︎

Rik Mahieu

Colorist & Online Editor

Turnover Guide

Technical Specifications & Best Practices for Assets Delivery



Digital Assets come in different formats and can vary in quality and size. When sharing your source files, it is important to clarify exactly how the data is represented in the file, using industry standard naming conventions*. When content is going to be color graded or manipulated using visual effects, we want to start our image manipulations with a (mathematically) correct baseline, with the least amount of digital (pre)processing and as much of the native resolution, color gamut and dynamic range of the content retained from the moment it was captured. To have a correct interpretation of the data, we also need context in the form of metadata and we need to know where the finalized deliverable is going to be displayed (Broadcast, Streaming Services, Theater, Social Media, Digital Out Of Home). Preferably, the colorist is included in an early stage of (pre)production, when script or treatment is being finalized and Director of Photography is ready for camera- & lens test. A hair & make-up test shoot could already be used by a colorist to start developing a look or show LUT in advance, which in return could be converted back as CDL for dailies during production. This turnover guide describes a set of technical specifications and best practices for handing over your assets in favor of an efficient post production workflow.

*see APPENDIX below for correct naming conventions.

Conform

Conform is the process of preparing a timeline for color grading and/or online edit. This preparation involves data handling, color management, transcoding, frame- and retime (speed ramp) matching, cleanups and quality control (QC). Before a (well prepared) color grading session can start, a certain lead time is required. All source files, assets and metadata should be delivered according to specifications in this document. For short format project (like commercials), assets should be delivered at least 1 working day prior to the day we start our session (before 14.00pm). For long format projects (TV series, Documentary and Film) assets should be delivered much sooner (1 week prior) as the time it takes for proper data handling, transcoding, matching and QC should not be underestimated.

Disclaimer: when assets are not being delivered in time, conform preparations will be delayed and additional costs may apply. 

Metadata

Please collect and supply as much metadata as possible, as this information gives context for correct interpretation of source material and will benefit the overall post production workflow.
  • Onset data: color chart, gray chart, lens grid, test charts, slates.
  • Camera details: model, firmware. This information is useful for dynamic range and color space estimation; and to identify the size of the sensor, which is required for accurate camera tracking.
  • Lens details: brand, model, focal length, aperture range.
  • Lighting details: (key) light source, filters, lighting ratios (DP).
  • Source capture metadata: resolution, frame rate, codec, bit rate, aspect ratio, color temperature, exposure, t/f-stop, ISO, shutter speed, recording color space (gamut) and transfer function (EOTF or “gamma”).
  • Shot List and Reel Names from Data Handler or Digital Intermediate Technician (DIT).
  • Pull List of VFX Shots from VFX Supervisor, with up-to-date status of pull- and comp versions.
  • Edit Decision List with Timeline Markers from Editor. Please include speed ramps, image stabilization, visual effects shots, placeholders and other important information that is not visible in XML or metadata.
  • LUT (Look Up Table), ASC-CDL (Color Decision List), LMT (Look Modification Transform) from Digital Intermediate.
  • Audio Mix metadata (channel order, bit rate, sampling rate) from Sound Studio.
  • Deliverables’ sheet for Broadcast/Social from Media Agency.
  • Treatment (synopsis) with storyline and reference images from Director or Creatives
  • Style Guide with Color Codes and Brand Identity guidelines from Design Agency.
  • Decryption Certificate (.pem), including Cinema/Screen and Screening dates for making Encrypted DCP and (D)KDM from Theater.
  • Contact details of relevant stakeholders (Producer, Director, Cinematographer, DIT, Editor, VFX Supervisor, Sound Engineer, Design Studio, Media Agency, Theater, Distributor etc.)

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

  1. Include Timeline Markers and add Captions or Overlays for clips with: speed ramps, image stabilization, visual effects shots and placeholders.
  2. Enable Overlays for “Timecode” and “Clip Source File Names”.
  3. Export an “Offline Reference”, with preview LUT enabled.
  4. Duplicate Timeline and Trim down Timeline Clips to the least amount of Video Layers as possible, preferably only Video Layer 1 (V1).
  5. Disable Graphic Overlays, Captions, Adjustment Layers, Grain and remove Clip Attributes that interfere with Color Grading.
  6. 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.
  7. Collect and Consolidate Digital Source Files (Clips/Rushes)
  8. 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.
  1. Export an “Offline Reference” of your Picture Lock, with preview LUT enabled; add Overlays for “Timecode” and “Clip Source File Names”.
  2. Duplicate Timeline and Trim down Timeline Clips to the least amount of Video Layers as possible, preferrably only Video Layer 1 (V1).
  3. 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 Preview LUT and/or ASC-CDL if applicable; or deliver LUT (.cube) and ASC-CDL seperately.

