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Never ones to miss an opportunity for pageantry, Hungarians have already memorialized Sixteen19’s “The Borgias” Avid setup in relief.

Sixteen19 recently teamed with Colorfront in Budapest to provide Post services for “The Borgias,” a Showtime series by creator Neil Jordan based on a dynastic Italian family.  Using their increasingly popular Onset Dailies (OSD) software, Colorfront is providing dailies for the show, while Sixteen19 is providing Avids and support.  Both companies look forward to teaming on more projects.

Dailies are being processed at Colorfront’s state-of-the-art Post facilty in Budapest, while editorial is housed at the surprisingly modern Korda studios in Etyek. 

Korda Studios.

Sixteen19 is a major OSD fan and customer, having used it to provide on-location dailies for its own list of high profile feature film and television projects.

Director of Mobile Services for Sixteen19, Chad Andrews, took a break from producing dailies on the feature film “Gambit” to setup the editorial at Korda.  His first time to Hungary, we was charmed by the rich history, grandeous architecture and stoic residents.  Chad had the opportunity to spend time with the Colorfront staff, including owners Mark and Aron Jaszberenyi, and walked away impressed by his four days in Budapest.

“In many ways being in Budapest feels like you’re rooted in the past, but then Korda and especially Colorfront are two of the most modern feature film venues in existence.  We mesh with Colorfront because we both walk on the leading edge.  Mobile dailies are taking hold throughout the States and Europe and as we continue to use OSD as a cornerstone of our mobile dailies unit.”

 

 

Pain & Solutions for Digital Post

At SIXTEEN19, we consider ourselves pretty good entrepreneurs.  Good entrepreneurs identify a pain and study it day and night, from all angles, devising and offering a solution that has maximum value to those experiencing that pain.

It is always easiest to market a solution to a problem when the problem is easily expressed and understood and the solution is highly specific:  “You need to get that sharp piece of metal with the flat head into that piece of wood?  Here, this is called a hammer…”  The need for a hammer will be greatest amongst those that have spent the last week trying to pound nails in with rocks or their hand. 

Within the Digital Post industry, there are an endless array of solutions for specific problems.  But we at SIXTEEN19 specialize in management of over-arching workflow pipelines.  The truth is that our product is less easy to express or understand than many.

So what is the current pain in Digital Post Production and how are we strategically poised to address it?

As Digital Post solutions go mobile, the pain is the inability to manage quality and consistency across all shows.  Currently, each production has its own challenges and ad hoc solutions that make it nearly impossible to manage content to standard.  The ill effects of operating without standards are felt in both soft and hard costs:  Soft costs being lack of migration of critical creative decisions (such as color) across departments and inability to collaborate fluidly from a central data repository; while hard costs include long, painful conforms and problem archives.

So what is the ideal solution?  We at SIXTEEN19 are developing a platform that allows for all digital elements to be housed in a robust metadata-rich data repository.  This platform will be able to automate ingestion of any element from any camera or recording device, along with all associated metadata created by multiple sources and professionals.  From there, the platform will manage pipelines to process and share each element as it passes through the factory of professionals in varying departments and back again.  An example would be an original camera file debayered and pushed through a secure Internet connection to a VFX house, along with all metadata and LUTs.  As that shot is worked on, the status of that shot along with all versioning and added metadata can be updated in the master database, such that when shots are delivered the shot itself and the current metadata ripple into current cuts.  From there, metadata and original elements can be easily accessed for finish and distribution.

As entrepreneurs, it is vital to understand our own pains in terms of how we market our solution.

It can be frustrating when you know you have the better mouse trap, because it takes time for the industry to come around.  Solutions are subject to the real world, such as learning curves, budgeting conventions, internal politics, sales cycles and more. Most disruptive products go through a chain of adoption from pioneers to the market-at-large.  Pioneers are willing to work with entrepreneurs to customize solutions whereas the market-at-large requires multiple referrals and success stories.  Trying to force the market-at-large to adopt before it is ready is the cause of most startup failures.

 

Chief amongst the challenges at SIXTEEN19 is the simple fact that most industries must fully experience the pain before the need for an over-arching solution is pressing.

In our case, the better mousetrap requires a retooling of traditional budgets and in some case the inclusion of a new breed of professionals, such as onset colorist and dailies producer.  

Currently, there is a push amongst studios and production companies to look towards smaller picture budgetary savings.  New digital technology is cheap and powerful compared to old iron, and it is natural to seek to maximize the cost benefits – because you can!  Doing so, however, may be penny-wise-pound-foolish.

The truth is, it is an excellent investment to spend money during production to optimize metadata and manage a standardized pipeline. 

The simple fact is that for most productions that are trying to push files quickly from set to editorial, they are creating future problems that not only cost substantially down the road, but can threaten release and make it exceedingly difficult to restore for future use.  It is difficult to quantify these risks during production, because the ill effects are usually not felt for many months as files are passed between departments and conformed.  Arduous, expensive conforms are the norm for productions that dabble with ad hoc set-to-editorial solutions, and lack of platform standards in the increasingly horizontal market for mobile Post make it exceedingly difficult for studios to be proactive about these problems. 

Contrast this to SIXTEEN19’s set-to-finish management of Dreamworks Studio’s Fright Night (in conjunction with Company3.)  Adding a dailies producing layer and custom pipeline and database support made what would have been a difficult 3D show with numerous challenges introduced by multiple camera sources (RED, SI2K, even some consumer 2D HD) into a highly streamlined, easily conformed success with dailies of a quality that rival any lab, anywhere.

We believe that the short-term savings in Post budgets will not offset the long-term costs and risks associated with ad hoc.  We expect early adopting customers to see the value in introducing managed pipelines that optimize workflows and produce maximum collaboration and rock-solid workflows.

