Codec

What this is about

Every recording is a compromise between quality and data, and the codec is where that compromise is written down. Acquisition codecs keep quality high and files large; delivery codecs squeeze the same picture into something a browser can stream. Editing codecs sit in between and are built to be cut, which is why cutting a heavily compressed camera file feels sluggish while an intermediate plays back cleanly. Choosing the codec before the shoot fixes card budgets, backup times and the entire post workflow, so it belongs on the tech recce list, not into the edit suite.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

Where this differs from the general case:

• Three families matter: acquisition, editing intermediates and delivery — each optimised for a different job
• Long-GOP codecs store differences between frames and need more processing power to scrub than intraframe ones
• Fix the codec before the shoot: it drives card count, backup windows and storage cost

With TillyGen

TillyGen keeps the agreed recording format in the project plan, so the data wrangler, the editor and the client all read the same technical brief.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.