Digital Source Files

The following technical specifications are preferred, and considered good quality:

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



Image Sequence (linear)



Image Sequence (logarithmic)



Video File Format (container)
Video Codec
  • At least 2K/HD, 4K-6K is recommended.
  • Uncompressed or Lossless Compressed
  • At least 10-bit log, but preferrably 12-/16-bit log or 16-bit linear (half-float)
  • 4:4:4
  • Scene-linear light encoded as Logarithmic (log) or Linear (lin) to maximize dynamic range.
  • Scene-referred color space mapped to a (camera-native) gamut volume of at least DCI-P3.
  • RAW Image Format, scene-referred (meta)data from imaging sensor. 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 (lossless compression) or DWAB (lossy 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)

  • See APPENDIX below for a list of abbreviations regarding Color Space and Transfer Function.

Visual Effects

Visual Effect Shots should be delivered as an image sequence: half-float OpenEXR (16-bit/.exr), in a scene-referred color space, preferrably linear ACES 2065-1 (AP0) or ACEScg (AP1), with PiZ, Zip1 or DWAB 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.

Comps (and Non-Plates)
The basic layout for file names of Composited VFX Shots (comps) is:

[scene-id1]_[shot-id2]_[pull-id3]_[image-type4]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[version-number5].[frame-number].[extension]

Example: “sc0001_fx0010_001_comp_ap1_lin_25_v002.00080001.exr”

1 The [scene-id] can be a scene number or a scene code, as long as it’s unique.
2 The [shot-id] should be unique within that scene. One scene may have many shots within it. Usually it’s a good idea to allocate the scene- and shot id’s in ‘10’s’ when you initially break out the VFX shots, as this allows for logical insertion of shots between those in the original turnover (if needed) at a later date.
3 The [pull-id] is the pull number in 3 digits and could be versioned up if re-pulls are required.
4 The [image-type] should be identified in the file name to specify the image type. You could use one of the following identifiers:

“comp”: Composited VFX shot
“anim”: Animation Version
“lddv”: Look Dev
“matt”: Mattes and Masks
“prev”: Pre Vis
“repo”: Repositioning, sent for Editorial Approval
“time”: Re-Time Approval, sent for Editiorial Approval
“test”: Test Shot, Slap Comp.

5 The [version-number] or Revision Code, represents the version for the image sequence described as “v###”. Use the maximum number of digits to accommodate the worst-case number of digits potentially required for the production. For example, if values greater than 999 are possible, use 4 digits.

Plates
VFX plate names should be consistent, with a format that allows them to be identified as VFX plates. The basic layout for file names of Plates is the sames as Comps, but with [plate-id] specified:

“mp”: Main Plate, when only one element is required to produce the final VFX work
“cp”: Clean Plate, to be used for cleanup work, difference key etc.
“bg”: Background Plate, with numerical layer identification; for example: bg01, bg02, bg03
“fg”: Foreground Plate, with numerical layer identification; for example: fg01, fg02, fg03
“rp”: Reference Plate, such as lighting reference.

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

Example: “sc0001_fx0010_001_mp_ap1_lin_25_v003.00080001.exr”

VFX Notes:
  • Please provide access to updated shot list or shot management software (Shotgrid, Prism, Kitsu, Ftrack etc.), for correct overview of scene-, shot-, pull- and version number (revision code).
  • Please specify “Delivery Handles”, for example “All plates will be delivered with 10 frame handles head and tail”.


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-id]_[shot-id]_[pull-id]_[plate-id]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate].[frame-number].[extension]
comps: [scene-id]_[shot-id]_[pull -id ]_[image-type]_[color-space]_[transfer-function]_[frame-rate]_[version-number].[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 Types]
  • “gen”: Non-Graded Generic Master (textless)
  • “nam”: Non-Graded Archival Master (texted)
  • “nam-txtls”: Non-Graded Archival Master; Textless Insert
  • “graph-rgba”: Motion Graphics overlay with Alpha
  • “gam”: Graded Archival Master (textless)
  • “dcdm”: Graded Digital Cinema Distribution Master (texted)
  • “dcdm-txtls”: Graded Digital Cinema Distribution Master; Textless Insert.

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”).

[Version Number] or Revision Code, represents the version for the image sequence described as “v###”. Use the maximum number of digits to accommodate the worst-case number of digits potentially required for the production. For example, if values greater than 999 are possible, use 4 digits.

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 Space]

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
ap1
ap1
adx
awg
awg
bmdfilm
bmdfilmwg
bmdfilm4k
bmdfilm46k
canonp3dci
canoncine
cfcolor
cineonpd
dwg
p3dci
dgamut
dragonc
dragonc2
egamut
rec2020
rec2020
rec709
p3d65
vgamut
redc
redc2
redc3
redc4
redspace
rwg
sgamut
sgamut3
sgamut3-cine
srgb
xyz

[Transfer Function]

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
lin
cc
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
pq
g22
zlog


Questions?

If you have any questions regarding the technical specifications and how to deliver your assets in the best possible way, please contact me!
 
©2025 Rik Mahieu C.S.I.