IRIDAS releases SpeedGrade

IRIDAS has released SpeedGrade, a new approach to color correction that allows real time primary and secondary correction of 2K frame sequences at any point in postproduction -- or even on-set.

Users can now get an accurate impression of the finished film, long before the completed work is rendered out.

SpeedGrade attaches XML-based color correction parameters to sequence playlists. It records information about the correction rather than the correction itself. This non-destructive process preserves original color depth and reduces storage requirements making it easy to export color information to asset management, compositing, and editing applications. Once the color correction work is finished, SpeedGrade allows users to render the frames to disk for final output.

SpeedGrade's architecture is completely open: colorists can create their own grading algorithms and load them easily. Even SpeedGrade's user interface is fully customizable. It supports layering of multiple grading algorithms with no loss in playback performance. The open XML-based parameter exchange architecture also allows artists to work with their existing node-based compositing systems to give compositors real time feedback.

SpeedGrade runs on a regular PC workstation and does not require proprietary hardware. It supports the Microsoft Windows 2000/XP and LINUX operating systems. An Apple Mac OS X version will be released next year 2004. The application comes in two packages: SpeedGrade RAM uses RAM-buffering playback technology and is suitable for individual workstations or even on-site laptops. SpeedGrade RT uses a disk-based playback engine for use with uncompressed, film resolution sequences of unlimited length.