Technical Specifications for Delivering your Assets

When content is going to be color graded and finalized for Broadcast, OTT, Theater or Social Media; we want to work in a scene-referred workflow, where our starting point of manipulating an image sequence comes with the least amount of digital (pre)processing; and as much of the native resolution, color gamut and dynamic range of the content retained at the time of its origination or capture. Digital source input files come in different formats and can vary in quality and size. When sharing source files, it is important to clarify exactly how the data is represented in the file. To optimize quality, efficiency and interoperability, please adhere to the following Technical Specifications and Best Practices.

Conform

Conform is the process of preparing a timeline for color grading or online edit. This preparation involves a level of quality control (QC). All assets and metadata should be delivered according to delivery specifications, and at least 1 working day prior to the day we start our session (before 13.00pm). When assets are being delivered the day before and we discover material is missing or not delivered according to specifications below, there is still headroom to replace or correct missing files and/or metadata.

Disclaimer: when assets are not being delivered in time (1 working day before session start and prior to 13.00pm), additional costs may be charged.

Metadata

Please collect as much metadata as possible for an efficient workflow and adhere to industry standard naming conventions: use lower-case characters, substite spaces with underscores and omit illegal characters.

Camera Model details: model, make, firmware.

Camera Source Metadata files, with information about: resolution, frame rate, codec, color temperature, exposure, ISO, shutter speed etc.
Scene-referred Color Space (”gamut”) and Transfer Function (EOTF or “gamma”).
Shot List and Reel Names from Data Handler or Digital Intermediate Technician (DIT).
Timeline Markers or Editor’s Notes regarding timing of: speed ramps, image stabilization, visual effects shots, placeholders and other important information that is not visible in XML or metadata.
Access to VFX Scene/Shot List or Shot Management Software by VFX Supervisor, with up-to-date status of pull- and comp versions.
Style Guide with Color Codes and Brand Identity guidelines.
Decryption Certificate (.pem), including Cinema/Screen and Screening dates for making Encrypted DCP and (D)KDM.
Audio-mix metadata (channel order, bit rate, sampling rate).
Contact details of stakeholders (DIT, Producer, VFX Supervisor, Director, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Engineer, Design Studio, Theater, Media Agency, Distributor).
Broadcast delivery specification sheet from Media Agency or Theater/Distributor.

Naming Conventions

Lower-case characters
Substitute ‘spaces’ with underscores
Legal characters: [ a-z ], [ A-Z ], [ 0-9 ], [ . ], [ _ ], [ - ]
ILLEGAL: spaces or any other symbols/characters than above.

Folder & File Name structure

Episodic:
[project-title]_[season-episode]_[asset-type]_[bit-depth]_[dynamic-range]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Non-Episodic:
[project-title]_[segment]_[asset-type]_[bit-depth]_[dynamic-range]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Commercial:
[advertiser]_[product]_[asset-type]_[length]_[bit-depth]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date]_[version].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Visual Effects Shots:
plates: [scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[plate]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate].[frame-number].[extension]
comps: [scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[comp]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[comp-version].[frame-number].[extension]

Note: please see APPENDIX below for a list of abbreviations regarding File Name Structure, Asset Type, Color Spaces and Transfer Functions.

Artwork

Graphics should be delivered in high resolution (at least 4K/UHD) and, if applicable, in vector format (outlined).
Photography should be delivered in high resolution (at least 12MP) and cleared for use in respect to copyright.

Fonts should be included.

Disclaimer: Artwork should be cleared for use in respect to copyright, before handing over.

Audio
Audio should be mixed and normalized to delivery specifications:

- TV Commercials: EBU R128 (-23 LUFS, −1 dBTP); 24-bit @ 48kHz sample rate
- Online (social media): -14 LUFS, −1 dBTP (based on best practice)
- Near Field: -27db LKFS +/- 2 LU 1770-1 dialogue loudness (Theater); 24-bit @ 48kHz sample rate

Disclaimer: the Sound Studio is responsible for mastering audio to correct specifications. Audio and Music should be cleared for use in respect to copyright with correct licence, before handing over.

Edit or Picture Lock

Below is a set of Best Practices for the editor to deliver a Picture Lock to Color Grading. While Method 1 (XML + Source Clips) is generally preferred, as it has better interoperability; in some cases it may be more efficient to deliver according to Method 2 (Pre-Conformed EDL + Non-Graded Master).

