The Real Price of One Usable AI Shot Is Not on the Rate Card
Per-second AI video prices ignore rerolls and operator time. A worked 8-shot example and a quoting formula that stops you underpricing.
Recent articles
Netflix Deletes Your Film Grain and Paints It Back. Grade for That
Netflix's AV1 streams strip grain and resynthesise it on the TV. How grain synthesis works and how to grade and QC for it.
How an Oscar Winner Was Cut From Film Prints, and What to Steal From It
One Battle After Another was judged on a projector, not a laptop. Five practices from its edit that any digital editor can use tomorrow.
The Open-Gate Tax: Why 18 ms of Rolling Shutter Isn't as Bad as It Looks
Open gate reads slower than 17:9, but on a pan the skew angle is often identical. How to compare modes by line rate, not milliseconds.
What an LED Volume Day Really Costs in 2026: New York, London, Milan
Published stage rates overlap across New York, London and Milan. A worked two-day budget shows what actually decides the cost.
EU AI Act Labels Are Live: A Shot-by-Shot Checklist for Producers
Since 2 August 2026, some AI shots in EU ads need a visible label. A four-question test, edit examples and who should own the label.
Twenty iPhones and a Bluescreen: What 28 Years Later Teaches VFX Teams
The iPhone-shot zombie sequel paid for its phones in post. Which problems ProRes RAW and genlock now fix, plus a phone-as-A-cam checklist.
Resolve 21.1 Puts AI Agents in Your Timeline. Here's Where to Let Them In
Resolve 21.1's MCP server lets Claude or Codex act on your project. A decision rule for what to delegate and a security checklist first.
What a Microdrama Really Costs: $150 to $6,000 an Episode, by Region
Benchmarks from 65+ producers put microdramas at $150–6,000 an episode. A worked European budget shows why post decides the margin.
42 Characters, 20 per Second: Why Auto-Captions Still Fail QC
NLE auto-captions get the words right and the spec wrong. Netflix's real limits, checked at source, and a four-pass QC routine.
What You Can Actually Fix in Post (and What You Can't)
An honest list from the editing suite: the problems post-production solves cheaply, the ones it solves expensively, and the ones you have to get right on set.
Shoot Once, Deliver 16:9 and 9:16: Framing That Survives Both
How to shoot a horizontal master that also cuts into clean vertical versions: resolution maths, where to put the subject, and what to mark on the monitor.
Five On-Set Audio Mistakes That No Plugin Will Save
Picture problems get noticed on set. Audio problems usually get discovered in the edit, when it's too late. The five we see most, and how to avoid them.