[Fmpro] Jezz, time/$$'s

[Scott Healy]

Showcode, project code, the same, right? That's what I was taught in
school, it's the same from the film shoot all the way to the end of post
and the composer must conform to it.


I've only seen it on footage shot on film and edited on Avid. Of course
it's been a while since I scored anything shot on film, maybe five
years.

When it's video then I don't think they need a strict reference for
post, so thus the lack of standards in giving out prints.

I think that getting a DVD is lame, it takes hours to author and burn
one, only to have to be ripped, another two hours,  and I don't trust
that something won't be lost. Get a .avi or a .mov in full res and burn
your own timecode if you have to. I there's no showcode you can get by
without timecode, the counter on the sequencer counts frames. S




-----Original Message-----
From: fmpro-bounces+scotty=bluedogmusic.com at nxport.com
[mailto:fmpro-bounces+scotty=bluedogmusic.com at nxport.com] On Behalf Of
Markholden at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 7:35 AM
To: fmpro at nxport.com
Subject: [Fmpro] Jezz, time/$$'s


lesmizz at bellsouth.net wrote
on Wed Aug 23 03:53:08 GMT:

>For this particular project - I got a Quicktime file today with SMPTE 
>burn - and it's syncing just fine, so no problems there.

>But, don't always happen. Ask a local TV station here for a SMPTE
window 
>burn and they go "SMP burn whaaaa???"



Depends who you're talking to at a local TV station. Believe me, they've
got 
at least one person chained to a workstation, decks, and patchbays in
the back 
who knows what's up with SMPTE. It would be difficult to even keep a 
television station on the air without such persons. Start with the term,
"house sync." 
The first person you find who understands that term is your guy (or
gal).

As for this thread, I'm surprised at anyone who is accepting footage
without 
T/C when you're expected to provide a score master or multitrack master,
known 
in the film world as "stems." Unless you're working with a locked master

conforming to "show code," you're just begging for trouble from that
point on. 
Unless, of course, you don't mind providing the same service two or
three times 
-- or just enjoy aggro in your life.

I'm not referring to pre post-production sketches or demos, I'm
referring to 
turning-in music masters. There are reasons why a film production (I
mean shot 
on film) MUST strictly conform to show code from the first rough-cut to
final 
print. First, the composer is not the only person who needs a reliable
work 
dub. There are sound effects departments and post houses responsible for

everything from ambiances, dialogue replacement (also called dubbing),
general sound 
effects and walla. 

Additionally, and on the visual side, any optical or digital special
effects 
are dependent on show code dubs as well. And we're just not referring to
"Star 
Wars" type FX -- these effects are routinely used to fix shooting
mistakes 
and perform other jobs. Without show-code dubs, the chances of all these

elements actually synchronizing on a dubbing stage are practically nil.
These 
filmmakers working in different but symbiotic areas, including you,
should ALL be 
provided the same work dub with code and window burn.

They teach this in film school. Why? Because keeping everyone on the
same 
page saves the production an enormous amount of money. Or from the POV
of many 
composers, it assures that YOU don't end-up losing enormous amounts of
time and 
money while some amateur wanks on you.

Remember, in a film production, this entire post production business 
eventually returns to the FILM WORLD -- a negative cutter, color timer
and such -- and 
it sure as hell better sync lest key people, including executives, don't
get 
paid.

Virtually all mainstream film & television series productions and post 
production houses conform to "show code" protocols. There are
"completion bonds" 
issued by insurance companies that cover everything from a principal
actor being 
incapacitated during production to sync issues. And these companies
actually 
send people to the post house to examine the EDL and look at the 
quality-control of all aspects of production and post production. And if
the technical 
protocols are found to be wanting, the production's insurance can be
canceled. It's 
extremely serious business. Even commercials can utilize these
completion 
bonds.

Now, I don't mean to say "locked" productions don't get "unlocked." But
you 
or your agent must contractually account for this possibility or you
could 
end-up scoring a film over a period of years, not weeks or months. When
the 
producers unlock a picture, they must pay you to conform your completed
work to 
their changes. The "fixes" can be as simple as edits to the music master
at their 
expense. Or, the worse case scenario, you go back to a blank piece of
score 
paper or an empty sequence ON THEIR DIME. Anything less is just abusive
and 
you're working for free.

If you don't insist on scoring to a locked picture conforming to master
show 
code at specified frame-rates down the line, you might as well wear a 
sandwich-board saying "Kick Me!" And essentially, the kick is being
legally obligated 
to provide "unlimited services" in an ambiguous agreement where things
as 
basic as the time of day cannot be established. Save yourself! Don't
fall for it!

It's just one of those things -- you'll learn it now or you'll learn it 
later.

Mark Holden

_______________________________________________
The Film Music Pro List is sponsored by Film Music Magazine -
http://www.filmmusicmag.com

To edit your list options or unsubscribe, visit:
http://nxport.com/mailman/listinfo/fmpro