Method 1: XML + Consolidated Source Clips

Include Timeline Markers and add Captions or Overlays for clips with: speed ramps, image stabilization, visual effects shots and placeholders.
Enable Overlays for “Timecode” and “Clip Source File Names”.
Export an “Offline Reference”, with preview LUT enabled.
Duplicate Timeline and Trim down Timeline Clips to the least amount of Video Layers as possible, preferably only Video Layer 1 (V1).
Disable Graphic Overlays, Captions, Adjustment Layers, Grain and remove Clip Attributes that interfere with Color Grading.
Shots with non-linear speed ramps are not always correctly interpreted, please mark these shots with timeline markers and copy shots with speed ramps to end of timeline at 100% speed with correct IN- and OUT-point.
Collect and Consolidate Digital Source Files (Clips/Rushes)
Export an XML of Picture Lock Timeline.

Method 2: Pre-Conformed EDL + Non-Graded Master

A textless Non-Graded Master (‘Flat Pass’) is accepted, please consult in advance before making this decision.

Export an “Offline Reference” of your Picture Lock, with preview LUT enabled; add Overlays for “Timecode” and “Clip Source File Names”.
Duplicate Timeline and Trim down Timeline Clips to the least amount of Video Layers as possible, preferrably only Video Layer 1 (V1).
Export an EDL of Video Layer 1 (V1).

When exporting a “textless” Non-Graded Generic Master (GEN):

Disable Graphic Overlays, Adjustment Layers, LUT, Grain and Remove Clip Attributes that interfere with Color Grading.
Provide Graphic Overlays with Alpha-channel (“graph-rgba”)

When exporting a “texted” Non-Graded Archival Master (NAM):

Keep Graphic Overlays (Supers, Titles, Motion Graphics, Logo’s, End Credits) enabled.
Disable: Adjustment Layers, LUT, Grain and Remove Clip Attributes that interfere with Color Grading.
Provide textless inserts (”nam-txless”) for every graphic overlay background in the timeline.
Provide Graphic Overlays with Alpha-channel (“graph-rgba”)

Offline Reference
Please supply an Offline Reference of the Picture Lock as a Video File.
Codec: DNxHD36, ProresLT, DNxHR LB or H.264.

Overlay: Timecode + Source Clip File Names
Enable Show LUT (Lookup Table) if applicable, or deliver Show LUT seperately in .cube format

Digital Source Files

Digital source input files come in different formats and can vary in quality and size. When sharing source files, it is important to clarify exactly how the data is represented in the file. The following technical specifications are prefered, and considered good quality:

Resolution
Compression
Quantization/Bit Depth
Chroma Subsampling
Transfer Function (oetf)
Color Space (gamut)
RAW Image Format

Image Sequence (linear)

Image Sequence (logarithmic)

Video File Format
Video Codec

At least HD, 4K-6K is recommended.
Uncompressed or Lossless Compressed
At least 10-bit log, but preferrably 12-/16-bit log or 16-bit lin (half-float)
Preferrably 4:4:4, but at least 4:2:2
Scene-linear Light encoded as Logarithmic (log) or Linear (lin) to maximize dynamic range.
Scene-referred color space values, mapped to a (camera-native) gamut volume of at least DCI-P3.

RAW Image Format, with scene-referred (linear) data and metadata. Examples:

- ARRIRAW: 12-bit (uncompressed) logarithmic allocated data
- Sony X-OCN: 16-bit linear data compressed with a Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT)
- R3DCODE RAW: 16-bit linear data compressed with a Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT).

OpenEXR

- 16-bit (half-float) linear
- PiZ, Zip1 or DWAB (lossless compression)
- ACES 2065-1 (AP0) or ACEScg (AP1)

DPX (Digital Picture Exchange)

- 10-/12-/16-bit log
- DPX was originally derived from Kodak Cineon (cineon log), but it can hold any logarithmic transfer function, please specify in file naming of the image sequence, e.g. logc3, slog3, log3g10 etc.

