Delivery
What I need so the sound runs on day one.
Updated
- 01:00:00:00 Start First frame of action
- 00:59:58:00 2-pop In the AAF and in the video
- 48 kHz / 24 bit Format WAV, Broadcast Wave
- 250 frames Handles On every clip
- MP4 / MOV Picture reference With the reference mix as its audio
Checklist
The AAF
#The edit, in a form I can open.
- No embedded video
- No rendered effects — no EQ, no compression, no noise reduction
- Media as separate files, with the Media folder
- Pass on clip gain and automation, but do not bake them in
Why?
- Rendered effects cannot be taken out again. As intent they are useful, as a finished result they are in the way.
- 250 frames of handles are the room in which I hide edits, build transitions and keep a breath alive.
- Without a 2-pop, every offset between picture and sound is a guess.
- An AAF without its Media folder is a table of contents without the book.
The picture reference
#The picture I mix to.
- Its audio is the reference mix from the edit
- Timecode burnt into the image
- Frame rate identical to the AAF
- Also for cutdowns and new versions
Why?
- I mix to the picture that was approved. The reference mix tells me what you heard while approving it.
- Burnt-in timecode is the only reliable way to talk about the same spot over the phone.
- If the frame rate differs, something drifts apart eventually, and by then the cause is hard to find.
Timeline & tracks
#- One sound source per track
- Dialogue, atmospheres, effects, music kept apart
- Delete empty and inactive tracks
- Names short: DX_Boom_01, FX, BG, MX
- Cutdowns in the same timeline, 5 min apart
Why?
- Whatever you merge onto one track I have to separate again in the mix — and some of it will not separate any more.
- Whatever is in the AAF arrives here. Including what you stopped wanting to hear a long time ago.
- Five minutes between versions: then nothing travels along that was not meant to.
Material & details
#- Production sound in full, with sound reports
- Music as original WAV, stems where they exist
- Voice-over with alternate takes
- Picture locked, frame rate, resolution
- New version: change log
Why?
- The rescue for an unusable boom often sits on a lavalier track the edit never opened.
- With stems a line of dialogue can be saved without turning the music down.
- Without a change log I go looking for the differences — and I will not find all of them.
Exporting the AAF
#Checklist
Not sure? Ask first.
Guidelines, not rules. If something does not fit your project, say so beforehand.
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