It’s becoming more common to finish color correction and audio mix within FCP, but not always. For example, a project shot on film might provide the editor with videotapes for all the footage, but none of it is color corrected, so a second telecine session will be needed. Other projects, like music videos, almost always transfer all of the film in its final color corrected form so that no extra re-transfer is needed.

Shooting film is a rarity these days compared to the pre-DV days, say, 1998. Still, there are enough projects out there to keep these film-to-tape transfer places in business, so I suppose some of you might actually need to prepare a selects list for a telecine session one day. For background, here is the workflow of a film-based project with a video master, from start to finish.

Film-based project workflow:

• The production company shoots 35mm film.
• The film negative is assembled into roughly 1000 foot “lab rolls” and assigned a timecode hour. A hole is punched on the first frame of film after the leader. This frame represents the first frame of the assigned timecode hour.
• The lab rolls are then one-by-one mounted onto a film-to-tape (telecine) device to transfer it to videotape, but only with a rough color correction setting. The punch-holed frame is aligned onscreen and the timecode generator is set to “00:00:00″ of the assigned timecode hour, i.e. the lab roll assigned timecode hour 1 will start at 1:00:00:00 at the frame with the punch hole.
• Lab rolls contain about 10 to 12 minutes of footage allowing for several lab rolls to be assembled to a 60 minute videotape, each with their own unique timecode hour. These tapes are then put to the side for post sync with the sound elements if any.
• The end result is a collection of videotapes whose timecode relates to specific lab rolls/timecode hours. These tapes are called “dailies,” “one-lights,” or “rushes”.
• You use these tapes to digitize into your editing system, absorbing the timecode information in the process.
• You arrive at your final approved edit, where you need to extract a list of the scenes you actually used in the cut, based on timecode. Then you re-transfer only those scenes from the original negative with final color correction, recorded in timecode order to a digital broadcast quality tape, and retaining the original timecode in the process.
• This tape, sometimes referred to as an OCN (Original Camera Negative) Color Corrected Xfer Master, is then used as a source for re-digitizing the final scenes in your approved cut exactly as you had assembled them in your rough cut. This process is called a conform, or online session.

Since making a telecine transfer list is a destructive (and temporary) process, you should always make a copy of your approved rough cut to work with. The principle goal in this task is to:

• Create a sequence that represents ONLY film originated clips (including alternate takes) sequenced on ONLY ONE video layer. Everything else is deleted.
• Preserve blowup and reposition reference so they can be used to match against the film.
• Create a list of all scenes in ascending timecode order, with highlights on clips that require special attention.
• Provide notes for blowups and repositions, alternate takes, alternate passes, and timecode offsets (described later).
• Provide a tape or digital file that represents the sequence you just created, followed by the actual approved cut in its regular form.

Remember, the reasons for making this sequence are two-fold: First, to generate an EDL for sorting clips by timecode hour, regardless of their position in the actual edit. Second, to create a reference video while working in-session at the telecine studio for the position of the clips according to the EDL and approved edit.

The last item might be a bit confusing so let me put it in context. Your colorist is sitting at their console looking at a piece of paper with timecode numbers and clip names referring to footage they have never seen before. The first clip on the list is from timecode hour 1 at location 1:04:32:00 on the negative. The clipname is innocuously indicated as “Product turn”. The colorist wants to see what the shot looks like before he or she rolls the film down to that spot. By referring to your EDL, he/she notices that the shot is located at 1:00:45:00 on the reference tape. By rolling the tape down to 1:00:45:00, he/she can look at the shot before rolling down the film. There may seem like overkill, but you will see its value later on during the “idiot check”.

Prepare the sequence in FCP as follows:

• Set the default timecode start of the sequence to 00:58:50:00. Use non-drop frame timecode. Set the first frame of the first clip starting at 1:00:00:00, do not cut in bars/tone/slate yet.
• Prepare a scrap tape to output to that is pre-striped with NDF timecode starting at 00:58:40:00.
• Delete all audio, titles or non-film originated material from the approved rough cut. Be sure to unlink your audio from your video clips first (cmd + L) or else you will delete video with audio by accident.
• Any clips that have speed changes or motion effects should be changed to the original state of the clip inclusive of all frames needed to re-create the effect, i.e. reverse speed, fast motion, etc. Speed/motion effects information is meaningless in a transfer session.
• DO NOT delete blowup or position effects since they will be needed later on as a reference for repositioning the film image.
• Move any video footage residing on upper video layers down onto video layer one amidst the other clips associated with that layer (such as, if it is one of several layered images in a composite). Be sure to do this as an Insert Edit so that the subsequent clips ripple down unaffected.
• Include any alternate takes so that they are included in the list. I prefer to keep alt takes next to their “sister” take in the sequence.
• Remove all dissolve/wipe transitions.
• Optional but very nice: any clips with blowup or position changes should have a small title placed over the clip, somewhere on the edge, indicating what should be done in telecine to match the rough cut, such as “reposition north,” “maximum reduce,” “flop/blowup,” “register with scene X,” etc. These visual notes should correspond to the highlighted notes you will make on the EDL printout itself.

The end result will be a sequence of one video track with only the video clips needed for color correction.

• Next, select the sequence icon in the bin and select Export from the pulldown menu, or right-click. Select EDL.
• Select or deselect the various options according to this example, then save to your desktop.
• Then, open the EDL in TextEdit to examine the list. There are better ways to view the EDL using some inexpensive utilities such these.
• Make several copies, then use a highliter to highlite any special clips or notes.

Sometimes you can provide an EDL file to the telecine assistant who can then do the clip sorting in-session as well, but check ahead of time to confirm which format to use i.e. CMX, Sony, Grass Valley, etc.

Finally, once the list has been made and you’ve checked it over (you may have to try a few times to get it clean), cut in bars/tone/slate, and paste in the approved rough cut(s) at the end of the sequence. (By the way, you don’t cut in bars/tone/slate or paste in the rough cut into this sequence until after you make your list so that the rough cut clips are not included in the EDL). Then layoff the whole thing to tape where the record time mark-in is 00:58:50:00, as an Insert Edit. If you are doing this analog, be sure to check your audio levels on the record deck first.

Video Demo: Making the sequence and EDL for telecine prep