played back perfectly fine in VLC and timecode can be read from tentacle sync. In LTCconvert I cannot even import the file. File size on both recorders is about the same, so the file should be ok. What can I do to make it readable again and keep the embedded timecode??
Last reply by Bouke, -
- 0 replies
- 1.1k views
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, -
- 2 followers
- 22 replies
- 7.5k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 5 replies
- 8.7k views
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, -
- 4 followers
- 6 replies
- 3.4k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 0 replies
- 1.6k views
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, -
- 7 replies
- 6.5k views
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, -
- 3 followers
- 8 replies
- 3.3k views
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, -
- 8 replies
- 4.8k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 15 replies
- 4.5k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 3.2k views
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, -
-
- 12 replies
- 8.8k views
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, -
- 1 reply
- 1.4k views
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
- 3.5k views
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
- 7.3k 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, -
- 1 follower
- 37 replies
- 18.1k views
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, -
.jpg.60deb0716219777743dadbbc5c367e0c.thumb.jpg.1c9a3a88e16c9817f9ba0b039743d08a.jpg)
- 4 followers
- 13 replies
- 6.9k views
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, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 9.3k views
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,
