{"id":71386,"date":"2021-02-17T15:00:09","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T21:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=71386"},"modified":"2022-12-20T14:12:40","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T20:12:40","slug":"fix-it-in-post-part-2-fix-it-in-prep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/71386-fix-it-in-post-part-2-fix-it-in-prep\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to When You Should (and Shouldn\u2019t) \u201cFix it in Post\u201d \u2013 Part 2: Fix it in Prep"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Cameraman<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

To some filmmakers, it\u2019s a joke. For others, it makes their blood boil. And for some, when they hear it, their eyes practically roll right out of their heads. It\u2019s the term \u201cFix it in Post,\u201d and if you\u2019ve been in the film and video industry for even a few months, at some point you\u2019ve probably heard it used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today we continue part 2 of a 3-part series on what I believe is the ultimate guide to when you should and should NOT fix it in post. In part 1<\/a>  we had fun with a philosophical exploration of what it means to \u201cfix it in post on purpose.\u201d Today we\u2019ll tackle the more traditional way people think of this term–when something unexpected or unfortunate happens on set requiring a need to fix something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A legitimate problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having done some form of video production for over two decades, and having interviewed so many filmmakers over the years, or written about filmmaking for so long, I have plenty of opinions on this issue based on practical experience. Nonetheless, I knew it would be worthwhile to reach out to their professional online communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One that I frequently visit and read is the Blue Collar Post Collective<\/a> Facebook group. As of this writing, it has nearly 16,000 members from all over the world in every aspect of post-production. I was pretty confident that responses to a Facebook post like this would be popular. And I wasn\u2019t disappointed. Within 10 or 15 minutes there were already over two dozen responses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One editor who responded to my request (and asked to remain anonymous) shared this with me privately in a DM:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think an even bigger problem than fixing problems that could have been figured out in pre-production is ever growing faster turnarounds. So many times, these corporations want high- quality videos but an insane turnaround. Again it’s not just lack of planning but also disregard to what burden this puts on an editor. Partly it’s because some of the producers are not real producers and are more middle management project managers who have little or no experience in filmmaking pipelines. So they over promise and expect the production and especially the post-production to do the leg work creatively. They just don\u2019t give a f*** too. Editors get the brunt of the anger from producers because that\u2019s the last step in the pipeline. Everyone passes the buck until they can\u2019t pass it any more, and we\u2019re stuck with all the problems no one cared to monitor. So that leaves some poor bastard staying up for days, sleeping near their desk, if they get any sleep, just to make a deadline that half the time, in my experience, could have been avoided or pushed back if any thought in pitching the project went into it.<\/em><\/p>

That\u2019s what \u201cFix it in Post\u201d means to me. F*** you, I\u2019m not going to do my job and properly plan how to do this to reduce what we have to fix in post (there\u2019s always justifiably somethings that will need to be fixed). Oh and don\u2019t complain either or I\u2019ll take my business elsewhere and ruin your reputation \u201c. Fix it in post is a big f*** you.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

As you can read, this is something that really strikes a nerve with the pro post-production community. This person took the time to DM me privately and share this story. His full message was easily three times longer than this. Think about that for a minute. He\u2019s not getting paid to write to me. He doesn\u2019t want exposure. He just feels so strongly about it, that he took the time on a Sunday afternoon to write what itself could be its own mini-blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anything that has that much of an impact and affect on an industry is worth diving deeper into and sussing out the meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jamie Kirkpatrick<\/a>, the editor on John Lequizamo\u2019s indie film \u201cCritical Thinking,\u201d shared this story with me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we have gotten to the point, at least technically, where most things CAN be fixed in post, most of those fixes require additional spending. I can’t tell you how often I have reached out to a director during production to urge them to pick something up or redo something correctly, knowing that the cost to fix it in post will be an order of magnitude higher than if they just get it on set. A perfect example of this was on a film in which the main character is sitting on a partial set which would later be extended digitally. However when I got the dailies, there was an extra crossing through the shot. I called the director on set to point out that this would make the VFX shot significantly more difficult because the crossing extra would need to be rotoscoped. I asked if they could reshoot a take without the crossing extra and was told they didn’t have time and that “the VFX people can handle it.” Well, the VFX people were glad to handle it – at twice the original bid price. Needless to say, the producers were not happy about this.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Clearly this is an example of a situation where a little extra work on production could have saved a significant amount of time and money in post. So that begs three questions: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. What kinds of legitimate issues should you avoid?<\/li>
  2. What can you do ahead of time to lower the risk?<\/li>
  3. And how do you best determine a course of action when they happen?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    \u201cBe afraid. Be very afraid.\u201d<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    \n

