Chris Munro on a developing approach to... BOND : DIGITISATION, DIRECT DIGITISATION The last issue of the Newsletter contained a report on the meeting of a technical sub committee to discuss the “24/25 fps problem”. The findings of this meeting were that if the sound was digitised in to the Avid directly from DAT then there was no problem. The back page of the Newsletter also carried a copy of the flow chart that described how using direct digitisation on Tomorrow Never Dies (Bond 18) and again on The World Is Not Enough (Bond 19) gave the production other advantages that contributed to the achievement of particularly short post production schedules for this scale of film. PRODUCTION SOUNDThe process begins on set with production sound recorded on DAT (Fostex PD4) at 48 kHz sample rate with a 25 fps timecode (30 fps Non Drop if post production is to be NTSC) in record-run mode. The advantage of using record-run is that the recorded tape carries what appears to be a continuous timecode that is easier for the Avid to digitise from. It can treat the audio on that tape as one clip for digitising purposes, simplifying this part of the operation. Using record-run timecode means that if a Digislate is to be used it needs to receive the timecode by radio rather than jam syncing and locking to an internal crystal. I use the Clockit slates from Ambient which have a dedicated transmitter and built in receiver though it is possible to use any Digislate with a radio mic transmitter at the DAT recorder and a receiver attached to the board to receive timecode. Also connected to the timecode output is my Palmpilot handheld computer. This uses a specially adapted version of E-Trim which is timecode logging software to automatically log slate numbers, timecode stops and starts, and the event number that is contained within the timecode user bits. Though it is necessary to input the slate number the Paimpilot needs very little attention as it will automatically log as it sees timecode when recording starts and stops, and then increment the take for the next recording. At the end of the day I connect the pilot to my laptop PC (you could use a Mac) to produce a floppy disk containing an .ale (Avid Log Exchange) file. The assistant editor puts the DAT into his DAT player and the floppy disk in the Avid to control the digitising process. The film that has been shot at 24 fps is transferred in telecine direct to an Avid drive, mute at 25 fps if editing is being carried out in PAL, or at 23.98 if in NTSC.  The editors will use film pulldown within the Avid to correct this to 24 fps in a PAL edit or work at 23.98 in NTSC. Note that in an NTSC edit the sound would have also been digitised with a 0.1% puildown to match. The editors then sync sound to picture within the Avid.
| RUSHES VIEWINGIt is now that we see the first major advantage for the production in that rushes are now able to be viewed on film rather than video and without the need for magnetic transfer or the necessity to operate a linear cutting room alongside the non linear system. Even better is the fact that this can be achieved without any realtime play outs as all the editor needs to do is export the sound file (using drag and drop) to an ADSG Pro Jaz disk in Pro Tools Sound Designer 2 file format. The Jaz disk can then be taken to the viewing theatre where a Tascam MMR 8 Digital Dubber is locked to the projector using a Cohn Broad Film Coder. Producers have become increasingly nervous of the recent practice of viewing video rushes where there is not the opportunity to detect possible lens problems or accurately judge actors make up or even their performance as would be seen on a large screen. Should there be a need for video tapes to be made of the rushes these can either be made in the cutting rooms or a mute Beta tape can be made at the same time as the telecine transfer to Avid drive. The Jaz disk is then sent to telecine where the file can be read on either a Pro Tools system or a Sadie and laid back to the Beta tape, which becomes a master for VHS copies. Traditionally, in the linear editing process, editors always had access to the shot material immediately after rushes had been viewed and were able to begin cutting a sequence. However, with the advent of non linear editing systems, when the rushes were viewed on film and mag film, the material had to be sent to telecine alter viewing to be transferred to tape. There was then a realtime digitisation process, meaning that the editor may not be able to start cutting a sequence until two days after it was shot. With the system we’re using, the editor can begin cutting next morning. POST PRODUCTION SOUNDWhen sound is synchronised in telecine using what is euphemistically called the ‘clone DAT’ system, it is necessary to auto-conform the sound in order to replace the guide cutting copy with digital sound from the original master tapes. Though of course this is not quite how the process works as the original sound timecode would have been lost, so in fact the cutting copy is auto-conformed to the ‘clone’ DAT. Most sound editors would agree that auto-conforming is rarely without problems. When sound has been directly digitised the picture editor already has original quality sound within his system which can be exported as OMF, transferring any sound work that the picture editor has performed along with it in a non destructive format. An additional advantage of OMF being that to some degree it can take the pressure off the sound editing department to auto conform when the picture editor is still cutting beyond the agreed lock off. Additionally it is my view that sync accuracy on film has deteriorated since the introduction of non linear editing and that giving the responsibility of sync back to the cutting rooms greatly improves sync accuracy. Particularly as it appears that once a cutting copy has dubious sync, these inaccuracies tend to remain through auto conforming to the finished film. In common with some other production sound mixers I record on timecode DAT but also run a Hi8 recorder with radio mikes on individual tracks or matching background FX, and perhaps off lines. This Hi8 has the same timecode as the DAT so it is relatively easy for the dialogue editor to find additional |
