Quality control (QC) during the production phase is perhaps the most business-critical of all the QC types. It provides the first opportunity to flag issues that may be caught further downstream in the production process.
Maximizing production efficiency at scale requires automation and streamlined workflows as well as effective global collaboration across multiple practitioners, vendors and crew members. Successful collaboration relies on communicating QC notes promptly and accurately with recognizable consistent terminology.
In order to support streamlined QC workflows, Netflix partnered with a group of global dailies professionals and performed a number of interviews within the industry to create a Production Quality Control Glossary; a database of taxonomy and definitions that are consistent and applicable to all projects regardless of type, location, or scale.
For a downloadable version or translated descriptions please reference this CSV.
For more information about this glossary see: The Production QC Glossary Guide.
| The Production QC Glossary | ||
| CODE - G | GRIPS | Description |
| G-100_082 | Camera bump/Vibration | “Camera bump” is the unintended movement of the image due to camera operator error or camera support. |
| G-101_082 | Micro vibration | Noticeable high frequency vibrations creating visible issues from a moving vehicle, large object, or gimbal |
| G-102_082 | Remote head/gimbal judder | Noticeable judder in the movement of a remote head or camera gimbal due to an unbalanced rig or motor issues with the rig |
| G-103_082 | Abrupt camera movement stop | An abrupt and unintended camera movement stop |
| CODE - I | IMAGE | Description |
| I-100 | Frame Rate conversion lag | "Conversion Lag" is an artefact generated by converting a segment of video from one frame rate to another. |
| I-101_070 | Frame Rate conversion combing | |
| I-102_070 | Frame Rate conversion ghosting | A “doubling of the image” occurs when a framerate conversion is not properly done. It is particularly visible in pause/frame-by-frame. |
| I-200 | Incorrect image format transform | An unwanted image format transform |
| I-201 | Incorrect scaling resolution | When the output scaling resolution is different from the scaling agreed for the input format, possibly resulting in a unwanted change to the aspect ratio of the image. |
| I-202 | Incorrect crop/extraction | When the crop or extraction applied is not set as agreed for the input format on the show. |
| I-203 | Incorrect aspect ratio padding | When incorrect letterboxing or pillar boxing has been applied to the image. |
| I-300 | Image processing artefact | Undefined but visible image processing artefact |
| I-301 | Wrong video range conversion (Legal/Full) | The video signal is not well interpreted/exported by the software which could result in either a washed out image or an image with black crush and white blown out. |
| I-302 | Image stabilization warping | "Warping” is usually the adverse effect of image stabilization where the frame compensation causes the image to shift in an unnatural way. |
| I-303 | Aliasing | "Aliasing" is a visual artefact caused by the limited spatial sampling during image processing and/or poor compression or a bad conversion. Object or text/graphic edges appear “jagged” or pixelated. Can also refer to a moiré (or “screen door”) pattern across certain parts of the image. This can be achromatic (it affects every color channel equally) or chromatic (it affects color channels independently). |
| I-304 | Banding | "Banding/Posterization" is when low color bit depth results in defined “stepping” from one color gradation to another versus a smooth, continuous gradation. |
| I-305 | Wrong color transform(s) applied | When the wrong color transform(s) are applied resulting in a image that does not accurately represent creative intent. |
| I-400 | Incorrect Image Metadata | One or multiple metadata field(s) related to the image essence or the video container is incorrect. |
| I-401 | Incorrect Reel ID metadata | When the Reel ID metadata doesn't match the camera report, thus it is incorrect. |
| I-402 | Incorrect Color Space Metadata | When the color space metadata isn't filled properly and doesn't reflect the actual color space of the image essence. |
| I-403 | Incorrect lens metadata | The lens metadata information doesn't match the lens used on the shot. We suggest adding a suffix to indicate when the error refers to a specific lens axis: F for FOCUS, I for IRIS, Z for Zoom/Focal length (eg -F if the missing axis is Focus). |
