CineMontage

Q2 2022

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sible on The Cargo Cult's (thecargocult.nz) Support page. You'll find info on supported Mac OS and Windows versions (and some info for Linux users), supported versions of Pro Tools, supported file formats for input and output, supported frame rates, and other helpful info. Looking for a preview or how-to videos? The Cargo Cult's YouTube page has a playlist of Matchbox tutorials. Ready to try it out? Download a full ver- sion (14-day free trial) on The Cargo Cult's Downloads page. NUENDO 11 - BUILT-IN RECONFORM Those considering the jump from Pro Tools to Nuendo (steinberg.net/nuendo) — a DAW that Steinberg dubs "the most advanced audio post-production solution available" — will find that it has a built-in ReConform tool that works by comparing two EDLs (an old and a new) from the pic- ture department. Selecting "ReConform" in the "Project" dropdown menu opens the ReConform win- dow, which is separated into four sections: Old EDL, New EDL, Change EDL, and Video. The interface is easy to grasp at first glance, yet there are several options for how the reconform is handled. "It's very predictable and that's quite a good thing," said Sound Assistant Simon Carroll, who works along- side supervising sound editor Johnnie Burn at Wave Studios in the UK. The Old EDL and New EDL sections in the top half of the ReConform window (where the old and new EDLs are imported, respectively) lists information about the picture edit, such as clip ID, transition type (cut, dissolve, or wipe), EDL File name, source timecode for ins and outs, and desti- nation timecode for ins and outs. Clicking the "Generate" button in the middle of the ReConform window will pro- vide an overview of the differences between the old EDL and the new EDL, displayed in the Change EDL section in the lower half of the window. This section shows a source (old version) timeline and destination (new version) timeline. Clicking through the listed clips in this section will highlight dif- ferent areas on the two timelines, giving the sound editor a general idea of where a clip in the old cut is now located in the new cut. Empty spaces in the destination timeline indicate new picture has been added. The Change EDL section has a "Preview" button, allowing the sound editor to see what will happen to their session during the reconform without actually making any of those changes. (Disabling "Preview" and clicking the "Start ReConform" button will render the changes to the session.) There's the option to preview changes as "SRC" (source) or "DST" (destination). Preview- ing as "DST" will show the new timeline position for elements after the reconform is rendered. Previewing allows the sound editor to make f ixes to the reconform before rendering. For instance, they can heal two segments together if they don't want to re- conform those segments. Or, they can make cycle markers in their session for added clips, add memos for what's needed in the new clips (new dialogue, ADR, backgrounds, sound design, etc.) or what's changed in a particular section that needs reworking, or view/address automation warnings (alerts about changes in automation), and so on. The more drastic the picture changes, the more complex the reconform becomes. Carroll noted that "with big recuts, you're looking at making sound design work across a 20-minute reel. It could be incred- ibly complex. So whatever software you're using, it's important to consider two things: how quickly it recuts the material, and what you're left with at the end of it." Since Nuendo 11 is capable of handling all the audio tracks for an entire film (it's not parsed out onto two or three separate sys- tems as is typically the case with Pro Tools workflows where dialogue will be on one system, and effects, design, and foley are on another), ReConform can run across all tracks, or just selected tracks — whichever the editor prefers. The "Preferences" icon in the ReCon- form window opens up a panel of options. In here, the sound editor can change "Apply R e C o n fo r m to" A l l T ra c k s o r S e l e c te d Tracks, check /uncheck "Create Virgin Territories" (meaning the automation, including volume, in new sections will start from scratch), check/uncheck "Restrict Re- Conform Range," set timecode to "Preserve Material Before" and "Preserve Material After," and check/uncheck the following op- tions: "Include Overhanging Audio Events" (with adjustable frame amounts), "Create Destination Markers," "Create Dissolve/ Wipe Markers," "Create Insert Markers," "Create Automation Warning Markers," "Create Audio Snippet Markers" (with adjustable frame amounts), and "Create Overlap Markers." "We like to have the whole mix in one project, to have every element that goes into the soundtrack in one session. So for reconforms on sound design-heavy proj- ects, oftentimes we're rebuilding it as we go. Nuendo's ReConform doesn't track VFX changes like Matchbox, but for our work- flow that's not a disadvantage. The way we go about re-cutting, it's not a mathematical process. We're more hands-on — rebuilding it and thinking about how it's going to work as we go through," said Carroll. MFCHANGENOTE What happens with reconforms on the dub stage, when it's not an in-the-box Pro 53 S P R I N G Q 2 I S S U E T E C H Diego Perez. SEE PAGE 60

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