How 10 editors and 9 assistant editors edited a six hour documentary series for HBO in Final Cut Pro

Here’s a video from Alex Lindsay’s Office Hours detailing the Final Cut Pro-based workflow of ‘Q: Into the Storm’ – a six part documentary shown on HBO.

• 10 editors, 9 assistant editors, working with 1,700 hours of media. Working remotely.
• Editing start: October 2020. Delivery: March 2021
• Home internet speeds: 200 Mb/s down, 10 Mb/s up
• 70TB of source media
• Footage: shot on cinema cameras, DSLRs, phones, action cameras, screen recordings
• RAW, ProRes, MXF, H.264, H.265
• Constant frame rate, variable frame rate
• Proxy workflow for video: H.264 proxies = 2.7TB
• Original audio: 1.9TB
• Transcoded using Kyno of 1,700 hrs of media in 48 hours on a 28-core Mac Pro
• Centralised Final Cut Pro library access for everyone via Postlab.
• Media distributed using Postlab Drive and Chronosync
• Remote support using Jump Desktop
• Custom-built chat system known as ‘AE Hotline’ – in the style of Slack or Discord
• Very many VFX/animation shots
• VFX/animation shots: Compound clips held source plates and multiple deliveries from vendors

Featuring workflow consultant and lead assistant editor Felipe Baez and Steven Moyer, conform editor.