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Hi Everyone!

I would like to know how many days are usually spend on a 45 minute chapter of an action television series??. I know it depends on producers and budgets but still... it would be interesting to have some references about time!

Right now we are 5 people working on the project and the producers have established that the chapters should be finished in two days. one for editing, and the other for mixing. We are doing our best to make it but is almost imposible to make a decent job and get to the quality that the producers expect with this amount of time.

So, i´m really interested in knowing different schedules on different types of projects that you have worked on.

THANKS !

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I'm assuming that you mean post production sound turnaround for TV, in which case Primetime scripted dramas of 45 min in length have about a 5-6 day sound editorial turnaround (6 days assuming you're working on a Saturday). Followed up by 2 days of stage time for the mix (about 8-10 hours per day, maybe up to 12 hours per day). I know of at least two shows which follow this protocol and I gather many others do too, if they're fortunate to have that much time.

Even 5-6 days of editorial though is fast and furious. Mix, well, I'm surprised they can make it happen in two days but they can.

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  • hi! thanks for answering! im sorry but i dont understand what you mean by turnaround. Im from latinamerica and know english but still dont understand specific terms of sound used in your language. The project is a normal postproduction work but in tv. dialogue editing, sfx, mixing. what is the is differnece between usual postproduction sound and turnaround?? thnks!
    – Juan Correa
    Commented May 31, 2012 at 3:52
  • would you like to watch the trailer to know what the project is about?? ( would that be disrespectful with the producers of the project??) thanks!
    – Juan Correa
    Commented May 31, 2012 at 4:11
  • 'Turnaround' simply means the time from start to finish, almost like a round-trip flight - but instead of it being a flight, its fast-and-furious post production sound. So when someone says '7 day turnaround', that means 7 days from start to completion/delivery.
    – Stavrosound
    Commented May 31, 2012 at 9:03
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I worked on a 45 minute primetime drama for awhile. Usually the cycle was a week for a crew of about 5-6 like yours. 2 days is unreasonable unless they are willing to pay through the nose, or want a bad sounding track without foley and ADR.

It was quite a grind, but fun and like completing a half a movie in a week. I learned a lot.

It broke out roughly like this:

Day One: Delivery of sound rolls, omf, and final cut from picture department. Digitizing of production sound and building a production sound assembly for the dialog editors. Delivery of picture to sfx editor, foley, and dialog editor for spotting.

Day Two: Dialog and SFX edit. Foley is working. Potential delivery of a picture change and conforming. ADR/loop group is scheduled.

Day Three: Dialog and SFX edit. ADR/loop group is recorded. Foley is working.

Day Four: Foley is delivered and cut. ADR/loop group is cut. SFX cutting is finished. Music is delivered. Elements are combined and a session is built for the mix stage.

Day Five: Mixing.

Day Six: AM mixing, then a review. Mix/sfx notes are addressed.

Day Seven: Potential last minute mixing/sfx tweaks, final review and print-mastering, delivery to network.

Day Eight: It starts all over again until the last episode is done and then we drink a lot of beers.

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  • hi justin!! thanks for answering. Exactly!! completing a movie but for us in two days!!! and is an action one! i was wondering if we were extremely slow working or if the producers are expecting absurd results. I have the trailer in youtube but im not sure to post the link so you can have and idea of the project. I worry specially for the producers of the project. The idea is to receive feedback from you guys and not to attack the producers. What do you think!?? thanks for your help.
    – Juan Correa
    Commented May 31, 2012 at 4:10

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