Picture Lock

he formal milestone at which the creative edit is declared final and no further changes will be made to picture timing, shot selection, or sequence order. Picture lock triggers the downstream turnover process—sound, color, VFX, and music departments can now begin their finishing work with confidence that the edit won't shift beneath them. Any changes after picture lock (which do happen, often called 'lock plus' changes) require formal change lists and re-turnovers, creating additional cost and schedule pressure. The discipline of respecting picture lock is what makes the entire parallel finishing workflow possible. Without it, sound editors would be cutting to a moving target, colorists would be grading shots that get removed, and VFX vendors would be working on plates that no longer exist in the cut.