What is the role of conditional processing in delivering content tailored to different stages of film production?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

Conditional processing in DITA XML plays a crucial role in delivering tailored content for different stages of film production. It allows content creators to create one source of content that can be customized and filtered to meet the specific needs of various production phases, such as pre-production, production, and post-production.

Content Reusability

With DITA, content can be authored once and reused across different stages of film production. Conditional processing attributes, such as “audience,” “product,” or “stage,” can be applied to content elements. For example, a scene description that contains sensitive information relevant only to the production team can be marked with a “production” attribute. When generating content for pre-production, this sensitive information can be automatically excluded, ensuring that only relevant details are presented to the intended audience.

Customized Output

Conditional processing allows for the creation of customized output for each stage of film production. Using processing instructions, filters, and profiling, content can be transformed to include or exclude specific elements or information based on the production stage. For instance, a script may contain extensive details for pre-production, but when generating content for post-production, only essential information like scene descriptions and dialogues may be included, streamlining the editing and sound mixing processes.

Example:

Here’s an example of how conditional processing can be used to tailor content for different stages of film production in DITA:


<topic id="scene_description">
  <title>Scene Description</title>
  <body>
    <p>This is a scene description for a high-speed car chase through the city streets.</p>
    <conditional-attribute class="production">
      <info>Production Note: Road closures will be required for this scene.</info>
    </conditional-attribute>
  </body>

In this example, a “production” conditional attribute is applied to a production note within a scene description topic. When generating content for pre-production, this note will be included, providing essential details to the production team. However, for other stages, this note can be easily excluded to avoid unnecessary information.