In today’s world, workflow is all about choices. Workflow is a set of processes, employing people, hardware, and software to help filmmakers bring their visions to life. At the highest level, all motion picture workflows tend to follow the same basic path: the pre-production phase, the production phase, the post-production phase, the distribution and exhibition phase, and lastly the storage and archiving phase. Every production, whether it is targeting television, commercials or feature films goes through these phases, albeit to a different degree.
Historically, the typical workflow began in the planning stage with pen and paper. Film was the standard interchange format for most workflows. Features were shot on film. Edited negative littered the cutting room floor. Intermediates were made of the final production. Multiple prints were generated for distribution and exhibition. Finally the original negative became the archiving medium which enabled long term storage. Film was the standard which carried across all the steps of the process. Because of this workflow, decisions were far simpler. Now, there are far more choices – from scene to screen to archive – and with that an increase in complexity.