As entrepreneurs we realize that our solution may only be considered by most of the market after the full brunt of the pain has been realized.  When the film history books look back on Digital Post in 2011, it may well be labeled “The Era of Pain.”  But – out of that era will emerge the solutions that will serve as the backbone for standardized metadata workflows for the next 100 years. 

Stories as Data

This was a good year at the South-by-Southwest conference to augment knowledge about the current state of 3D science and emerging camera technologies, amongst other topics.  I was particularly impressed by the $16,000 Sony PMW-F3 1080p camcorder, which is yet another digital product that comes closer to promising professional production quality to the People. 

The good news is the future will allow filmmakers to be extraordinarily innovative.  The bad news is, innovation will likely distract from the already fragile art of storytelling.

I’ve worked on the technical end of film Post Production for 16 years now.  During that time, I’ve often been conflicted because I am not sure that technology always enhances the art of storytelling, which is near and dear to me.  So it was with a bit of a grain of salt that I soaked in the predominate theme at this year’s South-by-Southwest conference this week:  Stories are data.

On the surface, you’d think I would be thrilled by the industry coming around to this view:  At SIXTEEN19, I am involved daily in the evolution of next-generation Post Production platforms that focus on collaboration through pipeline and metadata management.  These are inevitable and essential aspects of making great-looking films cheaper and with greater collaboration.  What we are creating is a great facilitator for forward-thinking filmmakers and promises the unrivaled ability to access, share and collaborate between departments. 

But will this alone lead to better story telling? 

There is a new term out there that is becoming ubiquitous and it is “Transmedia Storytelling.”  Don’t get me wrong, I love it when artists get innovative.  When filmmakers made “Blair Witch” and it used the weaknesses of a cheap camera as a strength, I was duly impressed!  So was the audience.

…But this didn’t mean that every film shot with camcorders and jerky camera moves worked – and we were inundated by these for years.

I sat in on a panel this week for a play about a long-distance relationship that takes place between Austin and London:  “You Wouldn’t Know Him, He Lives in Austin/You Wouldn’t Know Her, She Lives in London”

http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2011-03-11/you-wouldnt-know-her-she-lives-in-london-you-wouldnt-know-him-he-lives-in-texas/

That play has a live audience in London with the lead actress, a live audience in Austin with the lead actor in Austin – and an audience on Skype. 

In the above examples, story is enhanced by the technical choices – just as some (but certainly not all!) movies are enhanced by 3D.  In the play, the Skype audience participates by chatting along and asking the leads questions.  Great idea, the audience is engage and part of the story!  Why do I suspect this trend will see some brilliant uses in the upcoming years – but far, far more rampant abuse?  Will CSI-Nova Scotia be an interactive Skype experience on DIRECTV?

Meanwhile, in a panel led by Intel Futurist Brain David Johnson, whose job it is to help design chips that are ideal for uses five years from now, it became clear that content will increasingly be integrated with social networking interaction and multiple screens.  I cannot help but wonder if all of the changes are good for the audience?  I imagine throngs of people on islands of niche content Tweeting away on their keyboards as they watch an ever-decaying plethora of glitzy, window-baked-in gloss that make MTV videos look like Bergman films.  This isn’t a middle-aged man’s attempt to bark at the evolution of “kids these days” – it’s more of a recognition that evolution is not as perfect and linear as Darwin made it seem.  With the rapidity in the technology development and its permanent affect on our relationship with the world, natural selection leads to lighting quick adaption – as if we all decided to go surfing one morning and came back with flippers. 

As someone who has specialized in non-linear editing solutions for most of his career, it is a dark secret embedded in my psyche that almost all of my favorite movies were made before they existed, when story was the thing.

Believe me, the ability to create and share digital production elements is going supernova.  Soon, you will be able to not only edit your film from a centralized metadata-minded database, you will be able to funnel your content through a platform that can integrate with high-functioning Web-sites and demographic-specific distribution platforms.  The market for cheap, highly geared content will open up, which is great for home-baked storytellers  But can the integrity of story withstand the distracted, low attention-span nature of the coming mediums?  I think the answer will be “sometimes.”

I wonder if in a decade we don’t see a rebellion back to film and Moviolas and the craftsmanship of patient storytelling. 

Time will tell. 

On the Docket at SXSW

Just putting together my schedule.  Plenty of films I want to sneak in, but the panels are the thing.

These aren’t all of the panels I’ll attend, but they are a few that I’m excited about.  I’ll make sure to blog and Tweet as I go.

New Tools for Filmmakers: Virtually Augmented 3.0 Reality

About collaborative filmmaking in the cloud.  Promising. 

Crafting the Footage: Editing Your Film

One panelists is Sandra Adair, whom I’ve worked with more than once and love.  Looking forward to catching up!

Inside Sony’s F3: Affordable 35mm PL Mount Camcorder

Enough said, that’s right in my wheelhouse and I’m excited about this new camera. 

The Nitty Gritty on 3D

This has Keith Collea on it, who is one of my favorite Stereographers.  (You know you may be a geek when you have a favorite Stereographer.)  Met Keith at last year’s panel and he’s been a great resource.

The State of 3D in Cinema and Home

We at Sixteen19 are proud of our 3D expertise.

Cinematic Production with DSLRs

The Ultimate Backup – Keeping Media Alive

Both of the above tie in with the workflow tools we are building for digital capture and archive.

And The Last Broadcast: Entertainment is Social – What’s Next?

That’s one where a futurist from Intel blows our minds with where entertainment technology will be in 2020.  Cool.

