Today we want to give you the latest update on how things are progressing with STS and to let you know how an STS post production is done at a much higher standard than most other fitness DVDs, including anything we have produced in the past. You should know that an STS video goes through many more editing steps than perhaps any other fitness video on the market today to make sure the quality of the picture and sound are as good as we and NFL Films can make it.
As we mentioned above an STS video goes through many more editing steps than most other fitness videos to make sure the quality is second to none. The steps an STS video goes through may be summarized as follows:
#1 Digitization – This is the process of converting analog video to digital. All 41 videos completed this step many weeks ago.
#2 Assembled – In this step all the different pieces to the video are collected, cataloged and put in order for the editor. All 41 videos have also completed this step many weeks ago.
#3 Rough Cut Editing– This is one of the most time consuming task. During this phase the video really begins to take shape. The editor focuses on major problems and tries to get the video close to what the final version will at least look like. DVD discs with time codes are then burned and Cathe and I carefully review these discs taking notes of any and every problem we see. NFL Films Rough Cut videos are as good as many final cut videos you see from others on the market today. We just finished this phase for all 41 videos a few days ago.
#4 Fine Editing – We started this phase for many of the Rough Cut finished videos about 1 and ½ weeks ago. During fine editing the editors take the detailed notes Cathe and I gave them and correct any mistakes. They also analyze every camera shot looking to see if they can find a better picture for every scene. Since we use more cameras than probably anyone this takes time, but the results are well worth the efforts and when you finally receive STS we invite you to compare the quality of our picture with any other fitness DVDs sold today.During the Fine Editing phase NFL Films will also add the graphics package to the videos. This will include mundane things like the credits and medical disclaimer, but also important information that will appear during every break telling you things you need to know, like “next exercise”, “equipment needed for the next exercise”, “how much time is left in the break”, “percentage of 1RM you should be using” and “targeted muscle group’ for the exercise. NFL Films will also add during some of the breaks the animated anatomy pictures we told you about previously. Now you will understand exactly what Cathe means when she says a narrow grip barbell curl works the long head of the biceps. Not only will you get great workouts with STS, but you will also learn some things you probably didn’t already know. We should finish the fine editing phase in about two to three more weeks. When Fine Cut editing is completed the workouts will look very close to the final product.
#5 Final Editing – We plan on starting this phase on May 27th on the videos that have completed fine editing. Things should move very quickly during this phase as there should not be a lot to fix or change. During this phase Cathe and I will basically move into NFL Films studios and go through a very detailed review of every video frame making sure everything is as perfect as we can make it.
#6 Audio Sweetening – This is a phase that very few companies take the time or have the budget to do. During this phase the audio for every workout will be tweaked and cleaned to perfection in NFL Films world class audio editing rooms. NFL Films audio editing rooms are the envy of the industry.
#7 Music – This is perhaps the most unique and important step of the STS post production process and we have spared no expense. In the past we have always purchased ‘canned” music from different music production companies. We choose the best music they have from their library that is available to license for video. The music is then arranged in order and mixed to a certain BPM and sent to us. This how nearly all fitness videos are made today, but not STS. With STS we wanted to really push the bar with the music and do something different and better than we have done before.
The music for STS is being custom made and will follow the intensity and flow of the workout. We want the music to “rock” when you’re lifting a heavy weight and “calm” you down during each break. The process we’re using is exactly the same as the way music is added to a major movie. And we’re not just adding music to the video, but are creating and using songs in which every scene will have music designed to go with its intensity and mood. This is something we have never done in any of our previous videos, but we think you will be very pleased with the results.
We’ve hired some very talented music composers to create and lay down music to every segment of every workout. Their job is to create music and match it to what they see on the video. This should give STS a very unique feel and should help to get you energized for some very hard workouts.
The music for STS is being custom made and will follow the intensity and flow of the workout. We want the music to “rock” when you’re lifting a heavy weight and “calm” you down during each break. The process we’re using is exactly the same as the way music is added to a major movie. And we’re not just adding music to the video, but are creating and using songs in which every scene will have music designed to go with its intensity and mood. This is something we have never done in any of our previous videos, but we think you will be very pleased with the results.
We’ve hired some very talented music composers to create and lay down music to every segment of every workout. Their job is to create music and match it to what they see on the video. This should give STS a very unique feel and should help to get you energized for some very hard workouts.
#8 Audio Sweetening Again – As the music is completed each video will be sent back to audio sweetening where the music will be mixed with the vocals to just the right level. This is the same process we used in the 4-Day Split series.
#9 DVD Authoring – As the workouts finish having their music and vocal ratios tweaked and corrected they will move into the final phase of post production called DVD Authoring. During this phase each workout will be transformed from video into a DVD. Menus and chapter points will be inserted into each workout and when the authoring process is finished DLT master tapes will be sent to the DVD replicator.
#10 DVD Replication – The final and last phase of making the STS DVDs is replication. Once authoring is completed the DLT master tapes are sent to the replicator. We use SONY (the same company that makes your play station, helped invent the DVD and produces many of the movies and video games you have in your house) as we feel their quality is the best in the industry. It also helps in turnaround that their plant is just down the road from us.
As you can see there are many more steps to making an STS video when compared to most other fitness DVDs sold today. We’re doing everything we can to make STS our best production ever and this is why we also used more cameras than we have ever used before in filming STS. By using more cameras we have more options to edit with and tons of close-ups that were never possible before. This will not only help to make the visual clarity of the videos better, but will also help to make the workouts even more interesting and enjoyable to watch and do. Quality takes time, but in the end STS will be well worth the wait.
Some of the steps you see above wil
l move fairly quickly while other steps will take longer to complete. We have several edit teams and rooms at NFL Films working everyday on this project, but we have 41 workouts to complete and this just takes time to do. We hope by listing the steps above it will help you to understand where we are with the STS project and why it is not possible to estimate a shipping date with any degree of accuracy. We also hope the above details illustrate the difference in quality between STS and most other exercise videos, including anything we have done in the past. We will, of course, keep you updated from time to time with major updates like this one in our Blog. You should also visit our STS forum (currently over 3200 posts) for more frequent mini updates and answers to your questions as well as visit our home page at https://cathe.com/.
l move fairly quickly while other steps will take longer to complete. We have several edit teams and rooms at NFL Films working everyday on this project, but we have 41 workouts to complete and this just takes time to do. We hope by listing the steps above it will help you to understand where we are with the STS project and why it is not possible to estimate a shipping date with any degree of accuracy. We also hope the above details illustrate the difference in quality between STS and most other exercise videos, including anything we have done in the past. We will, of course, keep you updated from time to time with major updates like this one in our Blog. You should also visit our STS forum (currently over 3200 posts) for more frequent mini updates and answers to your questions as well as visit our home page at https://cathe.com/.
