Chainsaw Edit is part of the Sim Group family and has two post facilities in Hollywood. When they started looking for ways to better handle their growing demand for multiple file format deliveries, they chose Cinedeck.
Chainsaw Edit utilizes both Cinedeck hardware and software solutions in their deliverables department: a four-channel Cinedeck ZX45, two-channel Cinedeck ZX20 and three seats of cineXinsert software
Chainsaw’s chief engineer, Jeff Sengpiehl said, “Our old process for creating a file deliverable was to use tape as a mezzanine format. We would layoff to tape from the editor in real-time, then encode the tape to a file. For a program fix, we would punch changes to the tape, then re-encode the tape to a file. When you factor in QC, it could take several hours of work for a one-hour show. Using Cinedeck to overwrite changes directly to the deliverable file means we QC only the new insert, saving us hours of QC time. We get the efficiency of a tape-based workflow, but on files."
When asked about how Cinedeck has helped the overall workflow at Chainsaw Edit, Sengpiehl said, “Cinedeck's File-based Insert Edit has allowed the deliverables department to handle the end product of a show, freeing up our editors to go on to other projects. Video fixes are handled by the Cinedeck hardware, while audio reversioning, audio channel re-alignment and slates are done with cineXinsert. We’ve been able to save hours of labor and QC time using Cinedeck, which is critical in a world where budgets are getting ever tighter.”
He concluded, “We use Cinedeck tools every day to deliver high profile shows like Scorpion, Pretty Little Liars and Colony. It's a proven workflow for us."