How to Submit a Film for Encoding

Picture

ExpressDCP can take films in almost any format, including Quicktime, HDCAM SR and image sequences such as Cineon, DPX, TGA and many more. We take submissions either via FTP (max 5gigs) or on a hard drive, thumb drive, DVD or BluRay.

Image Sequences should conform to the following rules:

  • File names must be in CAPS.

  • File names should not contain any spaces. Spaces should be replaced with an underscore "_".

  • Frame numbering must start as frame 1.

  • Each frame should have an extension such as .DPX or .CIN.

  • Frame numbers must be correctly padded with "0" so that there is a digit for each figure that makes up the number of frames in the image sequence. For example, if there are 100,000 frames in an image sequence, frame 1 should read as "000001"

  • File names should be consistent throughout the image sequence.

  • Where image sequences are broken down into "parts" the numbering must remain consistent. For example, if frames "001-100" are in part 1, the first frame of part 2 should be "101"

  • ExpressDCP should not have to remove, replace or edit any frames for the film to be the correct duration and in sync with the picture.

 

Aspect Ratio:

We expect your film to be in either Flat (1.85:1) or Scope (2.39:1) aspect ratio. Your picture can also be projected as 1920x1080, although we'd recommend scaling it a small amount so it can be projected as 1.85:1. We can help with any aspect ratio changes you may need.

Frame size:

2K (for 4K just double all the numbers).

1.85:1 should be delivered as 1998x1080

2.39:1 should be delivered as 2048x858

Frames Rate:

Your frame rate should be 24P. If it is not, we can help you convert it. Please specify this option when requesting a quote.

Colour space:

We can accommodate for any colour space including all variants of Log, SRGB, REC709, XYZ and more. All colour space conversions are performed using a 3D LUT converter. If your film is being delivered by a DI facility, we may need to get some technical information from them before we begin.

Sound:

Your sound should ideally be delivered as 48Khz WAV. Each channel should be provided as a separate WAV file. We can also take DATs and ProTools projects and many other formats. We can accommodate for mute, mono, stereo, 5,1 and 7.1. If you have stereo sound as part of your Quicktime movie, we will extract the sound free of charge.