Appendix 1

6 Finishing on Digital Video,
the Online Edit
Finishing on Digital Video
The basic workfl ow for digital video fi nishing consists of several stages including a pre-editing phase
where all the necessary elements are brought into the project as edit-ready digital fi les. In this phase,
if there are fi lm elements, they are transferred to digital video (telecine). Sound not already combined
with picture is prepared and digitized as necessary and synchronized with the picture elements. In
some workfl ows, color is corrected in this phase; in other workfl ows, it is corrected later. On some
projects, frame rates will be adjusted to match shooting frame rates; on most, it will not.
Once the elements are all ready to edit, the off-line edit is performed. This is the actual editing of
the project. It is referred to as “off-line” because there was a time when this video would never be
used as a fi nal project. Low-quality work copies of the high-quality videotapes were used. The quality
was so poor that the project always needed to be reedited on higher defi nition equipment. No effects
were possible in off-line, not even fades or dissolves. The off-line edit was used only as a guide to
edit the original video for the fi nal project. The goal of the off-line edit was the Edit Decision List
(EDL), a fi le containing all the in and out points of all the shots used in the project with all transitions,
audio, and even key effects. The purpose of the off-line edit was, and still is, cost savings by
performing as much editing as possible on the lowest-cost equipment, cutting the time necessary on
the most expensive equipment to a minimum.
When everyone was in agreement that the off-line edit was the best possible and there would be no
changes, the edit was locked. The EDL was used to perform the online edit. The EDL was loaded
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