Local Hero use Bluefish444 for 4K Netflix Content Creation
21 April, 2017
California-based digital intermediate and feature finishing company, Local Hero, have been part of the feature film industry since 2006. With over 120 prestige indie credits such as Captain Fantastic, Dope and Pitch Perfect, Local Hero has been innovating in their field for over 10 years, specialising in making digital films of any budget look their best.
Local Hero use ASSIMILATE SCRATCH on many of their feature and VR projects. SCRATCH offers content creators a seamless combination of colour-correction and VFX in VR and DI workflows. Tools like SCRATCH ensure that Local Hero are always on the bleeding edge of what technology is capable of, while keeping them one step ahead in the market.
Steve Bannerman, CEO of Local Hero, explains that when they were looking to push into the 4K feature film market, they weighed up their video hardware options carefully. In need of a solution that would meet the stringent 10-bit and 12-bit IMF requirements of folks like Netflix and HBO, Bluefish444 became the most cost effective and highest quality choice. Support for their rapidly evolving 4K UHD high dynamic range (HDR) and high frame rate (HFR) projects was an added bonus.
Local Hero chose the Bluefish444 Epoch | 4K Supernova S+ I/O video card because it provided vital 4K 3G-SDI capabilities, complete with four channels of I/O, allowing for additional monitoring when required. Another key consideration was Bluefish444’s extensive integration with SCRATCH, leveraging Local Hero’s close relationship with ASSIMILATE.
“Local Hero has built our reputation on leading the industry in DI, VFX and mastering”, said Bannerman. “Our relationships with clients like Netflix, HBO, Amazon and YouTube Red have demanded that we constantly push the envelope in 4K and HDR deliveries. After evaluating our options, the Epoch | 4K Supernova S+ really met our requirements. We love Bluefish444 because they are highly regarded in the industry for their quality and reliability, and their support is fantastic.”
Using the output preview capability of the Epoch | 4K Supernova S+, the12-bit pixel processing pipeline engine available in all Bluefish444 video cards, as well as a 10-bit TVLogic 4K monitor, Local Hero ensures all their high-end projects are finished to the best possible quality. Local Hero relies on perfect pixel-by-pixel representation of their content, so they can always trust that what they see on their TV Logic SDI monitor is exactly what audiences will see.
Bannerman comments that another benefit of using Bluefish444 hardware is the ability to handle IMF packaging tools, “The ability to use our preferred IMF package format with our preferred I/O card is a huge advantage, and something that puts another tick into the Bluefish444 column.”