Fright Night 3D Post Workflow Postcast

I was interviewed for a very well produced Podcast series on fxguide.com, about the Post workflow SIXTEEN19 managed for Fright Night.

The Podcast includes about a half-and-hour discussion of the nuts & bolts behind that workflow, and discusses future considerations and improvements we are developing.

http://www.fxguide.com/therc/the-rc-80-2/

White Paper on Fright Night

I was asked to be a bit cagey about what project I was working on in Albuquerque, but I prepared a White Paper on it called “End-to-End Workflow and Recommendations Following Digital Shoot for Fright Night.”  For those who pay even casual attention, it should be pretty obvious that that project was the remake of the 1985 vampire bite-’em-up “Fright Night.”  The 2011 version was shot on RED ONE in 3D.

If you would like a copy of the White Paper, please feel free to email me at c.andrews@sixteen19.com

We are one of a very select group of companies that has actually carried off a 3D RED shoot flawlessly.  We gained plenty of insight along the way and share both our observations and future recommendations in the White Paper.

Networked Environments and The Software Brain

The title sounds like the worst Sci-Fi story ever written.  Sadly, this post is just about digitally acquired film workflows, but the image below is still appropriate.

Before starting, I want to welcome Ben Baker to the SIXTEEN19 team.  Ben used to be Head of the Digital Lab at Framestore in London. I met/worked with him when he was Post Supervisor on the Chronicles of Narnia:  The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

(That’s Ben in the center.)

I worked closely with Ben on location in Australia for nearly six months.  We did some very exciting, dare-I-say pioneering work on that feature (at the direction and under the guidance of the great Jonas Thaler from Walden Media.)  I think Ben and I would agree that that was a pretty damn great job to be a part of and all of us who worked in any capacity in Post were a tight knit group.  It is an honor and a pleasure to work with Ben again!

Ben has an excellent blog, located here:  http://blog.bluefishbaker.com/

Ben adds considerably to our team, which already had dozens of years of combined Post experience on hundreds of feature films.  We are one of the few companies that has designed, executed and successfully completed digitally acquired projects where our clients not only don’t hate our guts, but they rave about how well the jobs went.  Seriously, find three companies that have managed end-to-end workflows for digitally acquired features and the studios give them high marks.  I’m damn proud of our track record, because it is very hard work.  I’m talking nights, weekends, ordering in.

It’s been awhile since I blogged.  Mostly, I’ve been away managing Post on some big/cool studio projects in Louisiana.  Meanwhile, I’ve been working with our team at SIXTEEN19 to build tools that will serve as the “mobile software brain” of feature film workflows in 2011.

Very excited about these tools, since they will be our own proprietary products and I believe that our experience and approach towards managing digital jobs is spot on.

The approach centers on near-set media asset management (MAM.)

We at SIXTEEN19 believe that the campaign to achieve perfectly organized metadata is the core of a robust, successful digital workflow and that effort must begin on set.  HOWEVER, unlike some of our competitors, we believe that trying to do too much on set is unwise.

Culturally and functionally, Production is a different world than Post.

Production and Post are merging into one networked digital environment, which is the focus of this post.  However, it is important to realize where it makes the most sense to organize and check material and that will never be on set.

It is more expensive to operate on set, there is an inherently higher percentage of error that occurs there and the environment is unpredictable, hectic and not the best place to meticulously and patiently execute a careful process.

Yes, tools should be present to build efficiencies in organizing and moving both verified files and metadata to near-set dailies…  However, the movement towards onset dailies is a recipe for problematic finishing!

Finishing your film efficiently (ie quicker and cheaper) is the end that must be in mind when organizing your digitally acquired files and metadata.  At some date, perhaps months or even years in the future, someone will need to take a list out of an editing machine and match back to every element in a film.  We believe that it is the right of every conform artist and studio to expect that this process should go smoothly.

Elements may be located in a number of different places, from live spinning disks to long-term archives.  Restoring and conforming a film (specifically digitally acquired films) is only as good as your database!  The data in that database and the tools you have at your disposal to view and sort through that data are of paramount importance!  So logically, the process and execution of the task of getting accurate data into that database is also vital (but anything but a given!)

I’ve hinted that good metadata management is not best accomplished on set.  It is, however, accomplished near-set and can be done very near location, even on the same LAN (local area network.)  On Narnia, we passed files directly from set to editorial over Gigabit Ethernet.

What we are at SIXTEEN19 are in the business of creating are not Production workflows or Post workflows, or even Production-to-Post workflows.  We are creating networked digital environments for feature films.

So what does a networked environment look like and how is it managed?

That is a broad question and the toolsets required for all professionals working on a film to contribute, modify and change metadata about a film are many and evolving.  The heart of a networked environment is the mobile software brain that I referenced above and SIXTEEN19 is hard at work developing ours for 2011 shows.

So what does this brain look like?

The brain is a powerful back-end database which contains record of all of your assets and related metadata, from camera original files to art concepts to previs to script to barcoded inventory.  Sitting on top of all of these files and associated metadata are web-based tools.  You can log in and open a custom view of data fields that allow you to access and view files and data in ways that are tailored and useful to your purpose.  Furthermore, metadata tags associate different files and metadata so that they can be searched and sorted in ways that allow professionals to access and work on files in ways that are useful.

That all sounds complicated and complex, so let’s walk through an example workflow and talk about the best way to manage it with the tools that we are building at SIXTEEN19.

Day 1:  A script is broken down and checked into a database.  A script supervisor spends time entering detailed information about the script into the database, so that the database can distinguish different parts of the script, such that it is “aware” that a particular line of dialogue is part of a certain scene and that, say, a certain scene is a VFXs scene.  The script supervisor continues to update the database as the script goes through versions.  The current version takes precedence in the database.

