An Overview so far

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Since my time at Envy began its been interesting realizing the different stages in workflows within a large post house, as they’ re slightly different from what I first imagined. Although Envy has over one hundred offline Avid suites, they only employ two offline editors, purely for consultation, or assistance. These suites are hired out to freelance editors, already hired by a production company to assemble an offline edit. If most post-production houses work under this kind of structure, I’m going to focus on trying to gain greater knowledge in an area that Envy does specialize in such as colour grading. If I am able to sit in frequently with Ops and get to know them better then I can build more of a relationship with these people rather than offline ops who may only come to Envy for one particular project.

Envy currently uses two grading systems, dependent on the type of work involved, Avid Symphony, and Baselight. As the two main forms of work are short form (adverts, films, one off specials etc.), and long form (TV series etc.), these two forms can affect post-production decisions such as grading. For instance, a long form project may not need as much grading, normally informative or entertaining, it only needs to look nice on screen, doing this in Avid Symphony will not only save time, but larges amounts of the post-production budget. This particular program is considered to have a quick turn around time in comparison to Baselight. Baselight is a far more complex, and notably better grading system, and serves best on projects that demand a high level of colour grading as part of the budget. Envy currently employs four colour graders and a junior, whom are some of the highest earning within the company.

It was also interesting to hear about how ones career will start within a post-production house. Beginning as a runner, making coffees, and doing odd jobs, before passing probation. After a successful probation period, one can then expect to spend anything from one to three years, if not more, working in the MCR (Machine Room). Which MCR will depend on your desired career path, the roles differ between Online, Grading, VFX, and Audio, each offering a different pace of progression. Working in the MCR entails such tasks as fixing bugs, ingestion, and transcoding, to creating DVDs for presentation. It is here that ones status grows with greater responsibility, trust, and advancing ones knowledge of how a post-production house operates in terms of hierarchy and roles.

However, post-production houses have endless dealings with contacts and clients, this puts one other skill on par with all others, social skills. Being able to interact easily, and professionally with high paying clients is important; not only to the company itself, but also to building ones own contacts, and potential clients in the future. It is a well-known fact that producers, and directors etc. keep very familiar circles, having an editor they get on with, and whose work speaks for it self, will ensure future work, and a growing network of clients. This also requires knowledge of the industry, where it’s going, familiarizing ones self with the potential content, such as news, fashion etc. As Mat put it, “If you don’t enjoy it and it’s not like a hobby, you won’t go far at all”.

Although I am only in second year of University, which is currently flying by as fast as the first, this opportunity has given me a lot to think about. It has in no way changed my decision to pursue a career in post, but it has given me a huge push in my attempts to find work experience, to see first hand what it is truly like behind those doors. It has also inspired me to pursue other paths within post, seeking experience and hopefully accreditations in grading, potentially taking part in non-university related software courses, widening my potential career paths, and maybe finding a new hobby in the process.

Colour Grading Training

As a runner we can either stay doing our runner’s duties or we can train in our chosen department. I had decided to go the route of MCR2 which is online and colour grading assistants to the operators. I decided to see if I could train with them but they said they were too busy, and told me to go down to suite 1 to see if I could sit in with Danny. Danny is a fairly new colourist at Envy however he started off as a runner there and worked his way up to a full time op.
I knocked on his door and he told me to come on in and sit in with him. The grading rooms are pitch black and the suites are huge and usually the most expensive in the company. The one that I was in I was told costs around £400 per hour, so you can see how time is money in this industry. Danny told me that it had been a quiet week and he had a few jobs on but nothing too stressful…for a change. He said he’d talk me through what he was doing and then teach me some stuff. Woah. I did not expect so much kindness and mentoring from someone on such short notice, but I was delightful and seized the opportunity.

Drop Ins
So his first task while I was there was to drop in some extra scenes that were being added to an episode of Gold Rush.  This is usually when the client has decided to change a few of the shots in the show and of course, they must be changed. However a different colourist did the grade on the show and Danny has to grade these added shots in the same way, not as easy as it sounds. He explained that he didn’t want to do too much to the shots because the show in itself isn’t his entire job and wanted to respect the other colourist’s choices.
 
Managing Creatives – Managing Clients
Danny was fascinating to speak to about managing his work, creativity and clients all at the same time. He, like all of the other graders I’ve spoken with, first explained how tight the time deadline is with grading. They literally have minutes for each shot. He then added when a director or producer is looking over your shoulder humming and ahh-ing it doesn’t help. They often question a lot of what you’re doing while you’re doing it which makes creative decision making difficult and also means you have to explain what you’re doing as you’re working to the deadline. He said it can be difficult but that he generally tries to build a good rapport with his clients so they’re on the same level. He said that when you’ve worked with a particular client a lot you get to know what they want as well which makes it easier.

