Top left: Codex Digital Lab
Top right: 4K Digital Intermediate Workflow
Lower left: Recent facility expansion - edit bays.
Lower right: Finishing services include digital intermediate

Tunnel Post will use Codex Digital Lab to process digitally acquired media, prepare files for editorial, facilitate colour grading and create archival media files. Used with Codex recorders and data packs, the system forms a standardized workflow for digitally-acquired media and is compatible with most professional-grade digital cameras, including the new Arri Alexa. The Digital Lab can process camera media faster than real-time and output files in formats required by most editorial systems, including Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD.

Tunnel Post said they expect their fast turnaround service for dailies with security for digital assets will benefit editorial companies by freeing them from digital media file processing tasks. They plan initially to target commercial producers and editors but anticipate that the service will also appeal to episodic television and feature film productions. The company plans to offer three grades of processing service with one-light, best-light and DI-graded colour treatments applied. Same day or next day service is available, depending on the level of applied grading.

Tunnel Post is the first post production facility in Santa Monica to offer digital dailies services with Codex Digital Lab. Tunnel Post Chief Technology Officer Jeff Brue said that this system should make it possible to preserve camera data and similar information throughout post production, maintaining a basis for communication between the DP and the colourist, between the editor and the sound mixer, and between the dailies colourist and the final colourist.

Tunnel Post is especially interested in developing its DI-graded dailies service, designed to provide producers, editors and others a chance to work with media with near final colour treatments, applied at the onset of post production. "We can make sure everything looks great in the edit bay," said Jeff Brue. "And later, when they want to do a final touch up, it will take less time and cost because a lot of the work will already be done."

Codex Digital Lab
The Digital Lab ingests digital production material from Codex recorders, or from tape, telecine and other digital systems. By linking with 3rd party RAID systems it can provide high capacity. All of the material can be kept online and available for daily deliverables and reprints on-demand. When the edit is complete, the finishing-files can be generated automatically.

The Lab uses the Virtual File System to convert the original material – in formats from HD for television to the digital cinematography cameras – into editing files for Avid, Apple or Adobe. It also makes finishing files and archives, as well as viewing files such as Quicktime or DVD. All of these keep metadata, colour-space conversion and look management. Editors can also do play-outs to monitors or tape, complete pull-lists and EDL conforms.

Codex says that The Digital Lab can manage a range of broadcast productions including multi-camera episodic TV and drama, plus digital motion pictures. Multiple productions can be handled on a single unit, and it is designed to integrate into the MCR of an editing/ VFX facility. It may also be possible to connect the Lab directly on set or location.  www.codexdigital.com