Editing Picture and Sound The Complete Guide to Film & Digital Production: The Process & The People Lorene M. Wales, Ph.D. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

The Process Post-production is an ever changing process. This PowerPoint covers the process, not the technology. As a filmmaker it is important to know the process so you can keep it in check and make sure you are making progress. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Post-Production Supervisor Meets with the producer to discuss a possible post-production schedule and delivery date. Creates and publishes a post-production schedule May arrange for picture and sound editing facilities. May coordinate the scoring sessions, including communicating with the composer and renting the stage. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Post-Production Supervisor May rent a sound mixing facility for the final sound mix. Provides communication between the editors and producer or production staff. May work with film labs to insure timely transport & delivery of materials. May work with the special/visual effects team to coordinate delivery of the effects. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Picture Editor Receives dailies from the production office. Receives notes from the script supervisor. Has one assistant or more digitize or load the footage into the editing system. May look over the footage to see what has been shot. Begins to choose takes, either with the director or alone. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Editor Once takes are chosen, may him/herself or have an assistant assemble the footage into a first cut. As further footage is sent to the editor, repeats the process of cutting together scenes. May then cut a first cut of the film, either alone or with the director. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Editor - Continued Each time a cut is ready, the editor will arrange for a screening with the producer and director. Continues with further cuts of the picture until the final cut is achieved. May need to edit a television version, if applicable. Sends the cut picture to the negative cutters.     © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Other Editing Personnel 1st Assistant Editor 2nd Assistant Editor Apprentice Editor Supports the Editor May cut scenes together, or just load footage. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

The Digital Workflow Shoot with a digital camera. The DIT checks and transcodes footage into your editing format. The assistant editors import the files into your editing system. Assistants also organize the footage into a pre-determined file system. Input the sound and synchronize to the picture. Put together your first cut, some call it the assembly. You can then, on some systems, edit your sound on the same system. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

The Digital Workflow Or, output your cut sound to a sound editing system for more precise sound editing. After 1st cut, send picture to sound editors and they begin building tracks. Hold various screenings with director and producers and make changes as needed. Hold ADR and Foley sessions as needed. Once picture and sound edit are locked, the elements are brought back together. Hold color correction sessions. Conduct a sound mix and then output to your final format. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Digital Dailies Dailies that are used for rough cuts, review of visual effects. Footage is transferred and sent either over internet or put on drive and send to editorial (works when only low rez dailies are needed). Or, footage is transferred and then video conferenced to a certain location. Or, portable screening rooms, a server with 2or more TB of storage placed in a certain location, footage is delivered on hard drives and loaded into server. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Main Titles & End Credits The UPM will have coordinators type a preliminary list of credits based on the crew list. Once completed, this draft is sent to the producer for approval. Changes are made as necessary. Once the film is closer to completion, a final list of credits will be generated and approved. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Audio Post-Production Sound Designer Sound Editor Sound Effects Editor ADR Editor Dialogue Editor Music Editor Re-recording Mixers © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Sound Designer Creates aural vision of film. Meets with director to discuss vision. Oversees audio editors. Responsible for all audio tracks and delivery (if no post-production supervisor). In low-budget land could also be the sound editor and mixer. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Audio Editors Hold spotting sessions for their tracks (dialogue, ambience, sound effects, ADR, Foley). Record or acquire any needed audio. Edits the audio into the sound tracks. Continues to refine tracks as per sound designer and director. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Dialogue Editor Listens to the dialogue track, looking for problems. Completes a spotting sheet, making notes of items that need improvement. Adds crossfades between dialogue cuts to create smoothness. Fills in any missing ambiences between words. Adjust levels and pitches of voices so they are consistent. May work on the M&E (or sometimes completed by the sound editor). © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Sound Effects Editor Holds spotting sessions with the director and/or producer. Inserts any needed sound effects via a sound effects library or new recording. Records any effects that cannot be found in a library. If necessary, holds Foley sessions to get needed sound effects. Continues to build the sound effects tracks until all are completed. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Music Editor Holds spotting sessions with the director or music supervisor. At this session, the placement of each piece of music is chosen. As pieces of music are received, places them accordingly. Hold meetings with the director or music supervisor to adjust music as needed. If applicable, sends the music tracks to the main sound editor. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

ADR After principal photography, meets with producer, director, and sound editor to determine which lines of dialogue will be ADR’d. The post-production supervisor books a facility that does ADR. The producer or UPM contacts necessary cast and arranges for a looping schedule. ADR editor, edits new audio onto ADR tracks. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

ADR Editor May hold spotting sessions with the director, dialogue editor, or main sound editor. Will work with the post-production supervisor to schedule ADR recording sessions. Records actors’ dialogue at the looping/ADR session. Edits the ADR into the ADR tracks. May send the ADR tracks to the sound editor. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Foley Editor Holds spotting session with director. Records sounds as per the spotting session. Edits sounds onto the Foley tracks. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Re-Recording Mixer/The Sound Mix All parties watch the project and give notes, sound mixer makes adjustments. The re-recording mixer adds effects to sounds as needed, or directs the dialogue or music mixer to do so. Adjusts volume levels for consistency throughout the piece and the dialogue is prominent. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

The Sound Mix The director and/or producer add suggestions throughout the session. These suggestions are talked about and implemented as needed. The mixer(s) proceed through the show until all scenes are completed. The parties will then listen to the project one last time to determine if any adjustments need to be made. © 2017 Taylor & Francis

The Audio-Post Process Take footage & audio & sync Go through dialogue, clean-up Build Ambience tracks Add Sound Effects Add Music Mix all tracks © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Post-Production Hierarchy © 2017 Taylor & Francis

Conclusion The post-production process continues to change as new technologies are developed. It is important early in production to know what your delivery format is, as this will affect the steps of post-production. Your post-production supervisor will monitor the post-production process, ensuring that all deadlines are met. Your editor works to edit the picture while your sound team works to build the sound tracks and complete a final sound mix. Finally, the choice to shoot on film or a digital format is determined by your director and/or producer. This choice depends on the aesthetics of the show, its budget, and the final delivery format. © 2017 Taylor & Francis