    Poor Audio<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    If I\u2019ve said it once, I\u2019ve said it a thousand times\u2014every video producer and filmmaker worth his\/her\/their weight in salt will tell you that fixing poor audio is significantly harder than dealing with bad video. If you have a bad shot with less than ideal visuals, sometimes something as simple as b-roll to cover it is all you need. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Girl<\/a>
    Photo by Kelly Sikkema<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    But if you\u2019ve recorded audio that is clipping<\/a> because it is too loud, there is very little that can be done. Or, if another loud noise occurs during a shoot, there typically is no way to remove the unwanted sound without also removing the part of the audio you do <\/em>want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Did a mile-long locomotive blowing its whistle in the distance obliterate that amazing and emotional monologue from your main character? You better hope she can re-do it perfectly in ADR. Did a 747 fly over just as that super busy CEO who only has five minutes of his time to give you FINALLY got the sound bite right you\u2019ve been attempting to record for that past 4 minutes and 34 seconds? Tough luck. Maybe in three week\u2019s time, he can give you another 5 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/div>\n\n\n\n

    The lesson learned:<\/strong> make sure your audio is as pristine as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    \"Dave
    If audio is your cup of tea, be sure to check out how award-winning record producer Dave Kalmusky is \u201clocking down\u201d tracks<\/a> during the lockdown with Avid\u2019s Pro Tools Carbon and OWC\u2019s Envoy Pro Elektron<\/a>.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    Poor Exposure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The visual equivalent of audio clipping is blowing out your highlights (which, actually, is also called clipping.). This is a case where parts (or most) of your shot sends the IRE scale to the moon, i.e. above 100 on the 0 to 100 scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An IRE value of 100 is typically pure white, and anything above that obliterates any details. All visual information is lost. (With HDR you can attain what\u2019s called \u201csuper whites\u201d that still have information and detail even above 100 IRE. But it\u2019s still not ideal.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Gamma
    The IRE values in this shot fall between about 15 and 80.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Naturally, on the other end of the spectrum is a shot that\u2019s too dark. Typically this causes visual noise, which although \u201cfixable,\u201d requires expensive software and very skilled artists. Today\u2019s digital cinema cameras are so light-sensitive that even low-light scenes can look beautiful, but that\u2019s still no excuse to have a poorly lit shot if you can avoid it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lesson:<\/strong> if there is no information in your shot, there\u2019s literally nothing to \u201cfix\u201d in post. Make sure your shots are lit properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Out of Focus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Not unlike clipping audio or highlights, a shot that is out of focus is usually not something you can fix. Sure, you can throw a Sharpness filter on a shot, and if the focus is just slightly off, that may help a bit. But when paired with shots that aren\u2019t out of focus, the ones with the Sharpness filter will tend to stand out. And it goes without saying, anything completely out of focus is unusable. (Admittedly, I cannot think of a situation where a shot would be that horribly out of focus, but I\u2019ve been doing this long enough to know nothing is completely out of the realm of possibility.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lesson: this seems almost silly to say, but make sure your shot is in focus. Use tools like \u201cPeaking,\u201d wide angle lenses, proper lightning., experienced focus pullers, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n\n\n\n

    Unwanted items in the shot<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Very few people, whether or not they\u2019re in \u201cthe biz,\u201d didn\u2019t hear about the infamous Starbucks cup that made its way onto the set, the shot, and even the original broadcast of the HBO hit \u201cGame of Thrones,\u201d S8E4 \u201cThe Last of the Starks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n