Day 90:  A Previs artist finishes a detailed animated version of a scene.  He renders a QuickTime of the sequence and checks it into the same database as the script.  Tools allow her to specify that the QuickTime is Previs of VFX Scene 7.  Similar to the script, each new version can be updated and take precedence so the database is “aware” of the latest version.

Day 150:  The Art Department finishes detailed conceptual drawing and renders them as .TIFF files.  The TIFFs are checked into the same database and given metadata tags to associate them with the scenes to which they belong.

All of the above elements in the database have thumbnail images in the database, as well as custom metadata fields that can be simple or more complex, depending on how deep professionals want to go in linking disparate elements together.

Day 180:  The director is on set.  Today’s scene is a motion capture of a highly complex action sequence where a baseball player is throwing a larger bolder in an animated world.

The director opens a window in the same database where the script, Previs an art concepts are checked in.  He searches by the current scene, in this case VFX Scene 7.  All of the above data lives on a central server that is accessible by any professional given a log-in and permission to view certain data.  (This is the networked environment.)

The director can open a container window that shows both the broken down script and perhaps by clicking on a line of dialogue and holding down the “control” key, he can choose to see the latest Previs QuickTime associated with that line, or the Art Department stills.  Having watched the Previs, the director can position actors and even bring the Previs up in the view finder of his digital camera to see how the actors will look in relation to the digital world.  Having done this, the director shoots the scene.

Also Day 180:  A DIT (Director of Imaging Technology), Sound Recordist and Script Supervisor are all busy (in this case) hand writing reports on forms related to picture, sound and script shot on set.  The DIT writes reports per camera roll (in this case a CF card that files are being recorded on.)  The Sound Recordist records notes about each take of sound by Sound Roll.  The Script Supervisor records notes on each shot per shoot day.

The cold hard truth about the above is that all of the data entered by the DIT, Sound Recordist and Script Supervisor is suspect.  Yeah, I said it.  There is a margin of error on set approaching the 2-5% range.  That means that 2-5% of the data entered is flat out wrong.  The take name may be written incorrectly, the camera roll or sound roll may be wrong, a take may be listed on a report that never existed to begin with…  This is why it is not a good idea to pass this data upstream without careful review, detective work and double checking.  Passing on dailies without a detailed dailies process is a mistake.  Even if data is eventually fixed in a nonlinear editing machine’s database, that fix does not translate to all departments and may occur after important processes such as creating dailies and archiving have taken place – far too late to avoid problems during conform.

It stands to reason, given the previous examples, that the shots captured on set will also be checked into the master database (networked environment) with a variety of metadata tags that associate those shots, their associated files and other media related to the film.

A sensible workflow in the minds of my colleagues and I at SIXTEEN19 does not include trying to quickly organize the metadata from those onset reports and create dailies on set.  We do believe it is a good idea to have H.264s and other files transcoded and viewable on set, as well as media captured for QC.  This allows professionals on set to view dailies and make notes on iPads and other cool devices that make producers happy and carry forward to dailies.  We, like our competitors, have solutions to do this but we do not see this as the core value of digital workflow management.

The core value is the software brain and the service of providing perfect metadata that exists in a networked environment.

Dailies are best left to near set, near editorial, where Post professionals can do what we do best, practice obsessive compulsiveness.  (In just a minute, right after we wash our hands, again.)

In our opinion, making editorial dailies should not happen on set because the metadata passed on to nonlinear systems will eventually be your friend or foe months later and it is really your choice.

The files created on set (picture and sound) should be copied with verification and passed from set to a near set dailies department.  That is where you need a highly experienced, extremely diligent dailies team that can untangle the many mysteries that are inherent to Production.

Remember, I am asserting that there is a margin of error of 2-5% on set (for a very good Production team.)  The margin of error for a good dailies team should be 0%.  Good dailies take time and should not be subject to breaking down and moving equipment, holding up transportation or pressure of Production distractions and schedules.

I have managed these jobs and on any given day it was my responsibility to make sure that the picture and sound files I received from set were checked in properly and that all metadata that arrived from set corresponded PERFECTLY.  This is a full time job with endless phone calls and puzzles to solve each day.  These puzzles end up requiring complex solutions at times, with new procedures, details communicate, problems to ring up the chain, future problems to mitigate by anticipating obstacles to conform…

If one allowed just one issue to carry forward or remain unsolved each day, then on a 50 day shoot, you are looking at 50 issues that will overwhelm someone later, costing time and money and jeopardizing schedules.

In dailies, every day must be put to bed with no lingering doubts or questions.  Without the proper tools and expertise, it is easy for the conveyor belt to get away from you.

If there were any discrepancies between files and associated metadata as entered, which there are each and every day, it is our job to do detective work.  Often, several takes of sound may be on one file.  There may be a sound file for a take, but no corresponding picture (or vice versa.)  Regardless of the error from set, by the time dailies are organized and matched to reports, there will be several amendments to reports and corrections to metadata.

Enter the SIXTEEN19 software brain that lives within the networked environment.  (In development, with base functionality already available.)  These tools represent the next generation of filmmaking workflows.

In our model, we get files and check them into the same database where all of the files and metadata described in the above examples live.  That database is aware of the directory paths of each file.  As we copy and organize files, our software brain not only verifies that every byte matches the original files, but it logs into the database where each file can later be found in case we want to do something novel like deliver a file to VFX from an EDL or restore original camera files or different versions thereof (DPX proxies for example) from our choice of disks or archive.  (Should be easy, but isn’t on most jobs.)

There are three varieties of metadata and a good software brain should be able to handle them differently based on their characteristics.

