Services in detail
What each desk actually does
The six services are booked separately or together. Clients usually begin with a cut list and a conform window, then add mix note runs and color review rounds as the delivery date gets closer. Screener letter desks and screening sittings are engaged once a review copy circulates.
Desk 01
Cut List Bays
A cut list bay is where every editorial decision is written down in a form another editor can rebuild. The bay team reconciles the working sequence against the assistant inventory, records source reel, timecode in, timecode out and duration for each event, and flags any clip that is referenced to a media file that no longer matches the sequence. The finished list is delivered as a structured document and as a plain text file, because different distribution and finishing teams ask for different formats.
The bay also handles versioning. When a feature has a festival cut, a broadcast cut and a trailer, each receives a separate list with a clear header naming the version, the date and the locked running time. Clients often discover that an older list has been circulating long after the sequence changed; the bay resolves that by keeping one authoritative list per version and retiring the rest with a written note.
Desk 02
Mix Note Runs
A mix note run gathers every sound comment into a document the re-recording stage can follow scene by scene. Notes are grouped by reel and by character, written as complete sentences, and cross referenced to the picture cut in use at the time of the run. Dialogue, effects, music and ambience are treated in separate blocks so a mixer can find the comments that matter without reading the whole file.
The run is also a chance to catch disagreement early. If a director asks for a quieter room tone in one scene and a louder one in the next, the note team records both requests side by side so the conflict is visible before the mix begins. That small piece of administration saves a great deal of time on the final day, and it means the mix team is working from intent rather than from a list of timestamps.
Desk 03
Screener Letter Desks
The screener letter desk drafts, proofs and files every letter that travels with a review copy. Each letter names the reviewer, the screener version, the running time, the watermark identifier and the delivery date, and every letter is stored beside a record of the file that was sent. When a festival office or a critic later asks which cut they received, the desk can answer without reconstructing the timeline.
The desk also prepares the accompanying note for the producer: a short paragraph explaining what changed since the last version, so a reviewer is not left guessing about an altered ending or a replaced piece of music. Letters are written in plain English and kept free of unnecessary jargon, because their purpose is clarity at a moment when a reviewer is already reading a great deal.
Desk 04
conform Windows
A conform window is a scheduled block in which the sequence is rebuilt from original camera and audio rather than from the working proxies. The window is booked ahead so the online cut is stable for a known number of hours, during which the color and sound teams know exactly when the picture will stop moving. Windows are usually held on Thursday in the Toronto suite, though longer deliveries take a full day and a half.
Before the window opens, the conform team checks the cut list from the first desk against the received media, resolves any offline reference and prepares a report of missing elements. During the window the sequence is rebuilt, verified against the approved cut, and signed off by the editor on duty. After the window closes, the sequence is frozen for grading and the record of the rebuild is attached to the job file.
Desk 05
Color Review Rounds
Color review rounds are viewing sessions with the director present and notes typed live by a member of the suite. Each round begins with the approved reference stills, compares them to the graded sequence on a calibrated display, and records the decisions as they are made. Notes are numbered so a grader can work through them in order and mark each one resolved.
Rounds are scheduled rather than ad hoc, which matters for long projects. A feature might run three rounds across two weeks, with the first round covering the broad looks, the second covering scene by scene corrections, and the third confirming the final pass before mastering. Every round produces a dated note sheet, and the final sheet becomes the record of what was approved.
Desk 06
Screening Sittings
Screening sittings are small invited screenings held in the suite for producers, distributors, festival programmers and press. A sitting is scheduled with the format confirmed in advance, whether that is a theatrical ratio on the projection wall or a broadcast safe presentation on the review monitor. Attendance, format and the questions raised afterward are logged as part of the job record.
The sitting is deliberately modest in scale. A room that seats a small group produces useful conversation, and the suite team can stop the picture to discuss a specific moment when the director wants to. Notes from the sitting feed directly back into the mix note runs and color review rounds, which is why a sitting is usually scheduled before the final delivery rather than after it.