The Foundry announces first OpenFX project

Leading visual effects developer The Foundry has announced the completion of the first OpenFX project.
An open API for visual effects software, OpenFX has been used in conjunction with FilmLight’s Baselight grading and finishing system by German VFX facility, Optical Art to work on an independent film, ‘The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes’.
Set in the late nineteenth century, The Piano Tuner Of Earthquakes is a dark, strange love story where the look and feel of the film is as important to the tale as the narrative. However, having been shot in HD, when it got to post it was decided that the resolution was too sharp for the required atmosphere of the overall film.
Frank Hellman, Digital Intermediate Supervisor, Optical Art, said: “OpenFX is not just an idea anymore, it is in use in the real world today and with the greatly appreciated help of The Foundry and FilmLight, we have completed a full length feature film that had at least half of the entire footage (HD/2K) running through OFX plug-ins. It was a hair-raising venture for us in the beginning, but after seeing everything coming together in December it all worked out very well.”
Faced with weeks of processing, to soften the look before the VFX team could begin on the creative work, Hellman approached The Foundry to develop a specially designed plug-in to work with Baselight. As FilmLight had been an early supporter of OpenFX, The Foundry was able to quickly create a custom diffusion spark, producing a glow and anti-glow effect, to rectify the issue.
By running the project through Baselight, Hellman and his team were able to work on the footage during the grade. This was vital, as the HD shoot had also created a need for numerous colour changes as well. The operators were then able to move back and forth freely between shots applying the spark during the Baselight grading process, saving an astonishing six weeks in post.
Jonathan Barson, MD, The Foundry, concluded: “As FilmLight is a great advocate of OpenFX we were able to respond very quickly to Optical Art’s requirements and produce the software that they needed. This project is a perfect example of the rationale behind the development of our open API and we look forward to continuing our expansion of Open FX to other companies within the industry.”
(GB)