1)  The first variety is metadata embedded in files.  This data, such as timecode, is added by the camera and should be correct at time of acquisition.  Unless flat-out wrong, this data needs to be extracted and added to our database, but should not need to be changed.  If it is wrong, then that data needs to be changed once and only once.  This is not data that needs to be versioned and worked on by professionals.  It is what it is, to borrow one of my least favorite phrases.

2)  The second kind of metadata are the camera, sound and script reports referenced above.  (Plus any other metadata carrying forward from set, such as QC notes and color notes/LUTs.)

During dailies creation, this metadata needs to be patiently and meticulously checked.  Any discrepancies need to be corrected and logged, with older versions maintained for reference.  Whether the reports are entered on set by hand or electronically, SIXTEEN19 believes that one of its central roles is to create a new, corrected view of electronic reports in our central database that is perfect.

Here, and only here, under the guidance of an experienced dailies producer can anything akin to perfect metadata be achieved.  Only when something akin to perfect metadata is achieved, can efficient collaboration and conform occur.  These are the hallmarks of good workflows!

During the dailies process, each file (examples: right eye/left eye of a 3D shot and sound) must be built into a shot.  The metadata in these shots is checked versus reports and the shots are graded.  The resulting shots should be checked into our database and given metadata tags to associate them with other metadata in the system.  Shots can be viewed, changed and versioned.  We can create a container, for example, that now adds the motion capture shots from Scene 7 into the container that houses all other Scene 7 media.  We can now view every shot and furthermore view the current VFX versions of each shot as they are created, complete with metadata about each distinct VFX process and its progress.

The end result of creating an environment with a smart brain is that you have new, electronic reports that are far more accurate than anything that can be achieved on set.  These reports can be customized by professional and use.  You can then view these reports and click on them to link to notes about each shot, other elements associated with each shot or links to the files themselves.  You can also use such a software brain to record the fact that you have transcoded shots or output/delivered them and view reports about the location of physical media (such as a barcoded LT0 tape or a DVD) and its precise contents and the physical location of that barcoded asset.

What’s more, now that you have truly accurate metadata in a database, you can use that database to generate files such as XMLs or ALEs to an editing system.  After you have checked your metadata in dailies, an ALE generated from accurate data will translate to accurate lists down the road and fluid conform/restoration, which is the end goal.  Any metadata appended in a nonlinear system can be exported to the smart brain and a new version of that metadata will take precedence over older versions, which are stored as reference.

Truth:  A central, storage aware repository for files and metadata that exists outside of any given product line is a missing link to the next 100 years of filmmaking.  We are working to make this a reality on shows that we will be doing in early 2011.

This brings us to the third and final flavor of metadata, which is the kind that will set good software brains apart from bad ones.

To review, the first flavor of metadata is embedded in files and should simply need to be transposed.  The second flavor is data about the production elements that is recorded on set and should be corrected/amended during dailies creation, but will usually remain static in the database after that.

The third kind of metadata is fluid and forms your workflow pipeline.  This is metadata that changes as professionals work on the film.  Much of this metadata does not exist when files are first created and is added, changed and versioned as processes are performed to shots.

A smart software brain will offer ever-expanding customized tools that allow professionals to access and view data and add and append data, all while keeping track of each version in the networked environment that everyone working on a film can share.  That central software brain will accept simple exports of data from multiple systems in forms that are industry standard, such as XML, ALE, EDL, AAF.  As tasks are performed, updated metadata will ripple through into current versions of cuts and all elements can be restored in an easy process of simply connecting storage or inserting tapes.  Schedules will update and professionals will be managed as further toolsets are connected into the functionality of the brain.  Many software packages such as Tactic and Shotgun offer much of the functionality described, but require metadata to be wrangled and managed in ways customized to digital workflows.  Today, this process still requires separate systems and processes, but we are rapidly marrying these and developing the tools to tie everything together.

A perfectly executed dailies process, beginning on set but managed near set with a dynamic software brain should translate to near seamless conform (and rather resemble the Guggenheim Museum in New York.)

One last thought:  Remember that anyone who has experience running these jobs can tell you that anything on set has a margin of error.  Well, Production problems also occur.  On a 3D job, for example, the cable that is supposed to run timecode to one camera may be unplugged meaning that when a list in generated, the timecode reference to a shot is essentially nonsense to conforming software.

Traditionally, when a conform artist runs into a problem, it means unraveling a mystery and lots of swearing.  There are usually no standardized notes accompanying turnover and artists often resort to digging through old emails to figure out why something that was supposed to be automated did not work.

Imagine if you will, the software brain we are developing in action.  That list gets imported into our software brain.  Provided we managed the dailies with our software brain, that artist can simply open up an electronic version of all of the reports from set related to that scene and click on the shots in question to open up a notes field.  That notes field will explain that there was a production problem and provide the corrected offset from the timecode on the other eye to provide a quick solution to the problem.  Similar mysteries that currently require manual detective work, are fixed nearly instantaneously.

A properly conceived and managed software brain within a networked environment can serve as a powerful communication platform that preempts many of the most laborious, frustrating and expensive problems encountered in Post.

Problems that exist today such as (sad but true) wrong versions of effects ending up in finished movies because the professionals lost track of versions, will be a thing of the past.  And lastly, studios will be able to leverage all of their films in their vaults at any time.  It will be as easy to unarchive and reconform a film ten years from now as it will be three months from now in the DI.

In six months to a year, it is an important concept to understand that your digital workflow will only be as good as your environment and the software brain on top of it.  And as always, management of that brain is only as good as the vendor operating that brain.

If you are considering a digital workflow today, please contact us and we will coach you on how to employ much of what was just discussed today.  We expect to have a fully functioning smart brain operating at the center of shows working on shows that we begin in Q1 of 2011.

