What’s in a Name?

First off, I need to admit a couple of things… I’m not hugely into comics anymore and I have zero art skills.  Still want to keep reading?  Ok, maybe that came off a little harsh, I do still enjoy comics I just never seem to get to read any–except the ones we are working on.  The zero art skills is pretty much spot on, you just can’t fake talent in our studio!  So, then the question becomes what do I know?  Well I’ve been running the business side of Hi-Fi for about six years so I’ll try to stick to skills I do have.

This week several things were bouncing around the studio. On an average week I like to have at least 8 projects going (more would be better, more is always better when you are in-charge of the money!) That doesn’t mean we are coloring 8 books at once but that I am developing, arranging, closing, trafficking, AND we are coloring.

The biggest thing we were working on this week was probably Blackest Night: Tales of Corps #1, this is a really cool book in the enormous Blackest Night series (is that the right word.)  This one was about a dude named Saint Walker and his family–see I read it.  Now from a trafficking standpoint this was one complicated book.  Trafficking is pretty much what it sounds like, you follow each page from the time you get it to the time you turn it back in all completed and pretty.

Since we have several employees here at Hi-Fi who do different tasks we have come up with a system for trafficking.  We keep track by name, folder, & by actual pen & paper (gasp), that way at a glance everyone knows right where something is and if it has been completed.

Our system might be overly complicated if you are only doing one book a month but it will still help you keep track of files, locations, and completion stages.  Here is a brief run down of each of the systems and how we use them:

Naming:

Editors and publishers sometimes get upset when you change their file names, they have named them so that THEY can recognize them, you need to fit to their needs.  For example, Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps #1 is way to long to type out every time so when we got the first pages they were named BNTOC_01.  Page numbers are obviously added on after that.  Easy peasy, until we asked another editor for reference for some of the characters, come to find out other Blackest Night titles use BLN instead of BN.  So you do need to be somewhat flexible and able to read between the lines.  There was also some confusion over whether the “T” stood for Titans or Tales but that’s another story.

After we figure out what we are coloring, we break the names and the folders down the same way.  When we get the lineart it keeps it’s original name and we add 600 in the title (for 600 dpi, meaning high resolution art that is ready to go.)  Next we batch that folder into 200 dpi files (low resolution files for the flatter to work on without getting bogged down in large files.)  Then, once the pages are flatted they get the flatters initials added into the title.  So, by now, it might look like this: BNTOC_01_02_200_km.tif.  (I’ll cover why we use initials from flatters on another day, it has to do with making sure the right person gets paid–always important.)

When we go to actually start the coloring we take the flat & the high res file and combine them into a standard sized PSD file, i.e. BNTOC_01_02_450.psd.  Currently, the world likes 450 dpi files (it changes from time to time and project to project so you have to go with the editor/publishers flow on that one.)  When the colorists work on the files they may add letters  like A or B to keep files they want to go back to or they may add their initials to keep track of payment.  Finally, when the file is completely done and ready to be turned in we add CMYK so that everyone knows this is a ready-for-print color file.  Your final file would be BNTOC_01_02_450_CMYK.tif.  We leave the 450 in there so that the production people &/or the printer will know what resolution the files are without having to open each one.

Folders:

The file names work the same way, we have the following folders for every project we do: lineart, 200’s, flats, RGB PSDs, and CMYK TIFs.  We may also have a REF folder for any reference with the project and and JPG folder.  The JPGs are made from the final, approved CMYK files so that if you do the next issue or if you need to get ref later on you can quickly look through the JPGs for each book/project.

Pen & Paper:

Lastly, the infamous “clipboard” this is the pen & paper part.  Each book/project gets a clipboard which holds what is basically a chart and the script and/or notes for that project.  The chart is simply a list of page numbers with blank boxes after it.  We make a note the day the lineart comes in, the day & the name of the person who is flatting it, the day the flat came back, the name of the colorist and the day it went to them.  We then take a highlighter to pages that are completely done and separated.  We also have another little box we use incase the page has corrections so that we don’t get confused and nothing slips through the cracks.

This sounds like a lot of extra work but once you do it a couple times it becomes second nature and in the long run will save you all kinds of time.  Not only will it help you keep track of the work you have done or are doing (if you are working alone) but it also keeps you on task.  At a glance you can see what pages you are missing and what you still need to complete.  It also helps if the editor/publisher comes to you and says why don’t we have page 8, you can reply calmly and correctly that you received page 7 & 9 on this date but have never received page 8.  They will be impressed with you organization and your lack of whining or arguing.

The reason trafficking BNTOC_01 was somewhat complicated was the short deadline for this book and the fact that we had to have several people work on it to make the deadline.  If I didn’t keep very close track of what pages were in what stages, things could have easily gotten overlooked, we would miss the deadline, and then no one is happy.

Next week: FCLW_05 (Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds #5) and the flatting dilemma–to ref or not to ref.  Oh and a little thing you might have heard of called San Diego Comic Con.

Kristy Miller

VP, Development

Hi-Fi colour design

http://www.hifidesign.com