Danny was quite funny when he spoke of some his techniques and tricks he would often play. He said one of the best pieces of advice he received from a mentor was that you should always make 3 obvious mistakes in your edit/grade. “Mistakes” in the sense that you have them deliberately there though you would change them anyway. In this way the client will come in and spot these over anything else you’ve done. The client will always have adjustments to make but if they choose these “mistakes” that you haven’t rectified over the work you’ve spent hours on it will be easier for you. A very crafty and maybe devious way, but what stems from that is that people will never be satisfied on the first cut of something…they will always want a change. Perfection is not something that exists in the creative industries, something that creative workers have to deal with particularly as clients spend hours adjusting and re-adjusting their work.

My Turn!
Danny told me to take the reigns and have a go at grading a scene from one of the short form fashion promos he was grading. It was shot on one a RED and was a high end fashion video. Very abstract, very stylistic and very expensive. I had never even touched Baselight which is the software used.
Danny gave me the lowdown on how the software and machine worked.

Colour Grading Suite – The video I was grading
He left the suite for about half an hour and let me play around with colours. It was great and in that half an hour I actually got a feel for what it’s like working with those machines work and the environment in general. I completely made a mess a few times of the video but managed to get a few nice grades in the end. When he returned he gave me a few tips, if I remember how to actually do them on that machine, will be the greatest feat.

I spent 3 and half hours with Danny that day and he was so helpful. He spoke openly to me about his work and then even gave me some practical training. As I have always thought, mentoring under someone higher up has always been a preference of mine. I learn the most when I’m around people who are better than me especially in the creative industries. Experience is key in managing your creativity alongside managing your clients. You need both skills to survive.

Adding a Bit of Colour to Darkness

Sitting in with the Colourist

I thought I would just be observing Danny work as I did with Tom the audio mixer. But no, Danny introduced himself and sat me down beside him and began going through everything from the machines to how you should go about starting a grade on a show. It was fantastic.

I have never had to negotiate so much at once when editing before and that alone was a lot to take in. Danny was extremely considerate in trying to teach me the basics, in essence he explained how the basis of setting up a graded scene in a show and the main principles to look out for. He also explained how certain styles fit certain genres and some of the key points and issues to look out for when grading. What I did notice was how fast he was as grading a scene. He was so fast, it was probably a bit of showing off I’m sure, however they do have to be very quick, time is money baby!

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Colour grading is one area of post-production I would love to get into, I find it a really beautiful part of video editing, it is here where you give the video the atmosphere and feel with the colour

He explained his particular workflow and we worked on a particular clip from a discovery channel show as he tried out different techniques with me. He likes to layer each change on top of each other so he can tell exactly what he has done. This is because colour grading is not just tweaking the colour, but you’re manipulating all different aspects of the video; from the complexion of someone’s face to how much of the clouds are visible. It can become utterly unmanageable if you lose control of even a single change you make. Creativity is not just about being imaginative…but also highly organised, not quite as glamorous a trait but essential none the less.

The Weekend Shift… Running the House

My First Weekend Shift

The weekend after I had officially been offered a job I was to work my first Saturday shift. On weekends the amount of staff is almost nil. There are 2 runners in the building…compared to the usual 5 or 6 in the kitchen. There are no receptionists and there are no library people. The 2 runners who are on have to do all of these things; reception, room service and library & dispatch work.

I had already done some training at reception before the weekend so I knew how to answer the phones and use the email and schedule system (ScheduALL). I wasn’t too happy at the prospect of answering phones I have to say..

Front of House

This is pretty much where the reception is. The people here were usually runners at one point and chose to go this route as way of promotion. If you go the runner-receptionist path you are generally interested in getting into production and looking to become one of the post-production producers. The next step after front of house is bookings which is linked closely with the production workflow.

Samara was training me on this day. She was talking me through the computer which is linked to the Envy server along with the phones (you can connect with all the producers’ phones and the suites by clicking on the screen). She told me the correct phone etiquette “Good afternoon, Envy Post” and all of those rather, professional matters. One of the most important things she taught me was to always look like I know what I’m doing, what production companies are in, who each client is even if in fact I had no idea who they were. Egos are important in the TV industry.

General responsibilities I learnt:

  • Answering queries on the phone
  • Greeting clients and telling them what room they are in. You must ring up to the editor in the suite and see if it is okay first to let anybody up to them. Always. They don’t want clients barging into a possible…”panicky” moment in the editing suite.
  • Connecting people to the other Envy buildings, which all have specific extension numbers.
  • Dealing with anyone, anything or any problem that walks in the front door of Envy Post.
  • Do not give anybody’s number out particularly producers. You must ring through to them to see if they answer and the connect the call. (all of this phone business was the most scary part to remember how to do)

Samara emphasised the importance of taking your time. She said that every client and every production company thinks their project is the golden child and will pressure you. She recounted times where clients wouldn’t even acknowledge her and walk straight up to suites or be incredibly rude and awkward deliberately. Some would be offended if you didn’t know their name or exactly where they were to be. I could tell the frustration in her voice as she told me these things.

