Student productions are expected to follow the program’s typography and font usage guidelines when creating titles, credits, posters, graphics, promotional materials, and other official production-related design assets. This includes using approved fonts where required and maintaining professional formatting standards across deliverables.
Consistent font usage helps create clearer, more professional presentation materials while supporting a more unified visual identity across the program. Typography is an important part of visual communication, and following established standards helps students develop stronger design habits while ensuring that production materials remain clean, legible, and appropriate for exhibition and distribution contexts.
Limitations on Usage
Fonts, like music and images, are protected by intellectual property law. Their use is governed by licensing agreements, and improper usage can lead to legal complications and limit a film’s ability to be distributed. To model professional industry standards and ensure that student work respects the rights of font creators, all fonts used in student productions must be properly licensed and accompanied by a verifiable chain-of-title.
Researching and clearing font licenses requires time from both students and faculty. On early production cycles, which operate on short post schedules, this time is better spent on core filmmaking tasks. These projects are therefore limited to vetted font sources with clear, institutionally-approved licensing. Greater flexibility is granted on capstone cycles, where students have more time and are expected to take responsibility for securing proper font rights.
F1 • F2 • F3 • M1 • M2 • M3
Students may only use fonts from the following sources:
Thumbnail images are often the first point of contact audiences have with a film online, making them an important part of a project’s overall presentation and discoverability. This post provides standardized thumbnail templates to help maintain visual consistency across school-related promotional materials and online showcases.
The use of templates ensures that projects meet technical specifications while encouraging students to think strategically about visual communication and audience engagement. Effective thumbnails should clearly represent the tone and identity of the project while remaining legible and visually compelling across a range of screen sizes and platforms. Developing an understanding of these presentation standards is increasingly important in contemporary distribution environments.
Instructions
Use these templates to create your thumbnails. To ensure your film is properly represented across a range of platforms, you must create both a horizontal and a vertical thumbnail.
Each thumbnail should contain two elements:
A carefully selected image that fills the entire frame (i.e., no letterboxing or black bars). This image is typically derived from either the poster or one of the production stills.
The title of the film. Ideally, for consistency of branding, this should match the font design of the title on the poster. No other text should appear in the thumbnail.
Examples:
Horizontal (1920x1080px)Vertical (1200x1600px)
Delivery:
Deliver the finished files for each in two formats:
A layered PSD file (include any custom fonts used)
The location list serves as part of the project’s final delivery materials, providing a comprehensive record of all filming locations used during production. In addition to serving as an archival and administrative document, the report helps productions verify that all location-related materials and required paperwork have been properly completed and submitted during the delivery process.
Maintaining accurate location records is important both for redundancy and long-term project documentation. The report provides the school with a centralized reference point in case materials submitted elsewhere become incomplete, missing, or incorrectly labeled. It also encourages productions to carefully review their delivery materials and confirm that all locations, agreements, permits, and related documentation have been properly accounted for before final submission.
Export Instructions
Navigate to the Location Database board in FSU Greenlight.
Select the “My Shows” view at the top.
Batch-select all the items for the show.
Select “Export” from the menu at the bottom.
Delivery Instructions
Locate the exported Excel file on your local drive.
Rename the Excel file, using the following naming convention: 01m2-LocationList.xlsx
The cast list is submitted as part of the project’s final delivery materials and provides a complete record of all performers involved in the production. In addition to serving as an archival and administrative document, the report helps productions verify that all cast-related materials and required paperwork have been properly completed and submitted during the delivery process.
Maintaining accurate cast records is important both for redundancy and long-term project documentation. The report provides the school with a centralized reference point in case materials submitted elsewhere become incomplete, missing, or incorrectly labeled. It also encourages productions to carefully review their delivery materials and confirm that all performer credits, agreements, releases, and related materials have been fully accounted for before final delivery is approved.
Export Instructions
Navigate to the Cast Database board in FSU Greenlight.
Select the “My Shows” view at the top.
Batch-select all the items for the show.
Select “Export” from the menu at the bottom.
