Baselight delivers to Coronation Street
Baselight ONE and Baselight for Avid combine to deliver a fast, efficient workflow for ITV Studios’ Coronation Street.
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TVB Awards 2015, Achievement in post production |
ITV Studios is the UK’s biggest production company with sales and distribution, consumer products and production on a global scale. Coronation Street first hit the UK television screens in 1960 and is one of the most popular continuing dramas in the UK—screened five nights a week with exclusive online content as well.
Working on a programme with such a demanding production schedule means that ITV Studios are always keen to find ways to improve efficiency while maintaining the show’s high production values. Alongside Coronation Street’s new physical home (with a move to a new full-size set at MediaCityUK early in 2014), the company chose to revitalise their grading workflow with a cost-effective solution from FilmLight.
ITV Studios installed a Baselight ONE colour grading system and Slate control surface in the grading suite, with Baselight for Avid—part of the Baselight Editions range—installed on each of their Avid editing stations. All systems are linked to their Avid ISIS shared storage system.
ITV Coronation Street workflow diagram
“Moving between Baselight and Avid without the time and quality constraints usually associated with this process is a great enhancement to both our workflow and production.”
David Williams, Post Production Supervisor
The ‘master’ grade is performed on the Baselight ONE system and exported back to the Avid stations with the grade contained within an updated AAF file—including all the grading data, even tracking information and keyframes. When one of the Avid stations imports an updated AAF, a Baselight for Avid effect exists on every shot and gives each shot the identical colour correction as created in the master grade.
No render is required, and a full, complex grade is applied in a matter of seconds.
“Baselight ONE has integrated really well into our new workflow while Baselight for Avid often negates the need to come back into Baselight for re-edits. The powerful grading tools enable me to move quickly and effectively through the episodes, adding real on-screen value to a well‑established show.”
Stephen Edwards, Lead Colourist
Not only that, but as Baselight for Avid provides the same core tools as full Baselight systems, all of the grading controls are available within Avid if the grade needs to be adjusted during the edit or if shots are extended or added to the edit. If required, an updated AAF can be exported from an Avid station and imported back into the Baselight ONE system, providing a fully bi-directional workflow.
While the Baselight for Avid effect doesn’t need to be rendered for playback and review, this workflow allows for a render if it is desired. An Avid station can import the updated AAF from Baselight and render graded MXF files straight back to the ISIS. Again, the grade transfer is quick, and the beauty of rendering from Avid means that the Avid project is updated with links to the rendered shots-so all Avid stations automatically access the graded versions whilst retaining the ability to change the grade instantly. In addition, by rendering straight from Avid you can remove an extra encode/decode cycle from the process, which is an advantage when working with compressed media.
Find out more about Baselight on Coronation Street.
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Coronation Street Case Study (PDF)
