Baselight at IBC: The Non-linear Revolution Arrives in Commercials Grading

September 9, 2008

Source: Filmlight

Parallel GPU, “Cloud” Connectivity, RED Support, Spirit Control and more

At IBC, FilmLight will demonstrate a series of groundbreaking enhancements to Baselight, the industry’s leading nonlinear colour grading system. They include Parallel GPU technology enabling Baselight8 to perform 40+ multiple layers 4K grading in real-time (without proxies or an external SAN).With up to 96TB of local storage, Baselight systems often result in SAN cost savings when compared to competitor’s ‘diskless’ solutions. “Cloud” connectivity that enables Baselight’s local storage to function as shared storage for networked workstations, RED camera support, editorial workflow with Avid® Unity and editing systems, and direct control of the Thomson Spirit telecine range.

Collectively, these developments not only extend Baselight’s lead over other software-based colour grading
systems, they allow it to match the performance, and in many respects outperform hardware-based colour
correctors. “Commercials grading is at the same point in time now as on-line editing suites were in the early
1990s,” said FilmLight Director of Sales Mike Grieve.
“We’ve reached the big non-linear changeover.”
While Baselight’s improved performance and extended features will benefit all types of media production, the
implications for commercial post-production are especially pronounced. Most significantly, the new Parallel GPU
technology has enabled Baselight8 to surpass the performance of hardware colour correctors, eliminating an
issue that has held back software systems as a platform for grading commercials.

With Cloud connectivity, Baselight can now function as the centrepiece of a fully-integrated post-production
workflow. It enables Baselight to directly share data with networked compositing, editing and visual effects
workstations including additional Baselight systems. The technology provides full bandwidth un-fragmented
sequential file read and write access, observing block affinity. By avoiding file system fragmentation and
minimising seek time; it gives outstanding performance in a shared real-time environment, at a small fraction of the
cost of a high-performance SAN solutions. This effectively transforms the colour grading suite from an isolated,
post-production “island” into an integrated, collaborative process, advancing creativity and workflows significantly.

In addition to better performance and a collaborative, non-linear workflow, Baselight also offers post-houses a
powerful and flexible toolset, providing an abundance of digital effects techniques not available with hardware
colour correctors. FilmLight has also developed features for Baselight aimed specifically at commercials grading,
including an intelligent auto-conform system, smart versioning, scratchpads, and changes to Blackboard,
Baselight’s highly acclaimed control surface. New support for the RED camera, and the ability to directly control
the Thomson Grass Valley Spirit range of telecines, furthers the system’s appeal for commercial grading.

Well-established as the premier tool for feature film and television post-production, Baselight is already the
industry’s dominant software colour grading system with more than 200 systems installed worldwide, nearly four
times the number of its nearest competitor. As post-houses make the switch to software colour graders for their advertising work, Baselight’s lead is certain to grow.

“Having ignited the non-linear revolution in feature film DI grading, Baselight is now driving the same linear to nonlinear transition in commercials grading,” Grieve said. “With Baselight leading the way, non-linear grading for
commercials is likely to be the next big area for growth for advertising focused facilities.”

In fact, several high-end post houses in Europe and the U.S. have already made the switch to Baselight—among
them is New York’s Nice Shoes, which recently purchased $3 million worth of FilmLight grading technology as
part of a complete overhaul of its commercial post-production operations.
FilmLight will be exhibiting at IBC at Stand 7.A11.

Baselight Highlights for IBC

Parallel GPU
Parallel GPU technology makes Baselight8, FilmLight’s flagship system, the highest performance grading system
on the market—with twice the processing speed of its nearest competitor. In addition, Baselight8’s high
performance parallel disc system, has the power to deliver three streams of 4K media simultaneously. In practice,
Baselight8 can play 4K media, display 4K, grade 40-plus layers of 4K and record 4K to disc, all at the same time
without proxies, post rendering or an external SAN. No other grading system can make that claim.
Cloud Connectivity
A standard feature of all Baselight systems, the new Cloud connectivity allows Baselight’s robust local storage to
function as a shared storage environment, serving multiple Baselight units or third-party workstations such as
Autodesk Flame and Smoke. At IBC, FilmLight will demonstrate a Baselight grading off a SAN as well as two
Baselights grading in a Cloud network.
RED Support
RED camera support will be added to Baselight through a software upgrade to be released shortly. This will allow
Baselight to directly grade media from the increasingly popular digital cinema camera. At IBC we will show a
version of Baselight grading RED R3D files.
Shared Workflow with Avid
Leveraging Avid’s recent release of a Linux DNxHD codec and Linux Unity client, Baselight can now share access
to media stored on an Avid Unity with Avid editing systems. Access to data is accomplished without copying or moving data from Unity.
Spirit Control
FilmLight and Thomson will conduct a joint demonstration at the Thomson stand with a Baselight directly
controlling a Spirit HD Datacine. With this new feature, Baselight can support a traditional post workflow for
grading commercials, while delivering the benefits of its more powerful toolset. Baselight control for Spirit is in final testing at three post houses and can be ordered now with any Baselight system. The demonstration will be
conducted at the Thomson Stand (7.F31).


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