Delivery Instructions
Locate the exported Excel file on your local drive.
Rename the Excel file, using the following naming convention: 01m2-CastList.xlsx
Credits sequencing establishes the standardized order and formatting conventions used for on-screen titles and end credits within student productions. These guidelines help ensure that cast, crew, departments, acknowledgments, and institutional requirements are presented consistently and professionally across projects.
Credit order carries both professional and practical significance within film production. In professional filmmaking environments, credit placement and sequencing are often governed by contractual obligations negotiated through unions, guilds, and individual talent agreements. Standardized sequencing helps ensure that contributors are recognized appropriately, prevents omissions or inconsistencies, and creates a cleaner delivery workflow during finishing and final export. Learning industry-standard crediting practices also helps students better understand both the collaborative structure of film production and the professional conventions that govern screen credit attribution.
The Overall Sequence
While every production’s titles and credits are slightly different, the general order goes:
FSUFILM Leader
Lead Titles
Content (Story)
End Credits
Logos
Copyright
A production can choose whether or not to include any Lead Titles at the start of the film. That decision will impact the order of the end credits, as outlined below.
Sequencing for Lead Titles
If lead titles appear at the head of the film, they must appear in this order:
FSUFILM Leader
Above-Title Cast
Title
Supporting Cast
Original Score by
Production Designer
Sound Designer
Editor
Director of Photography
Producer
Writer
Director
Sequencing for End Credits
The order for end credits, if not shown in the lead titles, are:
Director
Writer
Producer
Director of Photography
Editor
Sound Designer
Production Designer
Original Score by
The remaining end credits appear in the following order:
Final title and credit materials must be delivered in a format that allows editorial, finishing, and archival workflows to proceed cleanly and consistently. This includes the submission of properly formatted title cards, end credits, associated project files, and any other required assets needed for final mastering and delivery.
Careful preparation of titles and credits is important because even small formatting errors, missing names, spelling mistakes, or incompatible files can create significant problems late in post-production. The delivery process is designed both to maintain technical consistency across projects and to encourage students to carefully verify the accuracy and completeness of all credited information before final submission.
Delivery Specs
All Credits and Titles should be made in After Effects and delivered as either a DPX sequence or a PNG sequence. A DPX sequence should be used if the titles are going over black and a PNG sequence should be used if the titles need to go over picture since it holds an alpha channel. Either image sequence should be exported for 1920×1080 at 24fps. Make sure to name the image sequence appropriately (Example: 01M2_Credits_v1).
Location to Deliver Credits and TitlesNaming convention for TitlesNaming convention for Credits
Dual-system sound workflows record audio separately from the camera using dedicated sound recording equipment, requiring synchronization between picture and sound during post-production. This post outlines the cadence procedures, file management expectations, and synchronization practices used to maintain organized dual-system workflows throughout production and editorial.
Because dual-system recording involves managing multiple sources of media simultaneously, consistency and organization are critical to avoiding sync issues, missing files, or editorial confusion later in post-production. These procedures help students develop professional habits related to sound workflow management, metadata organization, and cross-department coordination within more advanced production environments.
Cadence
This is the correct cadence for productions using dual-system sound. What the 1st AD says is highlighted and said over walkie. It is important that all 1st ADs adhere to this cadence. This enables consistency from show to show, which facilitates clear communication and efficiency on set.
“PICTURE’S UP!”
When you’re ready to go for picture.
“LAST LOOKS!”
“Last Looks” is only for Hair & Makeup and Costumes to do any final touches.
“LET’S LOCK IT UP! WE’RE GOING FOR PICTURE!”
“Lock it up” is to notify everyone to be quiet.
“ROLL SOUND!”
2nd AD/PAs call “Rolling!”
Sound voice-slates into the sound recorder and then calls “Sound Speeds”. This is usually called by Boom Ops if they are in communication with the Sound Mixer. If not in communication, the Sound Mixer makes the call.
1st AC speeds the camera and (if necessary) signals to 2nd AC that it’s speeding.