| I-404 | Inconsistent lens metadata | The lens metadata is present but inconsistent throughout the clip (eg skip frames, stops half ways, starts half way). We suggest adding a suffix to indicate when the error refers to a specific lens axis: F for FOCUS, I for IRIS, Z for Zoom/Focal length (eg -F if the missing axis is Focus). |
| I-405 | Missing lens metadata | The lens metadata is missing on one or multiple axis. We suggest adding a suffix to indicate when the error refers to a specific lens axis: F for FOCUS, I for IRIS, Z for Zoom/Focal length (eg -F if the missing axis is Focus). |
| I-500 | Generic Pixel Level Error | Undetermined pixel level error |
| I-501 | Debayer artefacts / debayer issues | Issues caused by the debayer process or its setting. |
| I-502_069 | Compression artefacts | "Compression artefacting" is the adverse effect of image degradation where the image complexity exceeds the ability of the image encoder to retain a lossless quality. |
| I-503_093 | Permanent Dead/Hot Pixel Error | "Pixel Error" refers to one or several pixels in a frame which do not display the correct captured information as the pixels surrounding them and they appear either dark/black (dead pixel) or bright/white (hot pixel). This error refers to permanent dead/hot pixels that stay throughout an entire shot or more |
| I-504_093 | Intermittent Dead/Hot Pixel Error | "Pixel Error" refers to one or several pixels in a frame which do not display the correct captured information as the pixels surrounding them and they appear either dark/black (dead pixel) or bright/white (hot pixel). This error refers to intermittent dead/hot pixels that disappear during the shot |
| I-505_073 | Pixelation / Quantization (Compression ratio) | “Pixelation/Quantization” refers to visible, individual colored blocks within an image, often due to poor resolution scaling or rendering at lower bit depths. |
| I-506 | Digital Snow/ digital dirt | A digital interference/noise level on the image. |
| I-507_049 | Enhanced video noise / Visible noise patterns | Refers to footage that contains extraneous activity and/or visible distortion/pattern in grain structure. |
| I-508_078 | Elevated black levels | “Elevated Black Levels” can be used to describe measured setup video level being elevated/milky. |
| I-600_047 | Chroma cross contamination | Chroma cross contamination between the image channels is the improper bleeding of color values adjacent to each other in frame or enhanced noise/ over-saturation within elements in a shot. |
| I-601 | Out of Gamut | When a color cannot be reproduced on the mastering colorspace, it causes color artefacts on the final picture. For example, black dots on white lights, clipped colours, etc. |
| I-602_048 | Color Contaminated blacks | “Contaminated Blacks” refers to black levels that have additional saturation or enhanced noise/ blocking. |
| I-603 | Color Contamination from UV/IR | Extreme light wavelengths are affecting the image with noise or chroma contamination |
| I-700_078 | File Container/Compression Error | The file is corrupted and cannot be opened by any software. |
| I-701_078 | Corrupted Codec | The codec is corrupted and the file is not readable. |
| I-702_052 | Black frame | "Black frame" is a frame without any image information. |
| I-703_053 | Dropped frame | "Dropped Frame" refers to a single or sequence of frames which are missing or corrupted in the video essence. |
| I-704_055 | Freeze frame | "Freeze Frame" is a duplicate frame(s) within the sequence that contains no different information than the adjacent frame(s). |
| I-800 | Miscellaneous anomalies | A generic error to state that there is a problem with the video |
| I-801 | Low Quality Footage (Archival) | "Low Quality Footage" refers to an image that exhibits visual qualities lesser than the primary source image. |
| I-802 | No metadata (image) | There is missing metadata related to the video in one or multiple fields. |
| CODE - L | Lighting/Sparks | Description |
| L-100_076 | Abrupt Image Luminance Shift / Flicker | Refers to a change/multiple changes in the brightness levels within a shot/scene. |
| L-101 | In-shot screen flicker | A practical screen or display is flickering inside the captured scene. |
| L-102 | Abrupt Lighting Shift/Variation | When there's an abrupt change of light in the shot. |
| L-103 | Visible haze | Haze has shifted the look of the exposed image through takes, or does not match the main units look |
| L-104 | Unwanted Light bleeding | A light bleeds on the action of the shot. |
| L-105 | Light source reflection in the scene | A light source reflection which make the scene not usable. |
| CODE - C | CAMERA | Description |
