Spy Post gets raves for Universal Master process
San Francisco's Spy Post, which primarily posts commercials, has developed a process designed to move independent filmmakers to a Universal Master which offers them ultimate flexibility in deliverables. The company applied the process last fall to The Village Barbershop, a dramatic feature written and directed by Chris Ford and starring John (Cheers) Ratzenberger.

The Village Barbershop was shot with Panasonic VariCam and P2-format cameras and cut on Final Cut Pro by San Francisco Editor Ian Montgomery. "We took the DVCPRO HD 720p conform at 23.98 fps and output it to our SpectSoft Rave HD hard-disk recorder," says Spy Post partner, Eric Hanson. "With this process we transconverted to uncompressed 1080p at 23.98 fps or what we consider a Universal Master.

"Then Chris Martin did the color correction on a da Vinci 2K Plus real time color corrector as if it were a tape-to-tape session," Hanson explains. "Although shot in DVCPRO HD, there still remained plenty of latitude to push the color and give it a look. RaveHD has instant random access which is really nice for navigating a feature-length project." Filmmakers are "pleasantly surprised" by the cost and time efficiencies of this method compared to color correcting in Final Cut, he adds. "And you're working with a colorist."

Spy Post's Kyle Gray cleaned up, rotoscoped and composited 20-30 VFX shots with Autodesk Discreet Flames and After Effects dropping in the shots before generating the final color-corrected master. Using Illustrator and After Effects, Gray also helped Ford tie graphic elements from the movie's poster into the animated closing credits. Skywalker Sound performed the mix.

Ford chose HDCAM 1920x1080 at 23.98 for his HD master. After initially screening The Village Barbershop at the Dolby facility in San Francisco, Ford is submitting the feature to film festivals. At press time the picture had been accepted in competition at Cinequest in San Jose February 28-March 11. From his Universal Master Ford has the ability to output other deliverables easily, including DPX files for a film out.

"The variables in the process are the acquisition format and the deliverables," says Hanson. "After the filmmaker decides what they want to shoot and what they want to deliver, we advise them on the most efficient, cost-effective, high-quality intermediate format to work in during the project. It's almost like doing a DI for big-budget features. We've just tweaked the process so it's within reach of spots, documentaries and independent films."