2nd AC calls “Mark” ( A-Camera Mark, B-Camera Mark, etc.) and slates.
If tail-slating, call “Tail-Slating” at this point. After “Cut” is called, slate will enter frame upside down. Call “Mark” and clack the sticks, then turn the slate so it’s readable before the camera is cut.
Operator calls “Set” when they are framed up, in focus, and ready to go.
Director or AD will call “Action”/”Background” and Directors only will call “Cut” and/or “Setting”, with ADs echoing this.
After each “Cut,” the 1st AD checks with camera and sound to see how it was for them, then they check with Director to see if they want to go again.
“WE’RE GOING AGAIN!”
Make sure everyone is ready. Then call the Roll once more.
“PICTURE’S UP! LOCK IT UP! ROLL SOUND!”
Call goes as above until the Director calls “Cut”. AD repeats the “Cut” and PAs follow after AD on walkie.
AD continues to ask “Going again?” until they are told “Got that”.
Once 1st AD hears “Got that” they then call:
“GOT THAT! MOVING ON! THANK YOU.”
Moving on…
“NEW DEAL! CAMERAS MOVE! WE’RE GOING TIGHTER!”
“New Deal” means the camera(s) are moving to their next setup position.
“We’re going tighter” references that the set is moving on to a tighter frame. This is because we typically shoot scenes starting with the widest frame and then working towards the tightest frames.
If you’re moving on to the next scene then call:
“GOT THAT SCENE! MOVING ON TO SCENE ‘X’. LET’S CLEAR THE CREW AND BRING IN FIRST TEAM (OR CAST) TO REHEARSE.”
The 1st Assistant Director is responsible for managing the shooting schedule and overseeing the day-to-day operation of the set during production. This includes coordinating the work of departments on set, maintaining production pace, monitoring safety concerns, communicating priorities to the crew, and helping ensure that the production remains on schedule throughout the shooting day.
The 1st AD serves as the primary operational leader on set, balancing the creative ambitions of the director and department heads against the practical realities of time, staffing, resources, and budget. While students sometimes misunderstand the position as simply enforcing the schedule or “watching the clock,” effective assistant directing requires constant collaboration, communication, and problem-solving in support of both the film’s creative goals and the producer’s responsibility to successfully complete the day’s work. Strong 1st AD leadership helps productions remain organized, safe, efficient, and creatively focused even under demanding production conditions.
Pre-Production
Attend the Director/DP/1st AD Prep meeting with the Directing and Cinematography instructors at the location.
Create a Setup Schedule with the Director and DP (based on the shot list put together by the Director and DP).
On Set
FIRST HALF OF THE DAY
The Pre-Pro crew (PR, DR, PD, DP, 1D, 2D, SS) will have 2 hours at the start of the morning to prepare for the day, including set decoration, shot designing, etc.
When the rest of the crew arrives, have a Safety Meeting with the entire crew. Complete the Safety Meeting Report and have a Shop Steward (GF or SS) sign it to verify it was completed.
Run the Tech Scout, reviewing with the crew which scenes will be filmed in each set. Be ready to answer any questions the crew may have.
Run the Production Meeting by reading the action of the script, making sure crewmembers’ questions are answered.
Get a walkie from the 2nd AD, then go stand where the first set will be and stay there. Radio 2nd AD to bring you whatever you need.
Oversee the staging and filming of principal photography which does not require your assigned actors.
LUNCH
When it is time for lunch, release the cast & crew for lunch.
Make sure lunch does not exceed one hour.
SECOND HALF OF THE DAY
Run through the 1st AD Set Procedure for principal photography: Block, New Deal, Build, Rehearse, Shoot
Manage the time on the set by keeping up with the Setup Schedule. Adjust schedule as needed.
Look ahead to next set-ups and make sure departments are prepared and working ahead.
End of day:
At Camera Wrap, make sure crew wraps safely and efficiently. Make sure to have Company Wrap on time.
Approve the Daily Production Report and have 2nd AD distribute copies at the end of the day.
