LOCATION
The ingest stage is where all incoming production material is securely received and prepared for post-production. Camera originals, audio files, project files, LUTs, metadata, reference media, and other production assets are copied, checksum-verified, organized, and backed up. The goal is to establish a reliable and traceable foundation for the entire post-production workflow while ensuring that no media is lost, corrupted, or incorrectly identified.
Once the media has been ingested, the editorial project is prepared and conformed to the production specifications. This includes organizing and syncing picture and sound, creating proxies or optimized media when required, applying naming conventions, importing metadata, and setting up the editorial project structure. Camera, audio, and reference elements are checked to ensure that the editorial team can begin working efficiently while maintaining a clear link back to the original camera media.
The grading turnover translates the approved editorial timeline into a format suitable for the colorist. The process typically includes preparing the final picture timeline, conforming it against the original camera media, checking frame accuracy, relinking to high-resolution sources, and exporting the appropriate metadata and reference files. Handles, transitions, reframes, speed changes, and other editorial decisions are carefully verified so that the colorist receives an accurate representation of the locked cut.
VFX turnover is the process of extracting and preparing shots that require visual effects work. Each shot is identified, checked, and delivered with the appropriate handles, resolution, frame rate, color-space information, and reference material. Depending on the project, additional elements such as mattes, tracking information, clean plates, camera data, or editorial references may also be provided. The returned VFX shots are then tracked and integrated back into the master timeline.
Once the picture is sufficiently locked, the audio turnover provides the sound department with a precise representation of the edit. Production sound, dialogue tracks, guide tracks, timecode, scene and take information, and other relevant metadata are prepared and exported according to the sound department’s requirements. The objective is to give the sound team a reliable foundation for dialogue editing, sound effects, Foley, music, sound design, and final mixing.
Mastering is where all approved creative and technical elements are assembled into final, controlled masters. The graded picture, VFX, final sound mix, titles, subtitles, captions, graphics, and metadata are combined and technically verified. Depending on the project and distribution requirements, different master specifications may be created, including broadcast, streaming, theatrical, archival, or platform-specific versions. Each master undergoes a final quality-control process to ensure technical compliance and consistency.
Television deliveries require masters that comply with specific broadcaster and regional technical specifications. Depending on the territory and broadcaster, this can include requirements for resolution, frame rate, audio configuration, loudness, subtitles, captions, color space, legal levels, file format, and metadata. Each version is checked against the relevant delivery specification before transmission or archive.
Web masters are prepared according to the specifications of each digital platform or distribution service. This may involve different codecs, resolutions, frame rates, audio configurations, subtitle formats, artwork, and metadata. The laboratory ensures that the delivered files maintain the approved creative intent while meeting the technical requirements of the target platform.
For theatrical distribution, the final approved content is prepared according to digital cinema specifications. This typically involves creating and validating the Digital Cinema Package (DCP), including picture, sound, subtitles where applicable, and associated packaging and metadata. Particular attention is paid to color management, aspect ratio, frame rate, audio configuration, encryption or security requirements when applicable, and playback integrity.