The front of house people had to keep the equilibrium in Envy, negotiating clients, producers and editors. I didn’t look forward to my turn on Saturday…

Training: The Library – the check point of post production

My First Day of Official Training

I finally got my first official training day and was sent to The Library. Here is where I take any tapes, hard drives etc. that are being moved from place to place to be scanned and logged. I sat in with Caspian who was going to train how to the system and the workflow they go by.

 

The Significance of The Library – Everything must go through the library to be logged in or checked out of the system. So every time a tape or rushes from a show come into Envy they are processed here eg. given a unique barcode, linked up with the client working orders and sent to the appropriate machine room. When this happens you then have to send an email to the in-house producers letting them know exactly what has happened, what files were logged, where they were sent and who they are for. Once a file/tape is logged into Envy its movements are tracked the entire time whether it is moved from audio to VFX or another Envy location until it is completely checked out of the company. It is a very strict work flow, not too complicated, but must be done properly.

 

Why? Firstly, and most obviously, it is important to have an organized filing system in any company be it in the creative industries or not. However, in the TV industry in particular deadlines are tight and money is high so mistakes are costly. Every single episode of a programme, rushes, drives and tapes need to be tracked just in case a producer suddenly needs it at the drop of a hat. Also, often deadlines are short and shows need to be in and out within a mere week or even few days!

 

Accountability – It was stressed the importance of letting people know on who’s instructions you were acting upon when doing any task e.g. “as per ins _____ ” was to be written at the end of every email sent by the library after logging footage/tapes. Caspian said himself that if anything did go missing or sent to the wrong place that then it wasn’t on your head.

 

My Turn

Then the spotlight was on me an I had a go at the task of logging in 3 new tapes that had come in from Top Gear who had switched their business to Envy after being with Evolution. A side note on that is that Envy now had to log ALL of Top Gear’s footage since the first series…they had boxes full of tapes coming in every day. He also said Top Gear are giving them great business but also ridiculously demanding wanting everything as soon as they click their fingers. So with great business comes higher responsibility and working with even more demanding clients. A tape with rushes from a shoot with a helicopter and expensive Ferraris…can’t really go missing now can they? That would be expensive to re-shoot.

 

The Machine Room

The machines rooms. The haven that all runners look towards as a way out from dashing about with food and beverages. The machine rooms are a symbol of upward movement in Envy. Here are where the “assistants” are e.g. the online assistants, the audio assistants etc. They assist the main operators who work in the suites.

In order to move up in Envy you have to do internal training in the machine rooms and clock up hours. You can train in whatever machine room you like if it is the route you wish to take. Machine Room 1 (MCR1) tends to be the busiest as audio mixing is the most competitive currently in Envy with quite a few people vying for positions there amongst the runners.

As an intern/part-time runner in Envy I also have the opportunity to train in the machine rooms as much as I’d like. Tom knew that I was interested in colour grading and suggested I try spend my time in Machine Room 2 (MCR2).

So today I had to work over at Foley St. When I arrived there it was completely different to its usual busy pace. It was a lot quieter and there were no producers, just a swanky lobby, a nice rooftop terrace and doors concealing machine rooms, suites and the kitchen. Most of the time Foley St. is very busy as it is where clients are cutting the shows together, sometimes for months.

The offline machine room was really quite large…very large. It has stacks of machines and tape decks on one side humming away and on the other side are about 3 or 4 machine room operators doing things with computers I have no idea about. Until it explained to me what offline machine room assistants do:

  • Assist clients and freelance editors to set up their computers (Avids) to commence the offline edit of a show, film etc.
  • Log all of the rushes from the shows – which means the raw footage that has come in from shooting needs to be copied onto the servers and backed up immediately.
  • Check that when the footage is logged in that it plays smoothly on the computers and that it is exactly the right resolution, aspect ratio etc. for the show.
  • Help the clients with any problems they may have – which can be difficult compared with other machine rooms assistants who don’t have to even meet the clients. He relates it to having to mix technical abilities with client services.

Machine Room assistants have to handle the rushes, the most important part of production and make sure everything is transcoded and compressed accurately ready to be edited. Most people fail at the job because they don’t establish a practical workflow. If you miss a beat you will get something wrong. This is something I find quite intimidating working in post-production. The line of responsibility is nerve wrecking and the margin for error is so little it prevents me from pursuing the next job up in roles like this for fear of not knowing what I’m doing.

I think there is a lot of unnecessary stress in the creative industries. You can often get clients ringing you expecting you to know everything and often you have to pretend or look like you know what your doing. But because clients are so valued they must not feel as though anything is problem.

Offline editing was always my goal coming into Envy. I do offline editing in my freelance work and I really do love it. I love piecing together a narrative and bringing a piece of work together coherently and creatively. Working as an offline assistant though…this is something that I would not enjoy. The reason being you are more of a data-wrangler: logging and ingesting footage, transcoding and troubleshooting. These are probably my weakest points in video production and funnily enough they are so necessary in order to progress and become an editor, who in the end does none of those jobs.

This is the problem with working in large post-production companies, the lines are so vividly drawn between roles with little cross-over. This is compared to smaller creative companies who often have runners doing assisting jobs and assistants doing editor jobs.