You've decided to finish your project in Korea. You've scoped the project, agreed on a budget, and you're ready to start. But what actually happens? Here's a week-by-week walkthrough of a typical feature film finishing process with a Korean post-production team.
Before Week 1: Preparation
Lock your edit. This is non-negotiable. Your timeline needs to be picture-locked before any finishing work begins. Changes after the color grade starts create expensive rework.
Prepare your deliverables package. Your Korean team needs: the locked timeline as an AAF or XML export from your NLE, camera original media (or high-quality consolidated media), separate audio stems (dialogue, music, effects) as AAF/OMF exports, a creative brief for color grading (reference images, mood boards, LUTs from set), and a clear specification of your delivery requirements (which platforms, which formats, HDR/SDR, audio format).
Transfer your media. Using MASV, Aspera, or Signiant, upload your media to the Korean facility. For a typical indie feature (5–10TB), allow 12–24 hours for the transfer. Start this before Week 1 so the team can begin immediately.
Week 1: Setup and Conform
Day 1–2: The facility receives and verifies your media. They ingest the camera originals, verify file integrity, and confirm everything matches the AAF/XML export. Any discrepancies are flagged immediately.
Day 2–3: Timeline conform. The editor builds the working timeline in DaVinci Resolve (for color) and Pro Tools (for sound), matching your locked edit frame-for-frame. This is a technical process that ensures the Korean timeline exactly matches your edit.
Day 3–5: Look development session (live). You join the colorist via video stream for an initial look development session — establishing the overall color palette, contrast, and tone for the film. This session typically runs 3–4 hours and sets the creative direction for the entire grade. See our Frame.io remote grading guide for setup details.
Simultaneously, the sound team begins dialogue editing — cleaning production audio, preparing for ADR if needed, and building the foundation for the sound design.
Weeks 2–3: Color Grading
The colorist works through the film scene by scene, using the overnight revision cycle to maximize efficiency. Each day, the colorist grades scenes during Korean business hours and uploads reference renders to Frame.io. You review the renders when you wake up, leave notes, and the colorist addresses them the next day.
Typical pace: A feature film requires 8–12 working days of grading. With the overnight cycle, you typically need 3–4 asynchronous review cycles to move from first pass to near-final, plus a live final review session.
Simultaneously, the sound team continues building: Foley recording, sound effects design, and music integration. The sound work runs in parallel with color, which is one of the reasons Korean post-production compresses timelines.
Weeks 3–4: Sound Post and VFX
As the color grade approaches completion, the sound team moves into the final mixing phase. If your project includes Dolby Atmos, the mix happens on a certified Atmos stage with the full speaker configuration.
Any VFX work (cleanup, compositing, set extensions) has been running in parallel throughout the process. Final VFX shots are delivered, approved, and integrated into the color timeline for final grading.
The final mix is typically a 2–3 day process for a feature — either supervised remotely via audio streaming (Audiomovers Listento) or, for Atmos mixes, with notes provided asynchronously and a final live approval session.
Weeks 4–5: Delivery and QC
Mastering. With the grade and mix approved, the facility creates your deliverables: DCP for theatrical, IMF for streaming platforms, ProRes masters for intermediate delivery, and any additional format-specific deliverables.
QC. Each deliverable undergoes technical quality control — automated checks for specification compliance plus manual review for visual and audio quality. If your project is destined for Netflix, the facility's Netflix-specific QC process catches issues that would trigger a platform rejection.
Delivery. Completed deliverables are uploaded to the appropriate platform ingest system (Netflix Backlot, Disney+ Content Hub, etc.) or transferred to you via secure file transfer for your own distribution.
The Full Timeline
Pre-transfer preparation: 1–3 days
Media transfer: 1 day
Setup and conform: 3–5 days
Color grading: 8–12 days
Sound post (parallel): 10–14 days
VFX (parallel): varies by scope
Mastering and QC: 3–5 days
Total elapsed time: 4–5 weeks for a feature film
Compare this to a typical domestic timeline of 6–8 weeks for the same scope. The compression comes from the overnight cycle, parallel workflows, and the operational speed that Korean teams bring from their K-drama production culture.
For the comprehensive overview, start with our Complete Guide to Post-Production in Korea. Ready to scope your project? Get in touch.
Weeks 9-12: The Final Push
The final four weeks of post-production involve the convergence of all streams. Picture, sound, VFX, and mastering all come together into deliverables ready for distribution.
