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Thomson and FilmLight to Showcase Software Grading Control for Spirit Family (7/5/2008)

Thomson (Euronext Paris: 18453; NYSE: TMS) and FilmLight will conduct a groundbreaking demonstration at NAB in which FilmLight's Baselight color grading system will control a Thomson Grass Valley(tm) Spirit system as a telecine controller. It will mark the first time ever that a software-based color corrector will fully control a telecine system.

The development has broad implications for all post production workflows that include a color grading component, but it promises to have a particularly strong impact on post for high-end commercials.
The demonstration, which will be seen on the Thomson booth (SL2120), will involve a Baselight HD connected to a Spirit 4K scanner. The technology incorporated into version 3.3 of FilmLight's Baselight software can be employed with any Baselight system and with any model of the Thomson Grass Valley Spirit product line, including Spirit HD, Spirit 2K, Spirit 4K, the Shadow telecine and the classic Spirit DataCine.

"This demonstration is the result of a breakthrough effort by Thomson and FilmLight and is a moment of great significance for the post-production industry," said Steve Chapman, FilmLight Director. "It marks the point when software-based color grading has not only caught up to, but in fact has surpassed, hardware-based grading. It shows that the future belongs to software solutions exemplified by Baselight."

"Today's post-production industry is changing rapidly, and a telecine or film scanner has to integrate perfectly into the wider workflow to make it a productive and profitable workhorse, said Jeff Rosica, Senior Vice President of Thomson's Broadcast & Professional Solutions within the Systems division. "By integrating our products with other equipment rather than demanding further investments, we are helping our customers innovate and stay competitive."

The new technology allows Baselight, via its Blackboard control panel, to emulate a hardware grading system in a traditional linear workflow, and to perform such functions as primary and secondary color correction, grain management, or other film stock dependant settings - all performed in the Spirit scanner using the Spirit system's industry-renowned signal processing. It also gives Baselight the ability to control Spirit for ingest while operating in a nonlinear environment. Hybrid modes of operation are also possible.

At NAB, Thomson will also have on the show floor, the 100th new generation Spirit since its introduction in 2004 as the successor for the classic Spirit DataCine. The co-operation with FilmLight and its Baselight color corrector is a result of continuing development to ensure that the Spirit family can cover the whole range of market requirements to deliver film images to any source at any time in the fastest way possible.
At NAB, Thomson will show how, in an increasingly convergent world, it supports the entire media ecosystem. Whether it's content creation, management, distribution and delivery, or consumption, our end-to-end solutions meet the business requirements of our customers-and let them launch new services to meet the expectations of increasingly sophisticated consumers and stay competitive in the marketplace.

www.thomsongrassvalley.com  

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