Given the evolution and dependency on digital technology over the past decade, it’s arguable that color correction software has become the most powerful toolset in the post-production cycle. ‘We can fix it in post’ means that day can swiftly turn to night with a few keystrokes, and dull lighting can be manipulated into a moody-toned masterpiece.

No company is more responsible for putting those digital arrows in the quivers of cinematographers and colorists than Coral Springs, FL-based da Vinci Systems, which will receive this year’s Deluxe Outstanding Technical Achievement Award at the Banff fest. Its color correction systems are instrumental in enhancing imagery for major episodics including 24, Desperate Housewives, Lost, Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy, to name only a few. On the big screen, da Vinci has had a hand in the unique look of numerous Hollywood hits including The Departed, War of the Worlds and Capote.

The manufacturer has even branched out into film preservation and recovery, having recently partnered with the Chinese government and Hualong Film Digital, based in Beijing, on a project called China Film Archive. The goal is to use a combination of 2K Plus, da Vinci’s color correction software, and its restoration toolkit Revival to clean up 5,000 films over the next 10 years.

‘A lot of the changes that we’ve gone through have really paralleled the television and film industry,’ says da Vinci VP and GM Bill Robertson, of his company’s 25-year history. ‘But the real breakthrough came when we got to the digital domain, where we could manipulate in digital component. Then you move from the digital component in standard def and on into high definition. And now into greater resolutions – like 4K.’

Technicolor recently posted Spider-Man 3 using a da Vinci 4K workflow, but Robertson notes that, at least for the foreseeable future, most producers will be content with 2K. That’s not to say da Vinci won’t be ready should David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) or James Cameron (Avatar) want to fine tune their upcoming CG stories in 6K or even 8K.

‘We’re proud that we’re aligned in an industry that’s dynamic and has such a great impact – that we had a hand in bringing someone’s vision to a host of people,’ says Robertson.

Past winners of the Deluxe-sponsored award include Silicon Graphics, Avid Technology and, last year, Quantel. Robertson will accept the award on behalf of da Vinci at the fest’s annual Awards Luncheon on June 11.