| C-100 | Generic Exposure Issues | Images result over or underexposed either entirely or partially during the shot |
| C-101 | Footage generally overexposed | The OCF is being captured with considerable amount of data clipped in the high level values (highlights). |
| C-102 | Footage generally underexposed | The OCF is being captured with considerable amount of data clipped in the low level values (shadows). |
| C-103 | Sensor overload (Black Sun) | The sensor overloaded causing the image to become gray where it should be white. |
| C-200 | Focus issues | Focus is not perfect throughout the take(s). |
| C-201 | Out of focus | Focus rests outside of the ideal field for a long period of time. |
| C-202 | Soft focus | Focus is not perfectly sharp and it doesn't ever find its mark. |
| C-203 | Focus varies | Focus is not perfect during a move, but eventually finds its mark. |
| C-300 | Generic capturing issue | Something went wrong with the camera during a shot |
| C-301 | Incorrect FPS / Speed | When the framerate of the camera doesn't match with the intent of the scene. |
| C-302 | Genlock issues | The image is not properly genlocked with a master source |
| C-303 | Rolling shutter issues | The rolling shutter issues can be part of the image which are wobble, or skew. It can also be spatial aliasing, temporal aliasing including partial exposure. |
| C-304 | Format change | Change in sensor mode. |
| C-400 | Generic Optical artefact | The lens captured/created some artefact on the image |
| C-401 | Visible optical filter | The optical filter used on the camera is visible |
| C-402 | Internal ND issue | There is a visible internal ND filter that has not been adjusted properly. |
| C-403_047 | Lens aberrations | Chromatic or achromatic aberrations are caused by the lens on the image . |
| C-404_070 | Optical ghosting | Ghosting induced by the lens. |
| C-405_085 | Lens Flare | “Lens Flare” is the refraction of light through a camera lens, causing a flash and potentially a light glare to be visible in frame. |
| C-406_086 | Lens Smudge/ Dirt or oil on lens | "Lens Smudge" is dirt, oil, debris, etc. physically on the camera lens causing a visible artefact in the captured image. |
| C-407_085 | Lens Glare | "Lens glare" is a direct source pointed to the camera which will cause an excessive and uncontrolled brightness on a zone. |
| C-500_054 | Generic Frame Edge Shading | "Frame Edge Shading" is darkening along the edges or in the corners of the frame due to matte box or production flags being partially in frame. |
| C-501_054 | Soft Lens/Edge Vignetting | A Soft Lens or Edge Vignetting appears as a soft gradient decrease in brightness towards the edge of the frame. Sometimes it leads to full black pixels. |
| C-502_054 | Hard Lens Vignetting/ Hard lens shading | Hard vignetting is present when there is a almost immediate drop in brightness to a black or almost black level. This could be caused by an object in the frame or a poor lens coverage. |
| C-600_054 | Lens Mechanical Issues | An undetermined lens issue that causes issues on the images |
| C-601 | Lens collimation issue | Any issue related to the lens collimation which can be a blurry picture even when the focus point is correct/at infinite. |
| C-602 | Strong/Distracting Lens Breathing | When shifting from a focus point to another, a distracting zooming and blurry distorsion happens on the frame. |
| C-603 | Anamorphic element misalignment | When the anamorphic element of the lens is misaligned which causes the images to appear still under/over squeezed even after the de-squeezing process. |
| C-604 | Focus/Iris/Zoom remote motor failure | An unintended movement of Focus/Iris/Zoom due a mechanical failure in the remote control system. It sometimes results in a "jump" when the Focus/Iris/Zoom moves. |
| C-700 | Miscellaneous anomalies | A generic error to state that there is a problem with the camera |
| C-701 | Camera upside down | The camera has been flipped to capture a unique angle |
| C-702 | Offspeed | slow motion / fast motion |
| C-703 | Camera lost power/Early cut | A clip ends prematurely due to an issue or to a power loss from the camera |
| C-704 | Wrong TC in camera | The camera and sound timecode are not locked |
| C-705 | No multicam sync | When each camera has its own timecode in a multicam setup |
| C-706 | Sensor dirt | Dirt has been spotted on the sensor |
| CODE - A | Audio/Sound - A | Description |
| A-100 | Background noise in the shoot | A generic distracting noise in the background of the shot |
| A-101 | excessive broadband noise on recording | Broadband Noise also called wideband noise, is noise whose sound energy is distributed over a wide section of the audible range as opposed to narrowband noise. |
