IRIDAS Releases
SpeedGrade OnSet 2007

Extended Integration Offers Options for Any Production Pipeline

Munich: December 21, 2007 ... IRIDAS, who introduced the first non-destructive color grading application in 2003, announced the release of SpeedGrade OnSet 2007 today. The new version of IRIDAS' look creation application adds live controls for the Cine-tal display, support for the Tangent BK200 trackball panel, a new FrameCycler launch button for instant playback of sequences with grading applied, and greatly enhanced secondary grading tools. Combined with the ability to output both SpeedGrade .Look files and third-party LUTs, SpeedGrade OnSet 2007 offers a complete solution for developing and communicating creative looks.

"With SpeedGrade OnSet, grading becomes a part of the design process during production," said cinematographer Reinier van Brummelen, who recently completed principal photography on Peter Greenaway's Nightwatching. "I can be much more adventurous with lighting, for example, since I have a good idea of what the final product will look like. That is what really excites me - and the people I work with - about SpeedGrade OnSet."

Peter Greenway's Nightwatching

The ability to test shots with different looks during production came in handy on Nightwatching. "The director wanted the film to have a brownish look to give it the feel of a Rembrandt painting. With SpeedGrade OnSet I could nail it right there and get exactly what he wanted."

SpeedGrade OnSet's Cine-tal display integration provides a complete monitoring and look management workflow. In this configuration, SpeedGrade OnSet grabs frames directly from the Cine-tal display. The frames are used to create, test, or modify looks. The resulting .Look file is sent back to the Cinemage display via the network and applied to the live HD-SDI stream. From there, SpeedGrade OnSet's new live controls allow the user to fine-tune the look further from their laptop while watching the results in the calibrated Cinemage display. All changes are saved automatically in the .Look file.

Van Brummelen uses SpeedGrade OnSet together with the Cine-tal display to review shots and test looks during production. "If I'm shooting with a Viper camera, this workflow is really essential so I can see what I am doing." In Reinier van Brummelen's experience, that can save a lot of time. "I just did a shoot with a famous fashion designer. He really liked the look but we told him we weren't sure if the agency would go for it. He told us not to worry: he'd tell them to use it. Once you can actually see the look it is much, much easier to get everyone on board."

In addition to Cine-tal support, SpeedGrade OnSet 2007 works with a variety of film recorders, including the S.Two and is integrated into the viewfinder of the Silicon Imaging 2K camera. "No application offers anything like the interoperability of SpeedGrade OnSet 2007," said Patrick Palmer, COO of IRIDAS. "Along with hardware support, the ability to export all of the common LUT formats means that SpeedGrade OnSet works really well in virtually any production workflow."

SpeedGrade OnSet 2007 runs on Mac OS X (10.4 and higher) and Windows XP laptops and workstations. SpeedGrade OnSet 2007 costs $599 USD per seat and is available for sale or trial. For more information, contact IRIDAS at +49 89 330 35 142, IRIDAS USA at (818) 951-8927, or visit www.speedgrade.com.

About IRIDAS
IRIDAS pioneered desktop film-resolution playback in 2001. Its FrameCycler products are now the industry standard for frame-based image review. In 2003 IRIDAS introduced the first non-destructive color correction application. Today SpeedGrade and FrameCycler provide the critical links in an end-to-end pipeline for uncompressed content and color metadata. IRIDAS' applications are used by filmmakers around the world and most major animation and postproduction houses. IRIDAS is an independent, privately held company headquartered in Munich, Germany. For more information, visit www.iridas.com.