Anyone closely following activity within the borders of Marvel has surely noticed the buzz caused by the film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Besides being nominated for an Oscar, the masterminds at Sony have already confirmed a sequel and a spin-off, but they also did something more: they completely released the OpenColorIO software used in the production of the film. This color management system was already freely accessible; however, it now belongs to the Academy Software Foundation, and it is expected to have a much broader reach.
One of the most interesting aspects of animated cinema is learning about the techniques and digital resources that the industry applies. Fluidity, realism, precision, texture, color... thanks to notable improvements in software and processing power, experts can achieve things that just a couple of decades ago were impossible, or cost a real fortune. Of course, that doesn't mean current films are cheap. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs cost $100 million. Hotel Transylvania 3 required $80 million, and the recent Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse stood at $90 million. These three films have two more details in common besides the high budget. On one hand, they belong to Sony, and on the other, they were processed with OpenColorIO software... which you can download today.
OpenColorIO joins the Academy Software Foundation
That's right, Sony Pictures Imageworks decided to complete the release of OpenColorIO, its color management system. This software is now the second high-profile project in the Academy Software Foundation, an association that includes the Linux Foundation, Sony, Pixar, Disney, Warner, Intel, Google, and other giants. Its goal is to stimulate and expand the use of open source tools within the film industry, and to serve as a neutral forum to solve some of the most important technical challenges. OpenColorIO (also known as OCIO) has accumulated more than 15 years of development, and although Sony already offered it without restrictions under a modified BSD license, joining the foundation will enable a leap in quality, and greater contribution from the community.
The only asterisk on OpenColorIO's record is that the existence of binaries is not particularly abundant. The official site explains that Fedora, RHEL (with yum) and macOS (via homebrew) have ready-to-use copies, but the rest will have to compile, and that extends to Windows. In other words, you have to get your hands a little dirty, and as difficult as it may be, the possibility of accessing a professional tool of such caliber is worth the effort.
Official site: Click here