Soundly is a sound effects library and audio workflow tool used to search, organize, preview, and integrate sound assets into post-production workflows. This page outlines expectations and procedures for accessing and using the software within the program’s sound design and editorial environments.
Efficient sound asset management is an important part of professional post-production because sound teams often work with large libraries of effects, ambiences, and design elements across multiple projects. Learning organized search, tagging, preview, and workflow practices helps students build stronger sound design pipelines while developing familiarity with industry-standard audio post-production tools.
About Soundly
Having access to a robust sound effects library is invaluable for filmmakers. While there are a lot of free websites where you can download sound effects, the quality of the files can vary and acquiring the correct licensing rights can be a time-consuming and frustrating endeavor. The College therefore pays an annual fee to license Soundly, which is an application for easy searching through the 6 Terabytes of media in our professional sound effects library. This allows you to have a vast array of high-quality, licensed effects at your fingertips, and it’s engineered to have frictionless integration with Media Composer and ProTools. You can then focus on what really matters: the creative work.
Additionally, Soundly has an AI feature called Voice Designer which allows for text-based voice generation. This is a very useful tool if you need to add, say, the voice of an unseen character or if you need to rough-in a voice during editorial that will later be replaced with ADR.
Soundly Layout and Search
When first launched, the application will open as shown below. If it defaults to a different page, make sure it is set to the “Sounds” tab. Also check that it is signed in to our account as shown below. If it appears that the Soundly application is not signed in to our account correctly, please contact the Post Staff and they can get it fixed.
In the upper-left corner is a search field where you can type in keywords to help you find the what you are looking for. The library is vast and contains sound effects, backgrounds, Foley, and more. After you select one of the sound effects that your search revealed, you can preview it in the timeline at the bottom.
By default, Soundly opens in a big window that can be viewed fullscreen. Sometimes you may prefer to put it in “Dock Mode” which will squeeze the interface down to the bottom third of the screen. To enter “Dock Mode” navigate to the task bar and select Window > Dock Mode.
This can be helpful when you are also working in Media Composer or ProTools, as it will allow you to easily have both interfaces open while you work, as shown below.
Soundly with Media Composer
When using Soundly with Media Composer, it is simple to bring sounds from the library into a bin. After you have searched for and have found the sound that you want to bring into Media Composer, highlight the section of waveform you want and drag that into an open bin.
Media Composer will prompt you with a question about the audio start-time. Make sure it is set to 24 and then click “OK”.
Assuming your media creation settings in Media Composer are set as shown in the example below, the sound will be transcoded into Avid Media and will appear in your bin, ready to work with.
Soundly with ProTools
When using Soundly with ProTools, you have two options for bringing sounds into the project. You can either bring the sound into the Clips Bin or spot the sound directly onto a track.
To send a desired sound effect to the Clips Bin, select the sound in Soundly and then press “B” on the keyboard. It will be imported directly to the Clips Bin in ProTools.
To spot a desired sound effect to a specific marked track, highlight the section of the sound effect you want, use the sector tool to mark a spot on an appropriate track, and then press “S” on the keyboard. It will be imported directly to the track that was marked.
Soundly Voice Designer
Soundly has a feature called Voice Designer, which uses AI to generate voices based on text input. Utilizing a plugin called “Place It”, it will make the generated voice sound as if it was in a particular place and/or coming out of a particular speaker.
Switch to the Voices tab and you will see the interface appear like the example below.
The top section will allow you to type in any dialogue that you need to generate. You will then have options to decide the language and the voice, and you can then generate the voice by clicking “Speak It”. You can also use one of the presets.
The bottom section will allow you to modify that voice. There are presets available or you can click the button shown below and you can choose you own “Speaker” and “Space”.
Importing the Voice Designer media into ProTools and Media Composer is exactly the same process as described above.
Turnover to DaVinci Resolve involves preparing and transferring the editorial materials needed for color correction, online finishing, and final mastering. This typically includes timelines, reference exports, media organization, metadata verification, and other supporting materials required to rebuild the project accurately within the finishing workflow.
