Dialogue Editing

240 CONFORMATIONS
Figure 14-1 Excerpt from an Avid-generated fi lm change list.
Communicating change instructions was simpler when editing was done on
fi lm and mag. A conformation is a very physical process, so it was easier to
communicate between one department and another when there was something
real to move. Now that everyone is on a workstation, moving ether
rather than chunks of fi lm, the process has gotten more complicated and,
worse, more prone to error.
A relatively painless conformation hinges on getting good information from
the picture editor. An experienced editor should be able to produce an accurate
change list from any professional picture workstation. On low-budget
fi lms, however, it’s not uncommon that an inexperienced picture editor will
hand you nothing but the new OMF and shrug when you’re not impressed.
If that’s the case, you may need to educate him about change lists. This, of
course, means that you need to learn a bit about them yourself.
Creating Change Notes in the Avid
Avid’s Change List Tool 1 is accessed through the Output menu (see Figure
14-2). It works much like the Compare Document routine in Microsoft Word. 2
You point to two documents and specify how to note the differences. On the
1 An excellent overview of the Avid Change List Tool is in “Confi guring Avid Change
Lists” by Robert Brakey, in The Motion Picture Editors Guild Magazine (vol. 21, no. 2, March/
April 2000).
2 Word is, of course, a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.