Introduction
Making a short film in 48 hours is like putting together a puzzle with pieces that don't even exist yet. Everything has to be planned, executed and adjusted in record time . Manolo , directed by Verónica Contreras, is a funny and surreal comedy about a man who wants to become a rabbit. Behind this magical story there was a surgical strategy that allowed the whole team to work like a well-oiled machine.
As Post Production Supervisor, my role was to make sure the process ran smoothly – from compressed dailies in H.265 to VFX in Fusion and color in DaVinci Resolve Studio , to collaborative editing with Productions in Premiere Pro. Everything was designed to save every second possible .
The result? We managed to deliver the short 10 minutes before the deadline . Here I explain how.
Friday: Pre-production – Surgical workflow planning
If I learned anything from this rally, it's that improvising in post-production is synonymous with disaster. So Friday was all about planning .
The PostMaster: The Project Bible
I designed a PostMaster , a centralized document with all the technical aspects recorded and detailed :
• Recording and delivery formats.
• Workflow for editing, VFX, color and sound.
• Assignment of roles and responsibilities by department.
This PostMaster was always available so that the team could consult it and resolve doubts quickly without wasting time.
Hour by hour work plan
Together with PostMaster, I created a detailed work plan that broke down each activity by hour . This allowed us to:
• Know who should be doing what at any given time.
• Keep track of time (key in a 48-hour challenge).
• Detect and resolve problems quickly.
Selected tools
Each tool was chosen with the team's comfort, speed and efficiency in mind:
Premiere Pro Productions : The editors' tool of choice. Its fluidity and ease of working collaboratively made up for the extra time it took to put together.
We set up a NAS so that the editors and their assistant could work simultaneously on three stations .
DaVinci Resolve Studio : For completion:
Fusion : VFX and compositions.
Color : Stylized color correction.
Fairlight : Sound design and final mix.
We connected two stations via Blackmagic Project Server and a NAS, allowing color, VFX and sound to be worked on at the same time .
Media : Generation of H.265 compressed dailies for quick upload from any location.
Frame.io : To deliver dailies to editors without delays.
Saturday: On Set – Fast Dailies and the first Assembly
DIT in action: Creating and uploading dailies
While the film crew worked their magic, I was in charge of processing the dailies in H.265 , achieving light but good quality files. This allowed us to:
Upload your footage quickly to Frame.io from any location (sometimes on the street, praying to the WiFi saint).
Ensure that editors could start work without delay .
Marie Claire's Assembly
Marie Claire Cunillé, our editor, started with the preliminary assembly that same Saturday. She worked at full speed and delivered the basic cut at 4:00 am on Sunday .
Sunday: Editing, VFX, simultaneous color and sound
Sunday was a marathon where everything happened at the same time , thanks to the planning and collaborative flow with the NAS.
Fine editing in Premiere Pro Productions
At 7:00 am , Carolina Rivas took over Marie Claire's Assembly and began fine editing . Thanks to Premiere Pro Productions , Carolina, Marie Claire and Cynthia (editing assistant) were able to work simultaneously on three stations :
Carolina refined the final sequences.
Marie Claire adjusted details and did spotting for sound effects.
Cynthia prepared reels for VFX and conforming.
VFX in Fusion
As the editing progressed, I worked in Fusion on the 5 critical shots:
• Clean-up to remove unwanted items.
• Matrix-style lens reflections : Small details that added a stylized and memorable touch. We used a combination of the Planar Tracker and Magic Mask for their balance between speed and quality in the final result.
Color correction in DaVinci Resolve Studio
I went for a stylized, vibrant and narrative look, with a focus on the carrots as a key visual element. I used color management to get to the final look as quickly as possible. Organizing the clips into groups was key to achieving the final look on time.
Sound design and mixing in Fairlight
Alex Ramírez worked on the design and mixing in Fairlight , integrated within DaVinci Resolve Studio. We exported the AAF from Premiere and managed to synchronize the sound with the final edition without losing time.
The final installment: 10 minutes of madness
By the time the final render started, the clock was already our worst enemy. The first render had an export error in one of the VFX sequences. To save time we decided to pre-render the VFX sequences in an uncompressed codec to use in the final render, however this caused a glitch that we didn’t detect until the pre-upload review. We quickly fixed the problem and managed the final export with enough time to upload to the platform. The tension was real, but in the end we delivered the short film with 10 minutes to spare . I’m not going to lie, it felt like winning an Olympic medal.
Conclusion: The key was planning
Surviving a 48-hour rally is not a matter of luck, it's a matter of:
Detailed planning : A PostMaster and hour-by-hour work plan.
Collaborative workflow : Premiere Pro Productions, DaVinci Resolve Studio, and a connected NAS for simultaneous work.
A committed team : That did not stop for a second until the last render.
Work Team
Director : Veronica Contreras
Editors : Carolina Rivas (Lead), Marie Claire Cunillé
Editing Assistant : Cynthia Garcia
Sound design and mixing : Alex Ramírez
Post-production supervision, DIT, Colorist and VFX : Daniel Bañuelos (that's me, the crazy one with the plans)
Screenplay : Sinaí Segovia and Amaryit Luviano
Production : Veronica Contreras, Noelia Depaoli, Giselle Valdivieso and Sinai Segovia
Director of Photography : Cesar Briseño
Post-production studio : PostLAB
Final Words
Working on Manolo was a unique experience, both for the pressure and the final result. This short film is competing to be screened at Filmapalooza and at the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.
The best thing is that you can help us:
👉 Vote for Manolo here: https://zfrmz.com/rqAnRpUIMcF8WHqlpT8K
Watch the trailer below and find out why a man who wants to turn into a rabbit deserves your vote!
Comments