Share Your WorkFlow Config Chart

Wow, there's a lot of old mentality here and it's incredible that people still "keep" secrets today.

One thing I admire from Open Source concept for software or web development is that there's no secret, every one in the community shares and collaborates information and code to anyone who wants to learn or use them. This way, bugs are found quicker, better optimizations techniques are discovered and shared with everyone to benefit. Techniques get refined and shared and refined some more because of sharing and collaboration.
 
Its all about the fact that easy to use products are removing grip and value of good post production. Prices for POST are dropping people are nickel and diming everything these days.

So any "trick" one can pull off with standard tools that gives them a competitive edge is a trick worth keeping to yourself. Unfortunately the fault of this logic is someone else has had the same idea.

As far as post production workflows. Well everyone has it differently. - From my Old DJ days I learned one thing.

The Technics 1200-MK Turntable. Each one cost a fortune in my mind, so I went with a cheaper alternative, I got booked to play at a club, what did they have? MK-2's I train-wrecked records all night. Apparently in the record mixing, Techinics were the "standard" and everything else was fringe. I spent $900 on a pair shortly there after and had to un-learn to do beatmach records the way I learned on different turntables.

Point of the story? - There is no golden sword, however there are generaly accepted practices.

Each time some vendor publishes a "success" story, don't forget that their reps were helping with it, nothign is magical and everything is obtained through trial and error, hopefuly with someone elses money.

Everyones workflow is different based on where they are in the chain, no single person can be an all-stop shop for everything. Most of the time, someone will use something, have it work correctly and stick with it, wether or not the rest of the industry is using that, will it interoperate with this or that - totally different story.

Post workflow is scalable and technology advancements make it more and more complicated, not less complicated. Same technology advancements are producing easy to use software that cheapens the technological investment and experience behind the post production houses, this creates fear, not fear of competition but fear of ignorance.

If someone can google your experience in a post, then what do they need you for?
It's the fear that someone will think that "this is the golden sword" and there is nothng else to it.

Some wont like to share because they're not using "industry acceptable" equipment or software that would "cheapen" their value in the eyes of a client.

I mean, If I mixed your sound on a Cluster of Protools HD Accell systems with Sonnox, DUY, McDSP and Waves Platinum and TC-Electronics plugins - or on a $500 copy of logic pro with built in presets, that you can buy at Apple Store.

Would you pay me money or go and get $500 worth of Logic 8 DVD's?
And tinker with it until you'd give up and give me a call anyway?

I guess it all comes down to Engineering and Creativity and obviously exposure to what others are doing.

If you're an Engineering type mind, you'll reasearch and find things that fit your workflow. Having exposure to other workflows make decisions between say, Kona 3 and Decklink an easy choice. Davinci or Apple Color another one. Fire, Inferno and Smoke. a D5 deck or HDCAM SR. After Effects or Motion.

Even between AVID and FCP. Soundtrack and Logic vs. Protools. Tascam vs. Nagra. I can go on.

Each individual workflow will have its own wins and losses.
The magic triangle is - "Cost" vs. "Quality" vs. "Performance/Speed".

In that triangle you can place one dot, this dot can go only closer to two of the three verticies.
You can throw money at the problem, compromise on quality, or work really slowly.

Depending on the product you're putting out.

Also some are afraid that disclosure will ruin the "Magic/Wizzard" perception if explained. And clients don't need to know that you used a $99 efx to achive their result, all they care about is the end result.

So I can certainly understand the apprehension when "sharing" tricks or tips and sheer experience - especially on an open forum, that's indexable and searchable.

The divide between not being able to afford an SGI for post and being able to edit a feature on a laptop is coming closer. No longer does cost of equipment alone separate a professional post house from a freelancer with a $900 dell notebook. If their output is nearing the pro post houses, they're doing a bit of Magic to get results that were even 5 years ago only possible with serious cash, so I understand their want to keep it in the dark.

As an Engineer I know I can make myself obsolete with full disclosure. I wish it was not like that in the Post and Production fields, but anytime you make a discovery, your *clue* will be given verbatim to someone who is cheaper, and can work longer hours for less pay. So unless you're in the top 95% of the bellcurve in the business and have word of mouth etc..

