new guy video questions

[tracktensionrecords]

i'm using a 003 rack with le 7.4 ,

sorry i just dont understand the whole PT and quicktime / video thing.so when i want to do sound for film does the film always have to be in quicktime and is a producer going to deliver it to me in quicktime or better yet , do i give it back in quicktime when i'm done with it? do producers know to give it to you in quicktime ? if i dont get it in quicktime does quicktime convert other formats into quicktime? i want to get a video camera and do my own thing , is it going to upload into my pc in quicktime format or do i have to use quicktime to change it so i can do sound on it?

also , if you give it back in quicktime do they convert it to something else or is what you give them what they actually use for the film , man i need to intern somewhere !!!!!is anyone in savannah area needing an intern? please help the new guy ....

thanks , cory

[Craig F]

QuickTime (QT) is not a singular format it is a player of many different formats

the picture editor should be the one making the QT for you to use (it is wise to be on good terms w/ the picture cutter)

they may or may not want the QT back after your done (most big studios will put a burn-in linking the QT to you so if it get out on the web they know who to send the lawyers after)

most producers are not tech savvy

[Postman]

You could benefit in a big way from seeing it all happen, in person. There are just too many little things, details and gotchas, to answer your questions without writing a textbook. All of the information you've asked and more is contained in this forum. The problem is, searching out the exact information here is very difficult, the search tool sucks. But, try hanging out here, reading, and especially start to go backwards in time and read previous threads. It will start to make sense and I think soon you'll start to figure out the basics that are confusing now. Questions are welcomed of course, but I'd suggest one at a time!

A Quicktime movie, of one kind or another, is a common way to have picture to run within Pro Tools. Another, arguably more expensive but better, way is using Avid hardware supported by Pro Tools. Producers and editors sometimes know what you need, usually they will ask what you want. YOU need to know what works best in your circumstance, to know what to tell them. Apple's QuickTime Pro option, which you must pay for but is cheap, is a great tool to convert from one type of movie to another when you need to. What comes out of your camera? Your camera editing software should be able to export a common motion movie format, such as DV or mpeg or windows media. QuickTime may need specific software extensions to deal with some of them, such as mpeg2 or WMV. DV25 movies work really well with Pro Tools and is fairly common around here.

Generally, we do not deliver QuickTime movies as our final product, more often as uncompressed pcm files such as .wav or .aif formats. Sometimes putting a mix for client audition with a QuickTime movie is called for.

All of these things will become more clear as you pay attention to what goes on here and try to piece the information together. Usually, questions dealing with the most basic of basics will go unanswered because, well, we're all gods.

I don't mean to come off with attitude. Good luck!

[philper]

I just went thru a version of all this. As a sound guy you need to do some research and some Science Projects in your own studio and come up with a few scenarios/codecs that work well for you and aren't too onerous for the editors to deal with, and then be diligent about passing those specs along when someone is about to make an export for you. Unless you are a big post facility you have no obligation to be open to taking ANY format of digital video and making it work--make it known that your spec is what you expect unless they contact you ahead of time and allow for testing. I've wasted a TREMENDOUS amount of time chasing weird video codecs around, sometimes to no avail--and for no extra money and with deadlines looming. At least if I have given them my spec I can came back to them re time and money if they can't do what I ask. You will always have to upgrade and change as the industry changes over time, but doing this for every job is just suicidal for your business, not to mention sanity.

Philip Perkins

[mikevarela]

Bump on the research, though I know how hard it can be to synthesize it all.

Generally you receive an audio OMF from the video editor, which you will need the dv toolkit to open. you also need to request a quicktime bounce from the editor of the film... you should ask for the specs on the project...

Frame Rate (23.98 24 / 29.97 ...)
Audio rates (16 or 24 bit... 44.1 or 48 khz rate)
Codec used for quicktime, though you request it so you can dictate. I use DVCpro and like it, though dv25 is also used much.

if scoring, then really you only need the quicktime, which will have audio, and which you can extract after you import the movie. also make sure that the file name is alphanumeric and contains as such including only underscores and nothing else, PT has problems otherwise.

Usually the process is for you to import the omf, which has all the audio recorded on set, some SFX and ambience tones, you then import the movie and line them both up. most places rely on a 2pop, which is a 1khz tone at -20db for 1 frame at 00:59:58:00. this is a sync setup tone. picture should always start on the 1 hour mark. it is also very helpful to have the editor bounce the movie with windowburn, which is smtpe timecode on the screen.

for viewing you have several options, though the easiest and most open to codecs is to have two monitors, one for edit, one for movie. you can also take the second monitor out and get a dvi cable adaptor to hdmi and put it on a flat screen, though you now run into sync offset (see forum for explanation)

in the end you can bounce a quicktime with all the audio and video for ref or for your purposes, however... deliverables as there called are stems and full mix with 2pop back to the editor so he can match up and bounce the final product.

Stems (stereo) consist of

Dialog
FX
Music
Ambience
Full Mix

once you bounce out these, making sure you kept the same audio bit depth and sample rate as the editor, hand them over and ask for a final DVD and file for your reel.

[manis]

have patience.., some questions can get answers one or two.., three months later.., as the people here surf them.

read books, eg

theory and practice (elisebeth weis and john belton)

sound design (david sonnenschein)

sound for digital video (tomlinson holman)

and if you want to understand some relationship between sound and visuals on screen.., something like 'film art' by david bordwell might be of some help.., (because seeing where others have been and what others have done, people like Bresson, kurasawa, .., is an important thing to understand,with such as insights into 'the godfather' as
'as Micheal sits opposite Solozzo, the sudden rumble and whine of an offscreen train sound all the more harsh when compared with the calm expression on Micheals face..'

M:)