| A-102 | airplane on recording | There is a car or plane in the background |
| A-103 | generator noise on recording | On the recording, the sound of the generator is more predominant than what is intended to be recorded. |
| A-104 | excessive birds in recording | On the recording, the sound of the birds is more predominant than what is intended to be recorded. |
| A-105 | excessive insects in recording | On the recording, the sound of the insects is more predominant than what is intended to be recorded. |
| A-106 | excessive ground movement/footsteps on unrelated surface | When a lot of ground movements or footsteps are heard on surface which don't match the settings of the shot. |
| A-200_001 | Audible distortion | "Audio Clipping/ Distortion" is the effect in which the amplitude of an audio sample exceeds the maximum peak playback level. (Sometimes also associated with or classified as over-modulation). |
| A-201_006 | audio hum | Electrical noise or signal interference typically caused by an electrical ground-loop in the recording signal chain. (hum / interference) |
| A-202 | excessive reflections or echoes on dialogue | The dialogue has excessive reflections or echoes. |
| A-300 | Audio recording issues | Any issues pertaining to audio recording. |
| A-301 | recording sounds muffled | The recording sounds muffled. |
| A-302_037 | not all channels/actors recorded | Not all the channels or actors have been correctly recorded. |
| A-303_016 | drop outs present in recording | "Audio Dropout" is the irregular interruption or lack of audio signal in an audio mix, channel, or track. |
| A-304 | sound rolls late | The sound roll begins late into the camera take. |
| A-305 | sound cuts early | The sound roll ends before the end of a take. |
| A-306 | sound NG | The sound is not audible, or contains interference |
| A-307 | actor off-mic | The actor's voice is muffled or faint because it is not directed straight into the microphone or the microphone is not well positioned to record the actor's voice clearly. |
| A-308 | missing mix track | The audio clip is missing tracks from what it should be expected |
| A-309_017 | MOS Audio |
The total lack of information in an audio channel. MOS Shot. |
| A-310 | Corrupted File | The .wav file is corrupted and is not readable |
| A-400 | RF issues during recording | A generic RF related issue |
| A-401_003 | RF noise (static) | It is a crackling sound present on the audio track caused either by capture equipment or a corruption in the audio data itself. |
| A-402 | RF noise (frequency switching) | Radio Frequency noise which happens when switching frequencies. |
| A-500_089 | Sound Metadata issues | One or multiple metadata field(s) related to the sound essence or the sound container is incorrect |
| A-501_090 | Incorrect Timecode | "Incorrect Timecode" is the improper formatting or corruption of a timecode track or frame rate. |
| A-502 | mislabeled sound file | The file from sound is named/labeled incorrectly |
| A-503_011 | Wrong Audio Channel Mapping | "Audio Channel Mismap" is the incorrect implementation of the audio track or audio channel order, which dictates the desired speaker assignment or channel arrangement of an audio mix. |
| A-600 | Miscellaneous anomalies | A generic error to state that there is a problem with sound |
| CODE - V | VFX/VP - V | Description |
| V-100 | VFX Shot | Marking a VFX shot |
| V-101 | Shot requires VFX clean up | This take/shot requires a VFX clean up |
| V-102 | Shot requires set extension | Shot requires the set to be virtually extended |
| V-103 | VFX balls and chart | A take/shot with Silver Balls, Color charts or other VFX references |
| V-104 | VFX reference | This take/shot is VFX Reference shot to be used for VFX use only |
| V-105 | VFX Plate | A static roll capturing the background of a set |
| V-200 | VP ICVFX LED ISSUE | An undefined issue(s) on the LED |
| V-201 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible Color Banding on LED | An inaccurate representation of the color of the content that generates abrupt changes between shades of the same color, instead of gentle gradients. |
| V-202 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible Noise / RGB Dithering | A visible digital noise produced on the image projected on the LED wall |
| V-203 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible seams / LED hotspots | Visible separation between LED panels either noticed as dark or brighter edges |
| V-204 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible LED panels faceting | A curved LED wall shows faceting steps rather than a smooth curve |