Week 9: Online conform and VFX delivery. The final picture conform happens this week. All VFX shots deliver their approved final versions. The online editor assembles the full-resolution timeline with VFX plates inserted, color decisions locked, and any final editorial refinements applied.
Week 10: Final color and HDR mastering. With locked picture, the colorist does final passes. Any adjustments from VFX integration get addressed. HDR trim pass runs in parallel with final SDR refinements. Both deliverable masters emerge from this week.
Week 11: Final mix and Atmos mastering. The re-recording mixer does final passes, integrating any late sound design additions and ensuring every element sits properly. Atmos master generates, with 7.1, 5.1, and stereo renders flowing from the same session. Loudness compliance verified.
Week 12: Mastering, QC, and delivery. All components combine into final deliverables. IMF package assembly, DCP mastering if required, streaming platform masters. Automated QC runs on every deliverable. Manual review catches anything automated tools miss. Deliverables upload to platforms, with signoff confirmations.
Weeks 5-8: The Creative Heart
Mid-production is where the creative substance of post happens. The basic mechanics are out of the way; now the craft takes over.
Week 5: Editorial polish and picture lock. The editor does final polish passes. Scene pacing, performance selection, transitions, and overall flow get refined. Picture lock happens by end of week, unlocking downstream processes.
Week 6: Primary color grade. With picture locked, primary color grading begins. The colorist establishes the base look, normalizes exposure and white balance across all shots, and creates consistency across the film's duration.
Week 7: Sound design and VFX progress. Sound designers build the sonic world. VFX artists work through the shot backlog, with supervisor reviews keeping creative direction on track. Multiple parallel streams, each requiring its own management attention.
Week 8: Secondary color and initial mix. Colorist refinement on scene-by-scene creative decisions. Sound team moves into mixing, creating the first full mix pass. Creative leads review in parallel, consolidating feedback across disciplines.
Weeks 1-4: Setup and Momentum
Early post-production establishes the infrastructure and momentum for everything that follows.
Week 1: Handoff and conform. Camera originals and project media arrive at the post facility. Technical QC verifies integrity. Initial conform of the editor's timeline happens. Project management infrastructure setup (Frame.io, ShotGrid if needed, communication channels).
Week 2: Editorial momentum. The editor works with full-resolution media, building on the offline cut. First rough assembly viewings happen. VFX breakdown finalizes. Sound spotting sessions identify creative direction for sound design.
Week 3: Multiple streams activate. VFX work begins on the most complex shots (longest lead time). Sound design begins building the soundscape. Editor continues refining the cut. Director and producers review progress on each stream.
Week 4: First milestone reviews. Initial VFX submissions for creative review. First sound design pass for director feedback. Editor delivers near-lock version for creative approval. Decisions from these reviews shape the next phase.
Calendar Compression Options
Standard 12-week schedule is a comfortable pace for a feature film. Productions with tighter schedules can compress, but each compression approach has tradeoffs.
8-week compressed schedule. Eliminates buffer. Requires parallel work that would normally be sequential. Increases risk of QC rejections because less time for thorough review. Demands experienced team that has worked together before.
6-week aggressive schedule. Possible with top-tier teams on well-organized projects. Requires picture lock very early. Limited revision cycles in any discipline. Suitable for productions with clear creative direction and minimal changes after picture lock.
4-week emergency schedule. Only feasible for very specific project types: documentaries with simple post requirements, short-form content, projects with minimal VFX. Not appropriate for VFX-heavy features or complex scripted content.
The Korean overnight cycle advantage helps in compressed schedules. The same calendar week produces more revision cycles when the overnight cycle is active, compressing the effective working time.
Schedule Slippage: Early Warning Signs
Schedule problems rarely announce themselves. They emerge gradually through indicators that experienced post supervisors watch for:
VFX shot completion lagging forecast. If week 6 shows 30 percent VFX completion but the plan called for 40 percent, the gap will widen unless the team pushes. Monitor completion rates, not just activity.
Revision cycle counts increasing per shot. If shots are averaging 5 revision cycles vs. the planned 3, something is unclear in creative direction or execution. Diagnose and address.
Creative reviews getting longer. If creative reviews that should take an hour are taking three hours with lots of re-explaining, the team is not aligned on direction. Invest in clearer direction documents.
Color or sound lead reporting concerns. When the lead on a stream expresses concern about schedule, believe them. They see problems earlier than supervisors do.
Addressing schedule problems at week 4 is cheap. Addressing them at week 10 is expensive or impossible. Catch early, respond early.