Thoughts From the Battlefield

There’s a reason I haven’t posted since I arrived July 19th in Albuquerque…

I’ve been working, and working, and working…

Working with Company3 on Dreamworks’ first 3D feature.  I have signed numerous documents in blood that bind me from revealing anything about the project — and which limit the amount of chatter I can post about the workflow…  So going tread lightly.

I can say that if you read back through my earlier posts about metadata and stereoscopic 3D workflows, we are delivering on everything I talked about and then some…  It has been a pleasure working with the studio and we are in a very nice groove.

We have created a fluid set-to-finish pipeline where we process, color and deliver extremely high quality dailies quickly.  Thanks to Company3’s colorist Alex Bickel (no relation to this guy…)

…dailies look wonderful.

Myself and the rock solid Kaitlyn Fox  (both of us of SIXTEEN19) are responsible for keeping the screws held down on the complex dailies workflow…

On a given day, the process takes an average of 18 hours and we have taken on a broad role in helping grease the skids from capture onward.  The key is organization.  We work with several databases to ensure perfect communication and delivery of files and metadata.  It takes extreme, error-less organization to create a functional, mobile set-to-finish environment and I am happy to say that that is exactly what we have operating here in New Mexico. We were lamenting the other day how in our part of the process, errors are simply something we must avoid.  This obviously isn’t easy, but we must be on our game constantly and I have devised an endless cacophony of calendar reminders, checklists and procedures to ensure that we have checks-and-balances to ensure complete integrity of all data, metadata and communication.  It ain’t easy, but I believe we do it extremely well and internally we are automating systems to save time and create a dummy-proof model.

Future Post Employees who COULD run an efficient mobile infrastructure once we’re through:

Looking forward to scaling what we’ve built on upcoming shows and unveiling project management, dashboard and other tools that we are working on behind the scenes.

We have established great communication with the other vendors on the show, including Paradise FX (which provide onset 3D services) and Luma FX, which is the lead VFX company.  It takes a village to make a movie, always has, but the revolution ongoing in today’s workflows is allowing everyone in that village efficient access to centralized information about each shot.  Our role at SIXTEEN19 and my personal mission is to be as valuable a lynchpin as possible in breaking down walls and facilitating healthy collaboration.

As far as workflow:

I’ll limit my discussion to a very broad overview.  I have written volumes about what we are doing here for use on future shows and this has been an educational experience that is going extremely well.  Very much enjoying the partnership with Company3, which has lived up to its stellar reputation.  We hope to work with them again as we continue to build even more value into management of complex digital, mobile workflows.

On a given day, Paradise FX captures around 500 GB (total) of 4K stereo R3D left eye/right eye files.  Those files, along with corresponding sound (and metadata from both,) arrive via shuttle drive to our mobile digital lab, which is integrated with editorial in downtown Albuquerque.  We took over a local Post Production space, complete with networking and machine room infrastructure, which we rewired for our needs.

Once data arrives from set (and on past jobs we have pulled files off of set through a secure network,) we at SIXTEEN19 copy the files to a large SAN, organize all of the metadata as well as camera reports, sound reports and script notes, and prepare the footage for color correction.  We also make redundant archives of original files and do various checks to ensure 100% data integrity.

Alex Bickel from Company 3 grades the footage and outputs to HDCAM-SR…  Tapeless workflows will take hold soon, but for now the system we are using to grade is not capable of transcoding stereo files faster than we can output and digitize, so we output and digitize.

We digitize dailies, sync sound and picture and take meticulous care to note and communicate all dailies issues, which range from image and 3D quality control to an endless range of puzzles related to the frenzied capture of feature film shots.  Often we communicate back to set and adjustments are made based upon what we receive and observe.

We deliver dailies to editorial as MXF files, then transcode to 720P H.264 files for upload to PIX executive review system.

There is a heck of a lot more to it than that, ergo the number of very long days around here, but that’s the bones of it…  After this shoot is over in early October, I’ll sit down with our Director of Technology, the incredible (and I mean that) Brandon Bussinger, and we’ll continue our ongoing efforts to build more layers of functionality and efficiency to mobile Post…  The general experience we have consolidated at SIXTEEN19, coupled with the field experience on the bleeding edge of these workflows, puts us in a very cool place as more Post services move to location and the lines between Post and Production blur.

As far as Albuquerque, it’s been nice actually…  New Mexico is a land of sprawling, beautiful vistas and I’ve managed (in my brief periods of time off) to make trips to Taos and Acoma/Sky City.

I’ve also ridden the “World’s Longest Tramway,” which is funny because of the number of disclaimers they give in making the claim…  (Longest of its particular kind, measured in English and not Metric, made of balsam wood, that is currently on fire, in the United States, with the word “Albuquerque” written on it, etc.)  It truly did exceed my expectations. Very beautiful and striking views, with a 4,000ft. altitude change and a 20 degree change (believe me, for the better) in temperature.

A few more authentic southwestern restaurants and less Applebees and Chilis (not that there’s anything wrong with them, per se) and Albuquerque itself would be bit more to behold…  Though it could be much, much worse and I’m enjoying the experience and challenge.  Pretty much work, gym, hotel on this job but it continues to be a thrill to see Post evolve.  Really enjoying what I do.

More as we continue the evolution.  (Speaking of evolution, read today that Darwin was wrong.  Evolution is not primarily driven by competition for resources, it seems, rather by the characteristics of living space.)  This is a good lesson to keep in mind as we at SIXTEEN19 inhabit and evolve into the new space created by changing Production to Post environments.

Okay, that’s a stretch, but I really have been working hard so forgive me.

Would be happy to discuss the workflow in greater detail, with the permission of the studio, with any interested professionals.

