Autodesk unveils digital colour grading system

MUMBAI: Autodesk, Inc. launched Autodesk Lustre 2008 digital color grading system, which has shaped colors and lighting in many feature films, trailers and TV shows, including Balls of Fury, El Cantante, Children of Men, Babel, King Kong amongst others.

Lustre 2008 will be showcased at the International Broadcasters Convention 2007, held in Amsterdam‘s RAI Convention Center, from 7-11 September.

Autodesk Media and Entertainment vice president of advanced systems Stig Gruman said, “Around the world, Autodesk Lustre is used to enhance lighting, cinematography and storytelling in films and TV content. Lustre 2008 equips colorists with even more creative flexibility and includes a new multi-layer timeline. Colorists can experiment with look creation earlier in the post-production process. As well, Lustre 2008 offers a better workflow that leads to faster project completion and ultimately offers greater value for all types of productions.”

Sonne Postproduction managing director Andreas Rostock added, “At Sonne, we’re ready to take on any kind of project, from feature films to music videos, but we specialize in commercials. We’ve developed a workflow that gives us the flexibility needed to take on any type of job and Autodesk Lustre fits well into our process. The new multi-layer timeline in Lustre 2008 will give us greater workflow flexibility in terms of how we conform, while the rich grading toolset will allow us to expand our creative capabilities to deliver a higher-quality product to our customers.”

LaserPacific Media Corporation colorist Chris Jacobson also sees great value in the Lustre workflow, particularly as it relates to the interoperability between Lustre and the Autodesk Smoke editing/finishing system. Jacobson said, “We can easily share media between Lustre and Smoke with no time-consuming rendering in between, thanks to Autodesk’s Wiretap technology. In essence, the editorial and digital intermediate color sessions can happen simultaneously, making our clients very happy. With a pipeline like this, you really can be in two places at once. It brings multi-tasking to a whole new level.”