Appendix 1

The Filmmaker’s Guide to Final Cut Pro Workfl ow
It is a simple process to recapture all of the video from the higher-resolution tapes. However, this
must be done at a competent postproduction house that supports your tape format. Additional color
correction can be performed at this “online edit” or even after the online edit.
The third system requires more organization and more telecine time because the footage used in the
edit will be telecined twice. However, as the fi rst telecine is only a work copy, there is little need to
meticulously color correct so it can go quite fast. In the second telecine, every frame telecined is
used in the fi nal edit so the color correction must be the best possible. Unlike the fi rst two systems,
however, there is no time wasted color correcting footage that will never be used. If your edit ratio
is high, this may be the cheapest system. Be sure to inform the telecine facility what your workfl ow
plan is as they will need to perform some extra prep prior to telecine to help guide the second telecine.
This workfl ow will require reverse telecine to ensure accurate key code information. You will
want two “window burns,” windows printed on screen showing time code and key code information.
You will also want a telecine log, as noted earlier.
Film to Digital Workfl ows
If you are shooting on fi lm and fi nishing on 23.98 frames per second (FPS) HD Cam or D5 digital
video, you can follow any of these same three workfl ows with some modifi cations. You can also use
23.98 or 24 FPS HD Cam and D5 as a fi lm fi nish format treating it as a “virtual digital intermediate”
by shooting the digital video onto 35 mm fi lm.
• Perform a best-possible 16 × 9 animorphic telecine (see section following for more on animorphic
telecine) with color correction to HD Cam at 23.98 FPS. Capture at 23.98 FPS from these tapes
at a lower resolution in Final Cut Pro and recapture at high defi nition later in online. Because of
the large color space of HD Cam, especially HD Cam SR, additional color correction can be
applied in online.
• Perform a best-possible 16 × 9 animorphic telecine with color correction to HD Cam at
23.98 FPS. Make 4 × 3 letterboxed “down converts” of the HD Cam tapes to 29.97 FPS DVCam
with time code window burns. Capture from the 29.97 FPS DVCam down converts and recapture
from the high-defi nition tapes in online. This workfl ow will require reverse telecine.
• Perform a basic 4 × 3 letterbox “work copy” telecine to DVCam tape and retelecine the fi lm negative
later to HD Cam at 23.98 with fi nal color correction. Make sure to include key code information
in the telecine log to use as a guide to retelecine. This workfl ow will require reverse telecine
to ensure accurate key code information.
The fi rst workfl ow has the advantage of being extremely simple and straightforward. While the
capture is somewhat expensive, this cost may be totally offset by not needing down converts or extra
telecine.
The second workfl ow sounds complicated, but it is the most common workfl ow for 23.98 HD video.
It is the same workfl ow most often used when shooting HD video at 23.98. Because the frame rate
of the DVCam tapes do not match the frame rate of the HD Cam masters, the DVCam tapes need
to be “down converts”—the time code on the two tapes match except for the frames column. The
HD Cam tapes will have 23.98 NDF and the DVCam tapes will have 29.97 NDF time code. The
DVCam work copies need to be made with two “window burns”—windows printed on screen
showing both time codes. The HD Cam tapes will be 16 × 9 anamorphic, the DVCam down converts
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