One of the significant problems impeding the digital intermediate workflow is the challenge of keeping colors consistent and predictable across various platforms. Just as edit decisions were made portable through edit decision lists (EDLs), the same is needed for color information.
The American Society of Cinematographers has come to the rescue. The ASC's imaging gurus are working to standardize color information and document it in a color decision list (CDL). This data would then ensure color consistency as digital files move among various software applications and through different post-production facilities.
Achieving easier cross-platform color compatibility would streamline the process, allowing DPs to create a color recipe that can be easily interpreted as digital files move about the system.
The CDL issue will be the hot topic next month. On April 16, it will be addressed at the Beverly Hills Film Festival when several ASC members and post-production executives participate in a panel called “The Rise of Hybrid Cinematography.”
Beginning at 5:00 p.m., the session will feature ASC cinematographers Allen Daviau, Daryn Okada, Nancy Schreiber, and Kees Van Oostrum. They will be accompanied by digital colorists Mike Sowa of LaserPacific, Stefan Sonnenfeld of Company 3, and Jill Bogdanowicz of Technicolor Digital Intermediates.
And on April 23, at NAB 2006 in Las Vegas, Color Management-Searching for a New Common Language will be held at 2:15 p.m. in Room S222 of the LVCC. This panel will explore why it's important to have a universal language for communicating the color and contrast of digital imagery. Participants will examine what this open standard should look like and what information it must contain, specifically addressing the ASC's proposed CDL.
For more information, visit http://www.beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com and
http://www.nabshow.com.