Appendix 1

After the Film Is Finished: Distribution
For fi lms that will not have an online, this will be part of the fi nishing. After the fi nal mix is added
to the timeline and all color correction is fi nished, simply export the movie as a Quicktime. This will
export the movie in its native format with a stereo sound track. For 5.1 mixes, the Dolby AC3 audio
will be encoded and compressed separately in Compressor, as seen in Figure 10.3, and added in DVD
authoring.
Figure 10.3 Compressor is also used to encode surround sound for DVD’s in the AC3 format.
Theatrical encoding must be done by a representative from Dolby, Sony or DTS using proprietary
equipment and software
It may seem logical to “down convert” to a format like DV on export when using an HD or even
DVC Pro 50 when you are planning a standard defi nition DVD. As the DVD is much more compressed
than DV, down converting to DV seems like a logical workfl ow. However, this is disastrous.
The compression software is designed to create the best possible compression from the data available;
the more image information you give it the better it performs. Always compress the best available
media and never double compress anything.
When a project is fi nished on fi lm, there may not be any usable media to use in the DVD or as a
broadcast master. The original telecine was probably a “best light” without very much color correction.
It was most likely done to DVCam, and so this digital video is certainly not the best media
available. As always there are several workfl ow options:
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