Pre-Post-Production

Already things are cutting together nicely.

27 February, 2009

Strange to report that the new Red Dwarf - which you must know by now is entitled Back to Earth - entered post-production mere moments after the first footage was shot.

Editor Nick Ames, a TV comedy veteran, having worked on Black Books and Men Behaving Badly amongst others - is only ever hours behind the main production, assembling the best of the takes into rough-cut sequences even as preceding and following scenes are being shot.

The edit suite at Shepperton is close enough to the main shoot on D stage that a cable has been run out of the shooting stage, across rafters, and down into the edit. This allows footage from the Red One cameras (there are two on set, which shoot directly onto hard drives) to be quickly accessed, so work can begin immediately.

There are multiple redundancies and back-ups with this system, ensuring no shot ever gets lost or corrupted. Sound is synched on-site - having been recorded separately by Chris Ashworth - and within an hour everything is accessible for cutting.

With a fast turn-around, decisive choices are being made for shots that require vis-FX enhancement. A lovely fat FTP connection to Mike Seymour's remarkable team in Australia ensures high-priority footage can be sent direct, while the bulk of items take the more conventional 'hard drive in a bag on a plane' method.

The fruits of all this digital labour will soon be available for all to see - but already, from rough cuts viewed last weekend - it's shaping up to a visual feast... but one still dense with belly laughs.

Red Dwarf: Back to Earth begins on Dave on April 10th.