Outputting a master tape can be as informal as simply dubbing the approved rough cut and calling it a day. If, however, the master is intended for broadcast or will be used as a source for dubbing for mass distribution, the master will require compliance to certain minimum industry standards. This section describes how to [...]
After you have achieved final approval for your rough cut, or “picture lock”, you can begin calling in final versions from your outside sources. If you have been working with a graphics animator and have been receiving renders all through the approval process, there’s a good chance that the last version you received will be [...]
Some editors work with lots of video layers with clips overlapping each other, with some clips disabled as reference and so on. But once the rough cut has been approved, you should clean everything up so that there isn’t anything on your timeline that isn’t necessary. I recommend copying your approved master sequence and doing [...]
How do you prepare the sequence? Assembling the final master is referred to by several terms: online, up-rez, conform, and perhaps some others. Each refers to the same thing while implying slightly different nuances to the process. “Online” refers to the process of creating something that would “go online,” or, over the air. “Up-rez” is [...]
NTSC video is not like print media where you are allowed to publish all of the color possibilities within the RGB or CMYK color gamuts. Instead, NTSC is comparatively narrow in its range of luminance and chroma to accommodate the 60-year-old limitations of analog broadcasting standards. It used to be that illegal colors would cause [...]
At this point, you have assembled all of the final visual elements exactly as approved, the sequence timecode is correct, bars/tone/slate is inserted, the colors are legal, and the only element left is the audio mix. For some reason, the default tone level in FCP is -14. After you cut in your tone media, change [...]
When working with a 4-track mix, you will need to change several settings in order for the tracks on your sequence to output via the correct channels to your master. The term “channels” is rarely brought up since the vast majority of mixes are plain ol’ stereo mix, and both the editing systems and VTR [...]
Outputting a master sequence to tape is not as simple as it appears. It’s not like a screening dub where you can slam the record button and let it roll. Outputting a master is the last opportunity to gauge quality control before it goes out into the world. It is important for you to learn [...]
When all is done to cross the finish line with a perfect master and protection master, you STILL aren’t done! At some point, you should have been given delivery specs, which includes where and to whom the master tape should be sent. Sometimes it is a duplication facility, sometimes it is a broadcaster, but it [...]