Image Engine uses the Bluefish444 HD 10 Bit Cineon workflow
30 th May 2004.
Image engine required
a 10 bit uncompressed Cineon file format workflow solution.
We needed a tool to digitize HD material to the Cineon file
format and export it back to tape frame accurately. Preferably,
we needed an I/O solution compatible with our existing Windows
visual effects applications.
We began by purchasing
a HD|Fury video card from Bluefish444 after National Association
of Broadcasters in April 2003. We built our own hardware,
customized to our requirements based on the hardware specifications
certified on the Bluefish444 website. This ability to “design” our
own workstation has shown to be a huge cost saver compared
to other systems.
We waited a short while for Bluefish444
to release Symmetry, a free 10 bit RGB/YUV capture and
playback utility compatible with the HD | Fury. We captured
HD material frame accurately via Symmetry, utilizing the
10 bit RGB Cineon file format, directly from our Sony HD-CAM
HDW-F500.
Our visual effects and compositing application
of choice is Digital Fusion from Eyeon, which is supported
directly by the HD | Fury. The Digital Fusion and HD | Fury
combination allowed us to utilize 10 bit frame buffer modes
instead of 8 bit which is extremely important to us as
the image quality is maintained at 10 bit from the original
source.
One of the coolest features of the Digital Fusion and HD
| Fury combination has been the ability to view an output
in HD or SD SDI from anywhere in a Digital Fusion workflow.
Once the effects were assembled, we previewed the composites
in real time on a broadcast monitor via the HD | Fury.
After we rendered our
final composites from Digital Fusion into the Cineon file
format, we again turned to Symmetry to frame accurately
print the final shots to tape in readiness for editing
and finishing.
We have used this workflow time and again
since purchasing the Bluefish444 HD | Fury. Movies completed
using this process include; Scooby Too, X-men2, Blade 3 and
I-Robot. Our current projects using the above workflow include;
Kingdom Hospital, Dead Like Me and Stargate SG1.
About Image
Engine
Image engine design inc. was founded in 1995 by
a group of partners intent on generating a niche visual effects
house which put quality above all else in its pursuit for
success. The formula has proved to be a mantra for the
group of artists who work there and call it home. Its core
business has concentrated on producing visual effects for
a multitude of "A" list television series establishing
relationships with some of the best studios and visual
effects supervisors in North America. The rewards for their
recent efforts include 5 "Emmy" nominations a "Visual
Effects Society" nomination for outstanding character
animation and a "Gemini" win.
Recent expansion has taken the company into the film sector working on productions
including "XMen2", "I Robot", "Scooby
Doo2" and "Blade
3". Working out of their newly constructed studio in beautiful Vancouver
the team at Image Engine focuses on delivering work beyond client expectations
and tackling projects that inspire and challenge its most prized resource,
its crew.
Robin Hackl,
Visual Effects Supervisor
Director
http://www.image-engine.com