FilmLight’s Japanese branch, FilmLight KK, to showcase the power of Baselight v5

FilmLight will demonstrate its creative and technical commitment to Japanese television broadcasting and post-production with its own booth at Inter BEE 2018 (Makuhari Messe, Tokyo, 14–16 November, #3311). This marks both the five-year anniversary of the FilmLight office in Tokyo, and provides the opportunity to showcase the latest version of FilmLight’s colour grading and management platform, Baselight v5, for the Japanese market.

“Movies and premium television are hugely important in Japan, and it is vital that users of our cutting edge creative tools are well supported,” said Koichi Matsui, head of FilmLight KK. “Having a sales and support team in the heart of the Japanese industry is proving to be a great success among our valued customers, and I am very excited to further the direct relationship with our clients at Inter BEE this year.”

The latest release, Baselight v5, offers compelling new features that help to streamline the most complex and time-consuming workflows both within the colour grading suite and in collaboration with editing, VFX and 360˚ VR. The same software toolkit has been implemented across the product range, from Prelight for on-set visualisation, the Daylight dailies system and the expanding Baselight Editions range for editing and VFX, as well as the high-powered Baselight grading stations.

New features include intelligent branching, which means that different operators can now work on the same scene simultaneously with ease, either to perform specific tasks or to create multiple deliverables.

With HDR a hot topic, new Baselight functionality is also aimed at developing looks within the extended range and colour gamut, which can then be faithfully retained across the multitude of delivery formats expected today. Boost Range, for example, is an automated tool to boost the dynamic range of an image from SDR to HDR using complex spatial processing to achieve a natural look, while Texture Highlight uses frequency analysis to avoid blocky highlights.

Toei Digital Lab in Tokyo recently purchased an additional Baselight TWO system targeted at TV productions such as those for Netflix, NHK and other 4K/UHD programs. 

“Baselight v5 puts every creative nuance at the colourist’s fingertips for grading and VFX,” said Soichi Satake, Senior Colourist at Toei Digital Lab. “With the new Base Grade, for instance, we can precisely reproduce the image that was achieved by adjusting camera exposure on set. The control of burnished highlights has become easier too, especially for deep shadows.”

“FilmLight’s 24/365 support is a tremendous help for us, especially the remote diagnostic ability,” he added. “Our workflow in Japan sometime differs from those in other countries but the FilmLight team understands our needs and improves the features to meet what we require. FilmLight aggressively works through all new request features, so that I find Baselight evolves rapidly to match the path of our constant evolving needs.”

Baselight v5 will be demonstrated on the Baselight TWO system and within Baselight Editions on booth 3311 in hall 3 at Inter BEE 2018.