Apple Final Cut Pro 7 - Manual (Page 30)

Stage 4: Post-Production
Post-production is where you organize and assemble your production footage, putting
scenes in proper order, selecting the best takes, and eliminating unnecessary elements.
Production sound is synchronized (with the picture), edited, sometimes rerecorded, and
mixed. Music is composed and added. Footage is color-corrected and special effects are
created. The final movie is output to tape, film, or some other high-quality media format.
Stage 5: Distribution
Distribution is when you release a movie for viewing. This may involve theater screenings,
video and DVD releases, festival submissions, or web delivery.
The Post-Production Workflow
The post-production phase begins with the raw source footage and ends with a completed
movie, ready for making distribution copies. As technology evolves, post-production
continues to proliferate into an increasing variety of jobs and tasks. Where there was once
a single editor who was responsible for the majority of the post-production process, there
may now be a whole special effects team, an audio department, a colorist (responsible
for color correction), and a number of assistant editors keeping track of all the footage.
Final Cut Pro is at the heart of the post-production pipeline, allowing you to organize and
assemble media from multiple sources into a finished product.
30 Chapter 1 About the Post-Production Workflow