Fine Cut

What this is about

Once nobody is proposing to move scenes any more, the fine cut begins. Two frames earlier on a reaction, a breath left in before a line, a dissolve replaced by a hard cut — small decisions that decide whether a sequence feels alive. This is also where the running time is brought to spec, where temporary music is replaced and where graphics placeholders make way for the real thing. Reopening structural questions during the fine cut is expensive, which is why the rough cut needs a real sign-off first.

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

In planning terms, that means:

• Work in frames now: entry points, reaction timing, breaths and the exact end of a line
• Bring the running time to the required length before sound and grading start their work
• Reopening structure at this stage invalidates hours of detail work already done

With TillyGen

Separate review rounds in TillyGen for rough and fine cut keep both conversations apart, so detail notes arrive when detail is actually the topic.

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.