MXF OP1a or Quicktime
DNxHR444 or ProRes4444(XQ)

Note: Color Corrections (WB, Curves, Levels, Looks, LUTs etc.) and additional Grain should NOT be baked into a non-graded archival master.
Please provide metadata of scene-referred color space, transfer function, resolution, frame rate, codec, color temperature, exposure, ISO, shutter speed etc.
See APPENDIX below for a list of abbreviations regarding Color Space and Transfer Function.

Visual Effects

Visual Effects (VFX) shots should be delivered in a scene-referred color space, preferrably as linear ACES 2065-1 (AP0) or linear ACEScg (AP1) in Half-Float OpenEXR (16-bit .exr), with PiZ, Zip1 or DWAA losless compression. Shots in a scene-referred log color space, encoded in Digital Picture Exchange (DPX) format (10/12/16-bit .dpx) are also accepted. Please specify color space and transfer function in file name and use industry standard naming conventions.

Plates
VFX plate names should be consistent, with a format that allows them to be identified as VFX plates and also allows them to be versioned up if re-pulls are required.

[scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[plate]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate].[frame-number].[extension]

Example: “sc0001_fx0010_001_pl030c_ap1_lin_25fps.00080001.exr”

Comps
VFX composites should be consistent, with a format that allows them to be identified as VFX comps and also allows them to be versioned up if re-pulls are required.

[scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[comp]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[comp-version].[frame-number].[extension]

Example: “sc0001_fx0010_001_comp_ap1_lin_25fps_v002.00080001.exr”

VFX Notes:

Plates are named by adding a plate number (pl###) and a version number (a,b,c,d,...) to the end of the associated shot’s name.
Please provide access to updated shot list or shot management software (Shotgrid, Prism, Kitsu, Ftrack etc.), for correct overview of pull- and comp versions.

APPENDIX

Naming Conventions

Lower-case characters
Substitute ‘spaces’ with underscores
Legal characters: [ a-z ], [ A-Z ], [ 0-9 ], [ . ], [ _ ], [ - ]
ILLEGAL: spaces or any other symbols/characters than above.

Folder & File Name structure

Episodic:
[project-title]_[season-episode]_[asset-type]_[bit-depth]_[dynamic-range]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Non-Episodic:
[project-title]_[segment]_[asset-type]_[bit-depth]_[dynamic-range]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Commercial:
[advertiser]_[product]_[asset-type]_[length]_[bit-depth]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[aspect-ratio]_[resolution]_[date]_[version].[frame-number].[file-extension]

Visual Effects Shots:
plates: [scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[plate]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate].[frame-number].[extension]
comps: [scene]_[vfx-shot]_[pull]_[comp]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[comp-version].[frame-number].[extension]

Note: Image Sequences should include [frame-rate] and [frame-number], when supplying in a Video File Format, these abbreviations do not apply.

Asset Type
Please include an abbreviation in the file name for the asset type:

Non-Graded Generic Master (textless): “gen”
Non-Graded Archival Master (texted): “nam”
Non-Graded Archival Master Textless Insert: “nam-txtls”
Motion Graphics overlay with Alpha: “graph-rgba”
Graded Archival Master (textless): “gam”
Graded Digital Cinema Distribution Master (texted): “dcdm”
Graded Digital Cinema Distribution Master Textless Insert: “dcdm-txtls”

Textless notes:

Textless assets should include a textless background for any shot/sequence of the content that contains on-screen graphic text
Textless shots/sequences should be provided cut-to-cut (i.e., the textless insert should not begin or end in the middle of a shot, the entire shot should be provided).

Length
For commercials, include length in seconds (example: “15”, “20”, “30”, “60”).

Bit Depth
An abbreviation describing the bit depth of the image files, this should be a two-digit number followed by a “b” (example: 16-bit image files would be “16b”).

Dynamic Range
An abbreviation describing the Dynamic Range: “sdr” or “hdr”.

Date
The date the asset was created in year/month/day format (example: “241201” for December 1st, 2024).

Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio of the active image, derived by dividing the active resolution of the width by the active resolution of the height, rounded to two decimal points. The notation of the aspect ratio should not include a decimal point places (example: 1.78 aspect ratio would be notated as “178”).

Resolution
The resolution of the image notated as [width]x[height]. The resolution should detail the full resolution of the file, not just the active image (example: “4448x3096”).

