Prepare Your Project

Are You Ready? To Make Pretty Pictures

If it’s time to turn over your edit and set the ball in motion, this guide will help you prep everything this whole conform transfer process goes smoothly. Below are steps for a Turnkey Conform or a Standard Conform.

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Pre-Requisite Notes
If you're not sure which conform style… Check with your producer or point person who has been working to secure the finest color grading services.

If you haven’t set up a service agreement with Greg Enright or Dec. 18 Studios yet, feel free to inquire about your project by email at Create@dec18studios.com

Turnkey Conform

Turnkey conform is simple: just provide us with a drive or a link containing all your media and project files, and tell us where to find the specific project and timeline we should prep from. We also request an export of your locked timeline to confirm we’ve rebuilt the edit correctly on our end.

Notes:

  1. I usually only accept digital transfers under 250gb, arrangements can be made but that is outside the norm.

  2. Check your service agreement for an address to ship a drive to or contact me directly at create@dec18studios.com

  3. This service is usually only provided for projects made in Premiere Pro and Davinci Resolve

Follow this process to properly prep, trim and edit your color timeline for a seamless handoff and takeback

Standard Conform

Create Folders

  1. On your turnover drive, Create a new folder for your project.

  2. Inside that folder, Create folders named “Footage”, “Timeline”, and “Ref”

Create a Reference Video

  1. Use the timeline for your final locked edit.

  2. Apply burn-in for source timecode, record timecode, and clip name.

  3. Export using ProRes LT, DNxHD, or H265.

  4. Place it inside the “Ref” folder on your turnover drive.

Prep the Timeline

  1. Duplicate your picture-locked edit timeline in your NLE, and give it a descriptive suffix such as “_forColor”.

  2. Remove graphics, titles, credits, and any other items that don’t require color.

  3. Be sure that your scaling settings within Premiere are set to “Set Size to Fit” instead of “Scale to Fit”.

  4. Remove LUTs, and any temp color or other FX.

  5. Simplify the timeline to as few tracks as possible – usually 1 or 2 are all that’s needed. When you’re finished, there should be no clips or parts of clips in the sequence that don’t show on-screen when viewing the edit.

  6. Ensure all multicam clips are flattened, and compound clips or nested sequences are replaced with individual source clips.

  7. Replace proxies or transcoded clips with original source clips.

  8. Flatten VFX shots

  9. Delete all empty video tracks.

  10. Delete all audio clips and tracks.

Export your “X_forColor” Timeline

  • For Premiere timelines, export an XML.

  • For Avid, export an AAF.

  • For Resolve, export a DRT.

  • Place your exported asset in the ‘Timeline’ folder on your turnover drive

Duplicate Your Media

  1. If your raw footage totals over 200GB, use media management within your NLE to ensure that only the clip portions used in the timeline are copied.

  2. Copy all footage into the ‘Footage’ folder on your turnover drive.

  3. Please ensure all master, source, and backup drives remain with you – any media you provide to us should be a duplicate.

VFX Workflow

For VFX turnovers, please deliver shots with the following specs:

  • Clips should have the same color space as the original footage.

  • ProRes 4444 XQ

  • For projects with more than 5 shots: Export an XML/EDL showing placement of each

    clip in the timeline.

  • Depending on when I am brought into a project a viewing LUT is provided to give a better idea of how your work will look under the final color grade – please reach out to your producer to discuss this option

Asset Turnover

A. For Cloud Upload or Digital Transfer

  • Upload using either Frame.io, MASV, or WeTransfer. (Upload links can be provided upon request)

  • Please do not Zip or Compress your Turnover Folder

  • Please do not use Google Drive or Dropbox.

B. Send a hard drive (This is recommended for projects above 25o GB or slow upload connections)

  • Does not need to be a fast SSD, as all files will be placed on internal servers while being worked on

  • In San Diego County? Schedule a dropoff!

  • Otherwise, ship via FedEx or UPS ensuring the package will arrive in enough time. Contact me for a shipping address or check your service agreement.