| V-205 | VP ICVFX LED - LED Wall Moiré | A moiré pattern is an image artefact that is generated when two fine patterns interfere with each other. When shooting LED walls, the pattern created by the LED on the LED panels might be in conflict with the camera sensor photosite pattern and create visual artefacts such as color banding and multi-colored stair-stepping artefacts (a form of aliasing). |
| V-206 | VP ICVFX LED - LED Wall Flicker/Genlock offset/Visible Scanlines | Video artefacts represented as visible changes in brightness between cycles on the LED wall. These can be seen as dark static bands that move vertically or horizontally at various speeds, or as bright bands that move vertically. |
| V-207 | VP ICVFX LED - LED White point / Color Shift (sections or whole) | An unwanted variation of the color reproduction of the LED wall mostly caused by an off-axis camera position or overheating of the LED panels. |
| V-208 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible reflection on the LED panels | An unwanted reflection of the real scene onto section of the LED walls. Mostly caused by light sources on set which reflect on dark areas of the LED wall. |
| V-209 | VP ICVFX LED - Lights contamination/Spill on LED panels from other light sources | Light sources on set create a flare on the LED wall. |
| V-210 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible panel joins/end (eg. visible wall/ground joins, wall/ceiling joins) | Visible separation between LED wall sections |
| V-211 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible LED mask | A visible drop in brightness caused by the LED masks when viewed from off-axis |
| V-212 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible white point/color rendition difference from the LED wall compared with the set lights | A noticeable difference in color rendition, as seen by your camera, on your scene (especially on human skin) between the LED wall and any external light source used on set |
| V-213 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible LED pattern / apparent lack of definition | Visible LED pixels on the wall or reflected in a object on the set |
| V-214 | VP ICVFX LED - Visible dead pixel / deal tile | Visible dead-pixels or dead tiles on the LED wall |
| V-300 | VP ICVFX CONTENT ISSUES | A generic issue on the content reproduction on the LED wall |
| V-301 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - 3D parallax issues / not realistic | Calculated parallax of the content displayed on the LED wall is wrong/feels unrealistic |
| V-302 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Digital DOF issues / not realistic | Depth of field calculation feels unrealistic |
| V-303 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Visible outer frustum | Calculated frustum is smaller than the camera field of view |
| V-304 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Plates/HDRI Stitching errors/misalignment | Section of a panorama are misaligned/ visible stitching of a panorama are visible |
| V-305 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Content Highlight/Chroma clipping | Clipped highlights on the content displayed by the LED wall |
| V-306 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Content Crushed blacks | Crushed blacks on the content displayed by the LED wall |
| V-307 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Visible Aliasing/Ray Tracing errors/Sparkle | A visible aliasing artefact on the content displayed by the LED wall |
| V-308 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Content Lagging/Playback issues | Content played on the LED wall is lagging or it doesn't have a smooth playback |
| V-309 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Content juddering | Content speed has a fast refresh rate/playback speed and causes a judder effect in camera |
| V-310 | VP ICVFX CONTENT - Stitching ghosting | A visible (in camera) ghosting of two overlayed images caused by either two plates stitched together or two view ports incorrectly aligned |
| V-400 | VP ICVFX CAMERA ISSUES | A generic issue on the camera capturing side of the ICVFX setup |
| V-401 | VP ICVFX CAMERA - LED/MediaPlayer/Camera Genlock issues | Content playback and camera shutter are not synchronized perfectly causing a visible flicker or other artefacts of the content displayed on the wall. |
| V-402 | VP ICVFX CAMERA - Camera tracking issues | Digital camera tracking is not true to the physical camera movements/Digital camera movements are off sync with the physical camera movements/Tracking is noisy or inconsistent |
