Image Engine uses the Bluefish444 HD 10 Bit Cineon workflow
30 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.
