Let's Talk Finishing
A Brief History
Back in 2019 when I got my first experience working as part of an in-house finishing team, we were living in a pre-pandemic world of productions. The company I worked for in Burbank California specialized in cutting content for feature films that studios like Apple TV+, Universal and Disney were releasing. We worked on everything from cast content days for animated films like Frozen 2 to VFX work on Muppets Now!
Every day, I would jump on the 134 West from Glendale and buzz through LA morning traffic. I was only an assistant editor, but the job was a lot better than my previous one and I wanted to use this as an opportunity to upgrade my skillset.
The company also had a production wing that would provide crews for the shoots, so prepping large amounts of footage was a weekly occurrence. On top of that, there were 10 on-staff editors with more signing on for part-time roles when we got busier. On busier weeks, we might be finishing multiple spots for clients as well as ingesting media and prepping new shoots for editors.
That meant creating proxies, syncing footage and prepping projects for editors while simultaneously uprezzing finished edit sequences, sending off to mix and color and then attending spotting sessions for newly finished spots.
I remember panicking in spotting sessions and taking a crazy amount of notes as producers sipped coffee and the editors casually discussed the new round of client notes. This ecosystem was new to me but I intended on absorbing everything I could.
Thanks to the talented and kind folks who brought me up to speed, I quickly realized how important it was to have robust systems that were both flexible and reliable.
What Is Finishing?
The editorial phase is over and it’s time to hand over the reins to the team who is going to make sure the work looks and sounds its best.
Finishing requires the online editor to clean up the final sequences so they can be prepped for color and mix. These processes can take some time and focus, especially with large projects with lots of media. A good online editor will be aware of every kind of source media on the timeline and ensure that the sequences get passed off with care so that the next person to open the project has an easy time.
Next, we have to receive the colored media from the colorist and the final mixes from the sound mixer and conform those to the final output sequence in our NLE. Again, these processes can be tedious and always come with a QC phase. This highlights the importance of solid, repeatable systems that help communication and catch snags before they become expensive hangups.
I’m grateful for every situation that challenged me to find solutions and help my team deliver high-quality results. These experiences inspired me to build my own framework for finishing and to help filmmakers finish their projects more easily.
Check out these articles for more information on finishing and post pipelines and workflows:
Articles:
Why Your Movie Needs A Post Pipeline