Color Space & Transfer Function

Please provide specific information about the Scene-referred Color Space (Gamut) and the Opto-Electrical Transfer Function (OETF) that has been applied, use the table below as a reference for correct naming conventions and corresponding abbreviations (example: ‘Arri Wide Gamut 4’ in ‘Log C4’ should be notated as “awg_logc4”).

Color Spaces

ACES 2065-1 (AP0)

ACEScg (AP1)

ACEScc (AP1)

ACEScct (AP1)

ADX

ARRI Wide Gamut 3

ARRI Wide Gamut 4

BMD Film

BMD Film Wide Gamut Gen4/5

BMD Film 4K

BMD Film 4.6K

Canon DCI-P3+

CanonCineGamut

CFColor

Cineon (printin density)

DaVinci Wide Gamut

DCI P3

DJI D-Gamut

DRAGONcolor

DRAGONcolor2

Filmlight E-Gamut

Fuji F-Gamut (Rec.2020)

ITU-R BT.2020 (Rec.2020)

ITU-R BT.709 (Rec.709)

P3 D65

Panasonic VGamut

REDcolor

REDcolor2

REDcolor3

REDcolor4

REDspace

REDWideGamutRGB

Sony SGamut

Sony SGamut3

Sony SGamut3.cine

sRGB

XYZ

ap0

ap1

adx

awg

bmdfilm

bmdfilmwg

bmdfilm4k

bmdfilm46k

canonp3dci

canoncine

cfcolor

cineonpd

dwg

p3dci

dgamut

dragonc

dragonc2

egamut

rec2020

rec709

p3d65

vgamut

redc

redc2

redc3

redc4

redspace

rwg

sgamut

sgamut3

sgamut3-cine

srgb

xyz

Transfer Functions

ACES 2065-1 (AP0)

ACEScg (AP1)

ACEScc (AP1)

ACEScct (AP1)

ADX

Arri Log C3

Arri Log C4

BMD Log

BMD Log 4.6K

Canon Log2

Canon Log3

CFLog

Cineon Log

DaVinci Intermediate

DCI (2.6 Gamma)

Filmlight T-Log

Fuji F-Log

Fuji F-Log 2

ITU-R BT.1886 (2.4 Gamma)

Leica L-log

Linear (1.0 Gamma)

Nikon N-Log

Panasonic V-Log

Phantom Log

RedLog3G10

RedLogFilm

S-Log2

S-Log3

SMPTE ST-2084 (PQ)

sRGB (2.2 Gamma)

ZCAM Z-Log

lin

cct

adx

logc3

logc4

bmdlog

bmdlog46k

canonlog2

canonlog3

cflog

cineon

dint

g26

tlog

flog

flog2

g24

lclog

lin

nlog

vlog

phlog

log3g10

redlogfilm

slog2

slog3

g22

zlog

Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the technical specifications and how to deliver your assets in the best possible way in terms of quality and efficiency, please contact me!

Disclaimer: if the delivery specifications are not adhered to, additional costs may be charged.

©2024 Rik Mahieu C.S.I.

^{Rik Mahieu}

Colorist & Online Editor

Technical Specifications for Delivering your Assets

Conform

Metadata

Artwork

Audio
Audio should be mixed and normalized to delivery specifications:

Edit or Picture Lock

Offline Reference
Please supply an Offline Reference of the Picture Lock as a Video File.
Codec: DNxHD36, ProresLT, DNxHR LB or H.264.

Digital Source Files

Visual Effects

APPENDIX

Naming Conventions

Color Space & Transfer Function

Questions?

Rik Mahieu

Colorist & Online Editor

Technical Specifications for Delivering your Assets

Conform

Metadata

Artwork

Audio Audio should be mixed and normalized to delivery specifications:

Edit or Picture Lock

Offline Reference Please supply an Offline Reference of the Picture Lock as a Video File.Codec: DNxHD36, ProresLT, DNxHR LB or H.264.

Digital Source Files

Visual Effects

APPENDIX

Naming Conventions

Color Space & Transfer Function

Questions?

^{Rik Mahieu}

Audio
Audio should be mixed and normalized to delivery specifications:

Offline Reference
Please supply an Offline Reference of the Picture Lock as a Video File.
Codec: DNxHD36, ProresLT, DNxHR LB or H.264.