Careful turnover procedures are essential because missing media, incorrect timelines, naming inconsistencies, or organizational errors can create significant delays and technical problems during color and finishing. Standardized workflows help ensure smoother collaboration between editorial and finishing teams while reinforcing professional habits related to media management, version control, and post-production pipeline organization.
How it Works
In the industry, this process is referred to as “Onlining” or “Conforming” because this is where the picture edits made with the lower quality offline media in Media Composer are remade with the highest quality media. An Assistant Editor would normally be responsible for exporting all the necessary elements out of Media Composer. Those elements would then be sent to the facility that handles color grading and finishing. In our workflow, the Editor is responsible for both exporting the necessary files out of Media Composer and conforming to the highest quality media in DaVinci Resolve. This is to ensure that any issues during turnover can be caught immediately and the Resolve project is left ready for color grading.
This step-by-step guide for color turnover covers how to:
A reference video of the locked sequence will need to be exported so that it can be used in Resolve as an offline reference video to check the conformed sequence against.
Mount your Show Volume and launch your Media Composer project. Open the Locked Sequences bin. Select your locked sequence and hit “Command+D” to duplicate the sequence.
Rename the new sequence Show#_Locked_Reference_Video and move it to the Color Turnover bin.
Open the new sequence. Mark In and Out for the entire timeline and activate all tracks.
From the task menu select File > Output > Export to File…
Point the export to the Color > Reference Video folder on your Show Volume. Check that the name of the export will be correct. Select the “Reference Video” preset.
Before clicking “Save” to export, double-check the preset by clicking “Options” and make sure the settings are exactly as shown in the example below:
When the export is complete, navigate in the Finder to where it was exported and open it in QuickTime Player to make sure everything is okay.
Export AAF From Media Composer
Duplicate the sequence named “Locked Reference Video” and rename it show#Locked_Color_Turnover as shown in the example below:
Open the new sequence. Mark In and Out for the entire timeline and activate all tracks.
From the task menu, select File > Output > Export to File…
Point the export to the Color > AAF folder on your Show Volume. Check that the name of the export will be correct. Select the “Color_Turnover – AAF to Resolve” preset.
Before clicking “Save” to export, double-check the preset by clicking “Options” and make sure the settings are exactly as shown in the example below:
When the AAF is finished exporting, Media Composer will automatically import it back into the Color Turnover bin as a sequence. If you open the sequence, you will see that the AAF only held information describing the video tracks. That is all Resolve will need.
After you check that, you can close Media Composer.
Open Resolve Project
Launch Resolve from the dock.
You will be using the same Resolve project that your assistant editor used to make rushes when they sung dailies. So you need to open that same project. Navigate to the “Projects” folder, your “Cycle” folder, and then open your “Shows” project.
Your project should already have several folders made and labeled inside the Media Pool.
Some of the folders will already have media in them. The “extras” folder contains the media that is necessary for the online front sequence.
All of the OCF will already be in the project from when the assistant editor last used it.
Next, you will need to import any credits or titles. Navigate to your show’s Credits folder in the Finder and then select the Credits folder in the Media Pool.
To import the credits and titles, drag them into the open folder in the Media Pool.
Finally, you will need to import the reference video you exported out of Media Composer. Navigate to your show’s Reference Video folder in the Finder and then select the Reference Video folder in the Media Pool.
DO NOT drag the reference video into the open folder in the Media Pool. It needs to be imported in a specific way so that Resolve can use it as an offline reference clip. Right-click on the video reference file and then select “Add as Offline Reference Clip”.
Import AAF into Resolve
In the Media Pool, right-click inside the Sequences folder. Then navigate to Timelines > Import > AAF
Navigate in the Finder window to where you saved the AAF that was exported from Media Composer and click “Open”.
Inside the Import AAF window, you will need to make some adjustments before clicking “Ok”:
Change the Timeline Name to Show#_Locked_Conform
Check “Automatically set project settings”
Check “Link to source camera files”
Check “Use sizing information”
Since you did not select “Automatically import source clips into media pool,” it will prompt you to choose which folders in the Media Pool already contain the online media. Select the folders as shown in the example below and then click “Ok”.
