The Avid Media Composer, ImMIX Videocube, Media 100 and Lightworks systems were among the tools that introduced the concept of nonlinear editing to the post community in the early 1990s. Avid of course went on to dominate the commercial editing market. But others were not completely forgotten. More than a decade later, Hollywood-based Lightworks–now owned by U.K.-headquartered Gee Broadcast–is striving to muscle its way back into the mix. But can this underdog make a comeback in a field where the major competitors are backed by the strength of industry giants such as Avid Technology and Apple Computer?
If the answer is yes, its greatest strengths seem to be a loyal customer base and a highly regarded edit control interface, both of which lasted through much company change.
Lightworks was founded as a privately held U.K.-headquartered company around ’90, starting out with positive feedback based on its intuitive editor interface.
It was subsequently sold in ’94 to Wilsonville, Ore.-headquartered broadcast technology giant Tektronix. At that time, Tektronix was also the parent company of several larger entities such as Grass Valley, which is now a unit of Paris-headquartered Thomson. Tiny Lightworks was falling into obscurity, and its adversary Avid was taking a commanding ownership of the nonlinear market.
Then in September of ’98, Tektronix and Avid announced a distribution and strategic development agreement that would align Avid’s powerful broadcast news division and Tektronix’s influential video and networking division.
While this was a broadcast deal, Tektronix simultaneously revealed plans to discontinue development of its Lightworks line and essentially phase itself out of the nonlinear editing business.
But this was not the end of Lightworks. Rumors quickly surfaced of acquisition talks, and soon the technology was purchased and relaunched as a small Montreal-based startup. Subsequently, Lightworks was acquired by Fairlight Japan, which eventually sold the technology to Gee in ’04.
The loyalty of it users has kept the system in play over the years. Lightworks’ devotees include editors such as Thelma Schoonmaker, A.C.E. (Academy Award winner for The Aviator, which was cut on Lightworks); Terry Rawlings, A.C.E. who last month received the prestigious American Cinema Editors (ACE) Career Achievement Award, and busy feature editor Scott Hill, whose credits include Monster in Law and Bruce Almighty.
Hill tells SHOOT that over the years, he kept Lightworks in his toolbox by handling any product maintenance on his own. “There was a misconception that it no longer worked, but it’s always been a stable system,” he says. “If a part went out, I replaced it. Everyone has their preference–for me its Lightworks–The interface is the primary thing.”
That sort of enthusiasm has brought Lightworks to where it is today. And now, the company is rolling out a totally new nonlinear editing system, Alacrity MR (multiresolution), which supports HD and SD, compressed and uncompressed, MJPEG, MPEG2 and DV, mixed-format timelines, and multiple real-time streams.
Alacrity offers the familiar Lightworks edit controller and more powerful hardware. Lightworks offers additional options by networking Alacrity to the new multi-resolution server, Geevs MR, from parent Gee Broadcast.
Hill recently became the owner of three Alacrity editing systems, which he intends to use on his next feature, Evan Almighty.
“Alacrity has so much power, being able to mix standard definition and high definition in the same edit is pretty amazing,” he says, adding that the powerful computer also brings more to features such as composting, multi-layer effects and 2D and 3D DVEs. “I also plan to use the multicam feature a lot. In testing, I was able to lock nine cameras at speed.”
The enthusiasm of editors such as Hill is what excites Lightworks’ VP of North American operations Seth Hallen, who joined the team roughly a year ago. He explains, “It says something about a product when [editors] say it’s better and that editors need options.”
Alacrity was previewed last September at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC), and will be showcased next month at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention. At NAB, where all players including Avid and Apple will be featured, the next chapter in the history of nonlinear editing will be written.
