Film & Televison Video Post Production FAQ
Questions about the Video Aspect of Movie Post Production Quality Control
We get many questions about film post QC, this Film & Televison Video Post Production FAQ will help answer them. You can find out more detaled information about other aspects of QC & Video Post at our category specific FAQ pages.
Q: How do I set up the head format on my QuickTime file
A: Usually the spec sheet provided by the distributor, or network you are working with, will tell you how to lay out the head format. In some instances, a movie distributor will want no head format, just a pre-determined amount of black at the head of file before the start of program. Other movie and most TV platforms require a head format. This consists of black at the head of the file, followed by bars & tones, slate, countdown & 2-pop. If no guidance is provided, we will use a Standard Broadcast Head Format
Q: What are some or the issues that you look for while doing a quality control check
A: We perform a 100% video / audio quality control check, in which a full report is generated with a grade of Approved, Hold, or Rejected. Included in the report is a list of all issues that would cause the program to be rejected by a network, distributor, or other party. Also included in the list are other less severe issues that can be fixed at the clients' discretion. There are many areas of audio, and video that we check for. Including luminance levels, chrominance levels, black levels, color gamut range, video hits, audio levels, distortion, and much more. A full review of what we are looking for is on our Video Quality Control Process page. Q: My movie was rejected for not having "Textless" Material, what does that mean? A: Textless material refers to any scene in the film or show that has text over picture, such as main and end titles, subtitles, or time / location text, without the text. This is also referred to as "Clean Covers." These textless shots are used to add foreign language text for movies that are going to other countries. In order to provide Textless material, an editor has to get a clean version of every texted shot (over picture not black) and assemble them in order and add them after the end of the feature before the end of the file, with some black between each sequence. All textless shots are usually added to the file one minute after the end of the program. Textless material does not usually include audio