I wish it was not like that, and the atmosphere was not so pressurized. But unfortunately it is.
I believe in the share and share alike, but every time I make a post here, my girlfriend tells me that I should not do that as I am giving my experience and hard knocks for free.

But I know the day will come where "stanard practices" will fall into place and will be published verbatum. At this point we'll be sending our Digital Intermediates to Mumbai to a $5USD/hr colorist/editor/sound mixer, and there is now way of stopping it from happening, just delaying.

Only ones left standing will be the ones in the highest eschelons of the POST industry.
 
DO NOT trash talk each other. offending post has been deleted. discuss the topic at hand, without attacking each other's integrity. it reflects poorly on you and undermine's the value of this community.
 
i just put stuff on teh timeline..lol....i use that little blade tool to cut **** i dont like...lol

how different can that be from what u guys are doing....it probbaly isnt..lol
 
I load footage into the Viewer...look at it, mark IN and out for the stuff I want, then add it to the timeline. Basic 3-point editing. IN and OUT in the Viewer, I point on the timeline.

Ooops...gave away my trade secret!
 
ive never marked "IN and OUT" lol and i've been editing for over 10 years.lol.... we all have diff ways of doing **** but get the same result... niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
 
I am really disappointed in the reaction of some of my fellow members to what is in my opinion a pretty tame set of questions. I agree with Zak:
it's the quality of producing and content creation that keeps me in work (often, up to my ears ). the workflow is more or less universal, is it not? what am i missing?
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I have been at this for a long long time and that does not make me an expert but it does allow me to say I have never lost a gig because I shared my knowledge with a colleague.
I also want to say that ones technical prowess and ability to navigate their way through a NLE is not in any way shape or form testament to their editorial skill. There are many many brilliant editors and film makers who don't know squat about FCP or AVID. They do know how to work in a non linear environment however, they learned how in film where bins were really bins.
So here is what I have to work with and it is no secret:


Camera Type : HMC 150 ( also GH1 for special needs)
Record / Capture Format :AVCHD using the variety offered on the camera depending on the subject matter I am shooting.
Storage : I have a Nexto 2700, a MacBook Pro 17 and eight 3.5" USB portable drives. I double backup in the field and will begin using the Nexto on my next shoot.
Capture to Edit Suite : Log and Transfer to ProRes
NLE Type: Final Cut Pro (Studio) on a Quad 2.66/8gigs ram and with two 500 gig internal drives for applications.
External Storage: three 1TB firewire 400 mirrored raids, two 3TB mirrored sata raids, four WD"MyBook" 1TB archiving drives. I archive my original camera files by date in folders not altering their camera original structure. I can go back and batch transfer if needed.
Video Card + Monitor Config: Matrox MXO and two Samsung 24" displays and one Apple Cinema 23" display for grading.
I am working with ProRes all the way and have not determined what I will output to at this stage but will be picking up a BluRay for at least archiving and client presentation. Most of my work is broadcast half or one hours and what I will be delivering on will depend on who is buying it.
 
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BrianMurphy said:
I am really disappointed in the reaction of some of my fellow members to what is in my opinion a pretty tame set of questions. I agree with Zak:
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Not to be a complete ego maniac, I hope you're not lumping me in with that group. :-). But I'm not surprised at the replies. I've been hearing this drumbeat all over the Post Production community in NY for quite some time. So I'm not surprised to see it here.

I would ask someone in one of the edit suites working on a project "How did you do this thing..." and they would reply. "Heh.." as if I'm out to get them.

Its an odd atmosphere. But yeah, depending on Long Form, Episodical or Promo and Commericals and Music Video. If one has editorial skill to tell the story, ultimately it will beat any technical tricks.

Meanwhile I still want to know what kind of LUT tables Siggy Ferstl built for Crank 2 for his da Vinci.
 
Re"Its an odd atmosphere. But yeah, depending on Long Form, Episodical or Promo and Commericals and Music Video. If one has editorial skill to tell the story, ultimately it will beat any technical tricks."

Just wait till Bollywood takes over Hollywood heh!
 
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