Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/87274
MTI Film transitioned its post workflow from The Closer to the show's spin- off Major Crimes, which shoots on everything from Alexa to P2 to GoPro. MAJOR CRIMES While fans of The Closer were sad to see Deputy Chief Brenda Lee Johnson leave the high-profile LAPD crime unit, they're pleased that most of the ensemble cast of detectives continues under the banner of Major Crimes with former Internal Affairs head Capt. Sharon Raydor (played by Mary McDonnell) in command. Continuity is the watch-word in post production, too. Hollywood's MTI Film (www.mtifilm.com) established the post workflow for the last six episodes of The Closer and transitioned that process to the new series, which also airs on TNT. "The workflow for The Closer changed out of necessity when it made the move from film to digital capture with the Arri Alexa," says MTI Film VP David McClure. "We tried to match the look [The Closer] had established [during its run] by adding a grain tool to our dailies system while testing the logistics in preparation for Major Crimes, which is a more gritty, on-the-streets detec- tive show with a lot of handheld camera work." McClure notes that the DPs for Major Crimes, Kenneth Zunder, ASC, and David A. Harp, have embraced all the possibilities of digital capture from Alexa to Panasonic P2 and Go Pro cameras. "They have the freedom to choose the right tool for the job and not have that slow them down on the set," he says. "They don't do on-set color correction, for example. They rely on their relationship with our dailies colorist, Mauricio Tassara, to set the look that carries through to final color with our senior colorist Jeremy Sawyer. If Mauricio builds a special LUT for flashback scenes and wants to push the look, that will carry through to final color; everything you see in editorial media is what you see in final color. " MTI Film uses its Control Dailies software to process the dailies and prepare editorial, review and back-up media. Control Dailies software handles all the different cameras used on the show, integrating the myriad digital capture formats on the same timeline. "Having all the cameras on one timeline is not only great for the client but also for Mauricio, who's able to match the A and B camera looks more closely, Homeland shoots on Arri's Alexa. Keep Me Posted handles color and transcoding. Editors housed at Raleigh Studios cut the show on Apple's Final Cut Pro. "We create ProRes material with color correction and any burns they want in the dailies," says McClure. "Once they lock the show, we assemble it from original files in ProRes 4:4:4 on Final Cut Pro, the same platform the editors use, so any VFX are translated seamlessly." Jeremy Sawyer mans a Nucoda Film Master for final color correction; the system's tool kit gives him a lot of flexibility to meet the needs of the client sitting alongside him as he refines and nuances the footage and adds grain as required. The assembly process, from loading media to rendering files, is very fast Post • October 2012 25 " points out McClure.