Do not be surprised if you get alerts that look like this in the Log after the AAF imports. This is a list of everything that was written into the AAF from Media Composer that cannot be reproduced in Resolve. In most cases this is limited to any use of the Avid Titler+ effect, the timecode burn in effect, or any stabilization that was done.
You should see that your sequence from Media Composer is now imported into the Sequences folder in Resolve.
Prep the Conform Sequence
The locked sequence is now connected to the online media. Before you can check it against the offline reference video, you will need to do some prep work. In Media Composer, Video Track 5 held the aspect ratio matte. Most likely it has come over into Resolve, but often it has become connected to another piece of media or appears as offline. Since Resolve has its own way of handling aspect ratio mattes, you can delete the matte from Video Track 5. The Credits can also be brought down from Video Track 4 to Video Track 2. When you have done this your sequence should look like the example below.
Since you deleted the aspect ratio matte from Video Track 5 you will need to reapply it. Go the task bar and select Timeline > Output Blanking > Your Aspect Ratio Matte. In the example below the 1.66:1 matte is being applied.
Right-click on one of the empty video tracks over on the left and select “Delete Empty Tracks” to clean up the sequence.
Right-click on the 2.0 audio track and select Change Track Type To > 5.1 > 5.1. This will prepare the sequence for eventually accepting the 5.1 audio mix.
Once you have done all of the above, your timeline should look similar to the example below.
Check the Conform Sequence
Now that your sequence is prepped and cleaned up it is time to check it against the offline reference video to ensure it matches your picture lock sequence from Media Composer.
Right-click on your sequence and then navigate to Timeline > Link Offline Reference Clip > Your Reference Video. This will link the reference video and your sequence together.
To take advantage of the link, you will need to switch the source monitor to “offline” mode. When set to “offline” mode, the monitor on the left will no lower behave as a source monitor but instead it will display your reference video. In this mode, the left monitor will play the reference while simultaneously the right monitor will display your Resolve sequence.
Before you check the Resolve sequence against the offline reference video, there is one last bit of prep. In Media Composer, your slate was created using the Avid Titler+ effect. Since that effect does not translate over into Resolve, you will need to apply the Text effect on th track above the SMPTE Countdown so that you can recreate the same text in Resolve. Make sure to extend the text effect so that it runs until the 2-pop.
In the example below, you can see the reference video on the left with the text that was created in Media Composer and on the screen on the right the same text that has been recreated in Resolve.
You are ready to begin checking your Resolve sequence against your reference video. If you right-click inside the right screen, you will see different options for Wipes and Overlays. With “No Wipe” applied, both screens should look very similar. However, it would be difficult to tell if they matched perfectly.
To make this easier switch the right screen to “Difference” mode. This will lay the reference video on top of the Resolve sequence on the right. Any pixels where the two line up perfectly will appear black. Play through the entire film this way and make sure that in Difference mode the right screen stays black. If it does then you know that the sequence in Resolve matches the reference video perfectly.
It’s possible that the sequence in Resolve and the reference video won’t match perfectly. This could happen for many reasons: e.g., reframing in Media Composer, speed changes in Media Composer, or other effects. This is not a problem, but it does mean you will need to correct it.
Below is an example of what it may look like if a reframe from Media Composer didn’t translate over perfectly. As you can see from the example, the fix is a simple manual adjustment in Resolve so that they match up.
Another common reason why the Resolve sequence may not match the reference video is if a speed change has been applied. This may need to be tweaked in Resolve to allow it to match.
If you cannot get any shot to match perfectly, mark that shot with a blue marker and name it with a brief description of the problem. After you have made it through the entire film, reach out to the Post Staff and they can help you with any shots marked in blue.
Saving and Exporting Project
Once you have finished checking your Resolve sequence against the reference video and they match perfectly, the project is ready for color grading. Save the project by hitting “Command+S”. Then type “Command+Q” to quit the project.
