As previously reported in SHOOT, the Digital Intermediate Subcommittee from the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Technology Committee has been developing what it calls an ASC Color Decision List (CDL), an open method of communicating color information between technologies from different manufacturers.
This is becoming an increasingly vital and potentially valued capability. As the Color Decision List is getting closer to the implementation stage, a growing number of manufacturers of color correction and finishing systems report that they are preparing to support the system. And the commitment appears to be continuing to gain momentum in industry circles.
“There is no doubt the CDL works,” reported colorist Lou Levinson of bicoastal Post Logic Studios, who chairs the Digital Intermediate Subcommittee. “Now the biggest issue facing us is agreement on a standard transport mechanism.”
Relative to that latter issue, the committee aims to have this resolved by year’s end.
Technicolor’s senior vice president of worldwide technology Terry Brown, who participates in the ASC Technology Committee, confirmed that sister company Grass Valley has tested the Color Decision List and would support the CDL in its Bones postproduction system.
“This allows a cinematographer to communicate his vision without error,” Brown related. “It’s a decision list that any manufacturer can import.”
DVS spokesperson Erik Balladares reported that the Color Decision List system has been tested by DVS and would be incorporated in a future version of the DVS Clipster. The DVS Clipster has already been installed at such mainstay postproduction houses as Company 3 in Santa Monica, and Encore Hollywood.
“It gives everybody a standard to follow,” Balladares said of the Color Decision List. “It’s important that we have standards [for communicating information] that can be transferred from system to system.”
“We want to forward this process,” added Bill Robertson, who is head of marketing for color correction system maker da Vinci. “They have solidified the parameters, and we know that we can implement this throughout our product line.”
And Quantel postproduction marketer Mark Horton noted that attaining standardization in this arena is a most appealing prospect. “We are very interested in a broadly based initiative to standardize metadata across the industry,” he affirmed.
Manufacturers that have expressed interest in the CDL initiative include such notable companies as Autodesk, which is the maker of Lustre, among other technologies, and FilmLight, the maker of Baselight.
Manufacturers and ASC Digital Intermediate Subcommittee members have been testing the system since last spring, and implementation may begin by the end of the year.
Contact SHOOT’s senior editor, technology and postproduction Carolyn Giardina with news and developments of interest. She can be reached at SHOOT’s new Los Angeles office on the Raleigh Studios lot at (323) 960-8035 or at cgiardina@shootonline.com.