3D Vampires

On a personal front, my beautiful wife Cathy and I welcomed our second son, Riley, to the world this past Friday.  Big boy…  9 pounds, 4 ounces.  So far, healthy as an ox.  (Knock on wood.)

That’s the good news…  Bittersweet news is that I’m going to be away for awhile.  Family is going to have to figure out how to maximize time together over the next nine months or so.  At least we are working on some very cool feature film projects!  If we made it through four months of cumulative separation time last year on Narnia, in Australia, then I think we’ll figure this out.  I’ll be much closer this time.  New Mexico for sure, and then likely New Orleans.

I mentioned cool projects!

We at SIXTEEN19 are pleased to be working with Company 3 to provide the mobile-based infrastructure, workflow management and graded dailies for the upcoming motion picture in Albuquerque.

I’m going to err on the conservative side on details.  Shooting is scheduled to start at the end of July.  We have designed a killer workflow that centers on stereoscopic RED cameras.

We will be working on/with some cool metadata/asset management tools to streamline turnover of 4K RED files and maximize collaborative options.   Flying to SIXTEEN19 headquarters tomorrow to start testing/building the better Production-to-Post mousetrap that we’ve been working on for all these months.

Until I get approval from the studio and all companies involved, I’ll leave out technical specifics…  But stay tuned in early August.  I’ll be working with Company 3 to manage the dailies and will remain in New Mexico throughout production (October.)

From there, we’ve gotten a verbal commitment to provide similar services for a very exciting, high-profile six month project…  Anything can happen between now and November, but I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of cajun food involved.

I will make a point to outline some of the exciting tools and strategies we employ on our newest job, particularly as it concerns the color science and metadata…

Our mission at SIXTEEN19 is to help bring more professional services into the field and tie them in gracefully with a set-to-finish workflow.  This upcoming feature is an ideal project on which for us to continue the evolution!  Couldn’t be more excited…  Unless I can talk the wife into bringing the family on the road…

I’ll leave you with a gratuitous shot of a brisket I smoked a couple of weeks ago…  19 hours of tedious work that was worth every second. It even looks like it’s smiling.

Suppose that brisket has a message that can be applied to Post…  If you really stretch…  Takes a lot of preparation, time and attention to get something to come out great.  For the next several weeks, our newest job is my brisket!

Back in Action

I’ve been traveling for the better part of two weeks, working on some exciting Post projects and abusing my mind and body.  I’m getting too old for “real partying,” but just being up late and drinking moderately is enough to grind me into dust.

I’ve heard that Las Vegas is actually known for excess.  Who would have figured!

I arrived in Vegas for NAB on Sunday the 11th and despite late nights and some bad poker beats…

…it was the most productive and interesting NAB I’ve attended.  (I’ve attended at least 10.)

Innovation continues to take place in two main areas:  3D Stereoscopic technologies and MAM.

Media Asset Management platforms are revolutionizing Post workflows and making them bigger, faster and stronger…

Being able to share files and metadata across a network and work with customized tools to make and track changes, then ripple those changes through a Post workflow is a great foundation for a Post model.  We executed such a model beautifully on “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”  New and better tools are evolving quickly and filling gaps while integrating well.

Sony unveiled its Media Backbone Web-services platform at NAB in a booth so big it looked more like a futuristic spaceport.

In essence, what Media Backbone will be is what I’ve been describing and preaching for many months:  An integrated platform of open Web-based applications that can be integrated seamlessly to create tailored workflow pipelines.

Many of the solutions we’ve been evaluating, from great companies like Gorllia Science, OTC and Southpaw Technology are talking to Sony about opening up their products and collaborating with complementary applications through Media Backbone’s Web-services platform.

Think if it this way:  As you plan future Post jobs and facilities, you’ll be choosing several Web-based applications that do different things related to your workflow.  Some tools will have overlapping functionality, but you’ll find that some tools are better or more familiar to you, so you’ll want to pick and choose which you use and make them play nice with the other tools you prefer.

You’ll script each Web-based application to share information with others and customize each tool around your tasks.  Workflow solutions will be extremely flexible and tailored.  Content creation and delivery will be quicker, cheaper and offer more creative flexibility and collaboration.  Add to this that distribution pipelines will be streamlined and its all a very good thing for content creators and studios.

As specialists and integrators, we at SIXTEEN19 are working with several vendors to help customize their applications for feature Post workflows.  We’ve had some great meetings since NAB and feel that our future value will only increase as we help integrate and manage software infrastructure solutions in the field  We’ve described the upside, which is the ability to create the better workflow.  The downside is that these workflows are increasingly location-based and require on-the-ground testing, training, implementation, management and expertise.  That is what we do well so it is wonderful to see the value of our industry move more into our realm.

On Tuesday the 13th of April, we at SIXTEEN19 hosted a dinner at Carnevino at the Palazzo Hotel in Vegas.

We had about 20 guests and it was remarkable, not just because of the quality of the food and wine…  The company was simply outstanding.  We had a great collection of powerhouse Post executives, including top executives from (in alphabetical order) Dreamworks, Focus Features, Walden Media and Warner Brothers.  We also had some top experts and professionals who together know a hell of a lot about Post!

Besides that, the people present were witty, fun and interesting.  It is a testament to the guys I work for at SIXTEEN19, Pete Conlin and Jonathan Hoffman, that they could assemble such a wonderful collection of people who do not often intermingle…  It made me feel great about the new company and the ambitious goals we have.

During dinner, we talked about the evolution of Post tools, technologies and workflows.  By the time the bill came after midnight, we had agreed to work together to identify tools that are necessary but do not exist yet.  We agreed that there is no need for us to wait for vendors to build the tools that help us plan, execute and manage complex feature workflows.  We can build some of these necessary tools ourselves and the vendors can assimilate to the tools the we designed and the ways that we prefer to work.