| V-403 | VP ICVFX CAMERA - Visible LED refraction/diffraction aberrations on scene atmos or surfaces/EDGE diffraction | Artefacts on the scene recorded by the camera caused by the LED wall lighting. Mostly they appear as color rainbows visible in the scene, through atmos or reflections or as double edges of objects in the scene. |
| V-404 | VP ICVFX CAMERA - Low CRI / Color issues due to LED lighting | An object or an actor illuminated by the LED wall appears wrong. Skintone shows some strong dominance (normally magenta/pink or green) |
| CODE - M | Miscellaneous/FYI | Description |
| M-100 | Miscellaneous anomalies | A generic error to state that there is a problem in the shot |
| M-101 | False roll | A take has been shot by mistake and doesn't contain an actual scene |
| M-102 | Rolling reset | The clip contains more than one take of the action. |
| M-103 | Long preroll | When the preroll takes a long time, before the word is "Action" is shout. |
| M-104 | False start | A take is started prematurely |
| M-105 | Rolled over midnight | Video and/or audio TC rolled over 23.59.59, causing it to reset to 00:00:00 |
| M-200 | Generic Slate Issue | Wrong info on the slate |
| M-201 | Tail slate | The slate is at the end of the take, upside down. |
| M-202 | Corrective tail ID | A clip that corrects the previous slate. |
| M-203 | No slate | No slate has been given for the clip. |
| M-204 | Slate Not Good | Slate does not match the camera/script report or is mis-labelled |
| M-205 | Series slate | Slate shows a series of clips to be shot with no individual slate |
| M-206 | Tail series slate | Slate at the end of the take shows a series of clips that have been shot with no individual slate |
| M-207 | Second clap | A second clap is heard or seen |
| M-208 | Common slate | A single slate contains all camera and take information, and syncs sound for multiple cameras |
| M-209 | Wrong Color/Camera Information on slate | When the wrong color information is written on the slate and it doesn't match with the camera report. |
| M-210 | DNR (Did not roll!) on Take XXX | Camera did not roll! replace "x" with take number |
| M-211 | Day for night | Cinematic techniques used to simulate a night scene while filming in daylight |
| M-300 | People in shot | People in shot |
| M-301 | Actor looks at camera | Actors eyes acknowledge the camera or crew |
| M-302_096 | Visible production crew | Crew are visible in a take |
| M-303 | Public in shot | Potentially un-contracted public are passing through a take |
| M-400_096 | Visible production equipment | The on-set technical equipment associated with a film/ television shoot being visible in the shot |
| M-401 | Boom in shot | The boom dips into the frame lines on a take |
| M-402 | Flag in shot | A flag is visible within the frame lines of a take |
| M-403 | Camera in shot | A shooting camera is visible in the shot |
| M-500_062 | Censorship shot | "Censorship" refers to any edit to the video or audio used to obscure or eliminate content that may be considered offensive or illegal for broadcast. |
| M-501 | Closed Set | A closed set is when there's specific scenes with a limited number of crew members. |
| CODE - F | FILM - F | Definition |
| F-100 | Miscellaneous film issues | A generic error to state that there is a problem that belongs to the film |
| F-101 | Light Scratch |
A light or small scratch is visible on the film. Use R, G, B as qualifiers in case the issue is limited to one channel only. Use N or D if the issues derives from Negative in camera or the Development phase. |
| F-102 | Deep Scratch |
A deep or large scratch is visible on the film. Use R, G, B as qualifiers in case the issue is limited to one channel only. Use N or D if the issues derives from Negative in camera or the Development phase. |
| F-103 | Stain | A visible shift in colour is visible on the frame. Use R, G, B as qualifiers in case the issue is limited to one channel only. Use N or D if the issues derives from Negative in camera or the Development phase. |
| F-104 | Waving | The film seems to be waving and it's not stable. |
| F-105 | Hair | There is a visible hair or dust on the frame. Use R, G, B as qualifiers in case the issue is limited to one channel only. Use N or D if the issues derives from Negative in camera or the Development phase. |
| F-106 | Flashing | A ramping flash is visible within the take. |
| F-107 | Burn | There is a visible burned section of the film. Use R, G, B as qualifiers in case the issue is limited to one channel only. Use N or D if the issues derives from Negative in camera or the Development phase. |