Chicago-based, full service post production facility – Optimus, has acquired a Baselight EIGHT high performance colour grading system from FilmLight. Operational in October, the company plans to use the system to perform nonlinear colour correction for commercials and independent film. The Baselight EIGHT will control a Spirit DataCine and will be integrated into the company’s existing shared storage network to form a complete, “tapeless” workflow extending from creative editorial to final delivery.

One of the leading providers of film transfer and colour correction services in the Midwest, Optimus conducted an extensive evaluation of Baselight before committing to the purchase. “We brought in a Baselight FOUR for a demo and it was extremely successful,” said Optimus Director of Operations Knox McCormac. “Set up was accomplished in half a day. Our senior colourist, Craig Leffel, was able to begin using the system after just two days of training and was doing jobs on it within two weeks.”

McCormac added that they were also pleased by FilmLight’s commitment to service. “We’ve really been impressed that the developers and management are so open and motivated to listening to us,” he said. “There’s a lot we’ve wanted out of a colour correction system that just hasn’t been possible in hardware based systems.”

Baselight’s support for nonlinear colour correction, resolution independence and, most especially, the creative freedom it provides, make it ideally suited to the commercial work that constitutes more than 90 percent of Optimus’ business.

“We can configure the workspace to serve any request our client’s give us” noted Leffel. “We can work simultaneously in a number of formats and create images that can have tremendous finesse and polishing, and those images will hold up in any standard from SD to 2K without us having to re-work the images for each format. That allows us to focus on the creative aspects of what we do and have zero compromise.”

Leffel, who is also a partner in Optimus, said that he is most impressed by Baselight’s toolset, which provides creative flexibility lacking in hardware-based colour correctors. “For years, I’ve been limited to circles and squares,” Leffel noted. “Baselight enables me to work in a more organic way. I can trace a person or a horizon for individualized treatment.”

Additionally, Baselight makes it easy to create multiple versions of a commercial, Leffel said, saving time that can be applied to the creative aspects of his work. The ability to colour commercials in cut order is also a time-saving and creative boon. “To see it, play it and colour it in context is very powerful,” he said. “I could not be more excited about this new way of working, the new tools and the new creative freedom that comes with them.”

Baselight EIGHT can grade images at resolutions up to 4K. Although the majority of Optimus’ commercial work finishes in standard definition (NTSC), the system’s capacity to handle high resolution imagery means it will continue to meet the company’s needs well into the future. “We’ve done more HD commercials this year than last year and we expect to be asked to work in many different resolutions in the coming months and years, including; HD, data, 2K, DI and film. Having Baselight, and talented artists in the chairs, we will be able to build new business in many of these areas.”

Optimus’ Baselight EIGHT includes FilmLight’s innovative Blackboard control surface whose powerful functions simplify complex grades and effects. The system also features 24TB of native storage (with a capacity to go up to 48TB) and will be linked directly to Optimus’ Autodesk Stone Shared Storage Network, which provides an additional 20TB of shared storage and allows the facility’s editorial, visual effects and graphics departments to have immediate access to colour graded imagery.

“From Baselight, we will be able to export our renders to the SAN,” observed McCormac. “All of our other rooms will then be able to use that data without ever going to tape.”

Optimus recently completed commercials for Sears, Altoids, Taco Bell, Nintendo and Toyota.

Contact – Deepa Parbhoo ([email protected]) +44 20 7292 0400

About Optimus

Optimus is a full service post production facility based in Chicago. From creative off-line editing through on-line editing, Optimus covers every phase of the commercial production process, including film transfers, colour correction, visual effects and audio mixing. The company offers 601 and HDTV video services as well as DVD mastering and authoring, website development, animatic editing, and broadcast design. Optimus also operates a creative editorial studio in Santa Monica, California. For more information, visit www.optimus.com.

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