Since NAB, I have identified what I believe to be the most critical missing tools and have written a detailed software description of a Web-based application that will help companies such as ours implement elegant workflows and studio executives to monitor and manage multiple jobs at once.

After we flesh the idea out fully at SIXTEEN19, I am very excited about iterating the idea along with the many Post experts and executives we have the luxury of knowing.

I left that dinner so excited that my head didn’t hit a pillow for about 36 hours.  Vegas is a dirty, dirty place.  It worms its way into your soul and lays eggs there.  My soul is full of eggs as we speak.  Scrambled eggs from the worst diner in the worst neighborhood you ever ate at.

Another development that stood out at NAB was Blackmagic Design’s decision to drop their drawers on the price of DaVinci Resolve.  It is now possible to build a totally tricked-out system that would have cost $850,000 three years ago for $150,000.  Blackmagic is selling the software for $1,000 (with all features enable,) the panels for $29,000 and the upgrade to multiple GUIs for $19,000.  So even after loading the system up with CPUs and storage, you could build a fully-loaded Digital Intermediate box for an extremely reasonable price.

I may use the software alone, depending on the job, for onset color correction.  The software lacks MXF support or I may also use it to make Avid dailies.

My personal preference for DI is not DaVinci (I’ll reserve comment on what it is for now since we’re in the midst of an evaluation process,) but it’s hard to justify spending $350,000 for similar technology.  Blackmagic turned the screws on that industry and made our decision much tougher in terms of our own internal decisions.

The Blackmagic move (which makes sense for them because they primarily want to sell hardware) reminds me of Apple’s aggressive Final Cut pricing move in the early 2000s.

At the time, those of us who made our money from renting Avids thought it was the beginning of the end for us.

The reality is that software will always trend towards commoditization and it’s a good thing.  A single integrated Avid assistant system cost about $125,000 in 2000, while a far more powerful system with better peripherals costs $25,000 today.

New technology is expensive and there is always something on the leading edge.  Just as the pricing fell for Avids, HD emerged and offered a new world of technologies.  Today it’s 3D.  Ultimately, it is important to realize that value does not trend towards technologies themselves when talking about complex, integrated workflows.  Value is in infrastructure and in services, which is why companies like ours have shifted over the years from equipment houses that rely on margins from rental items.

I try keep a healthy perspective on which parts of the evolving Post model are model and which parts are interchangeable.  Technologies come and go.  Models and infrastructure are lasting.  Expertise is forever.

The future value in Post will not be in technologies themselves, rather in the tools and people who help organize those technologies and people into workflow.  The software tools we are hoping to build are designed with that exact purpose in mind, and will place us as a company where we want to be — in the heart of complex jobs.

We/I have a lot of work ahead in the coming months, especially if we pull the trigger on developing the software.

___________

What every man needs whose mind and liver are worn out by Vegas is a visit to a quiet, subdued city like New Orleans.

I spent most of last week in Louisiana.

I am VERY excited about what I’m doing in Louisiana.  I have met many wonderful individuals and Post companies, including the State and local offices responsible for economic development.

The State has not only rebounded from Katrina, it is going through a Renaissance.  In terms of its professionals, parts of the New Orleans community are starting to feel like tech-savvy Austin.

There is a 30-38% tax incentive for Production and Post done in Louisiana.

Without giving too many details, over the years I have been involved in the evolution of markets as they lured Hollywood features with incentives.  (Vancouver, Toronto, Prague, London, Budapest, etc.)  For a variety of reasons, Post is always the last thing to evolve to studio standards.  Therefore, studios tend to import equipment and services for a few years as these markets develop internal infrastructure.  This sucks for multiple reasons:  One, the studios can’t take advantage of the tax savings and two, local companies get iced out of local work.  Traditionally, local companies fight for table scraps and it takes far too long to gain the experience necessary to compete on their own resumes.  Eventually they do, but if you look at a market like London it took a good decade of major features rolling through for studios to rely on local vendors as a matter of course.  Even still, equipment and expertise is STILL often imported!

I am trying to expedite the evolution of the Louisiana Post market by having our own office(s) there (we are the people that the studios would trust instead of local companies,) but more importantly I am working closely with local companies to package and pitch jobs that we will execute together, with SIXTEEN19 in the lead.  As we execute these jobs, we will help local companies develop their own internal expertise and resources so that they can handle a volume of studio work at a very high level.

Why are we doing this?  Well it’s not out of charity.  The local companies I’ve met are extremely capable!  The reality is, by helping elevate the entire market the studios will send more work through local companies (there will be about 40 features in Louisiana this year and most do not use local services.)  Creating a solid pipeline will ensure that all of with a presence in State will see consistent work.  A rising tide lifts all ships.

I have been busy this week identifying jobs we’d like to package, and working with local Louisiana-based companies to figure out how to share these jobs.  The tax benefits are a big carrot…

…and I believe that we can both offer a tremendous cost savings and execute jobs at the highest level.

A big goal of mine in the coming year is to team with the companies I’ve met in Louisiana to lure and execute major jobs.  It would be a distinct pleasure to build a lasting presence in Louisiana and to take part in the wonderful energy there.

I think per capita, Louisianans may be the nicest, most enjoyable people I’ve had the pleasure to meet so its only natural that we at SIXTEEN19 should grab hold of that.  Part of what I love about what we have going at SIXTEEN19 is the generosity and openness of the team we have and the spirit of optimism that we and our clients share about the future of this industry.

If only I could figure out a way to stay out of Vegas.