Softimage|ds, the long-awaited and all-encompassing nt online environment from the 3D software giant, has been in beta since early this year, and if reports from beta testers like Calgary’s White Iron Digital prove conclusive, the system has the potential to affect the way post is approached on a number of levels.

ds, from Montreal-based and Microsoft-owned Softimage, incorporates tools for picture and audio editing, special effects, compositing and project management through one interface. The system allows a number of integrated tool sets to be used on a project in progress from one site, which may impact the way post is billed, the skill sets of digital artists and the configuration of post shops.

White Iron Digital is among 30 beta sites worldwide using the new system. The facility is a component of White Iron, which turns out an array of low- to high-end commercials, corporate videos and long-form tv work. White Iron was established under the cfcn umbrella and became an independent production entity this summer.

Start-to-finish system

The man responsible for bringing ds into the shop and orchestrating its use and integration into the facility is Jeff August, who joined White Iron in June as a partner and to spearhead the development of its post arm.

August, who has an extensive post background in u.s. and Canadian broadcast, is one of the few people who can lay claim to the honor of being both a Calgary native and a double Emmy Award winner.

According to August, ds is a start-to-finish system that could ‘change the playing field of post-production.’

Softimage began developing what was originally code-named Digital Studio over four years ago. Digital Studio was developed for the Windows nt platform as a comprehensive post solution that could handle uncompressed or compressed D1 resolution video (ITU-R-601) and could provide a range of tools to accommodate changes at any point in the post process.

The system is aimed at the commercial, video and long-form tv market and can be used as a standalone solution or as part of a collaborative environment.

ds features realtime audio mixing and effects on eight channels, a range of 2D and 3D effects, compositing on unlimited layers, color correction, vector-based paint system with animateable and editable brush strokes, free-form title placement, and editing and content management capabilities.

The Softimage Software Developers Kit allows plug-ins and tools sets to be created by users and third-party developers for integration into the ds environment. A number of vendors, including Ultimatte, 5D and The Foundry, have announced the future availability of ds plug-ins.

Softimage is scheduled to begin shipping ds this month, priced at about us$100,000. The first release of ds will be a turnkey system which includes software, an Intergraph StudioZ dual Pentium ii system for Softimage ds with 30 minutes of uncompressed storage, and training and support for a limited time.

White Iron has been a beta site since August and the system operates as one of the facility’s four editing and animation rooms.

‘White Iron is a fully networked nonlinear D1-capable post-production facility,’ says August. The shop runs a number of packages on four workstations, two with full online capabilities and access to editing, compositing, paint and effects software, including Adobe After Effects and Illuminaire. The company runs d Vision 3.5 in one online room with 120 gb storage; an emc offline edit suite occupies another room, with 3D applications, including Lightwave and 3D Studio in a third room and ds in a fourth.

‘Dynamite box’

‘For the first time, ds has given us the ability to do nonlinear editing together with all the tools we’re familiar with,’ says August. ‘And the system is customizeable.’ For instance, he says, if an editor is accustomed to using an Avid or a Sony 9100 edit controller, the keyboard can be adapted accordingly.

While the beta incarnation of ds at White Iron is not a realtime system, August says the benefits and processing speed of the system are enough to compensate. ‘I would still opt for a non-realtime system with faster processing. If I can process a two-second dissolve in three seconds, that’s pretty fast.’

The nonlinear side of the system provides the shop with ‘everything we need,’ says August. But what takes it to the next level, he says, is that instantly, or in the middle of an edit, if a special effect or a composite is needed, ‘or you’re not sure what you want to do with the shot but you need to do something with it,’ the user can instantly drop into the paint section or another part of the program by clicking on the appropriate icon.

‘From there you can choose from an endless amount of effects or paint strokes or titling or animation,’ says August. ‘Because everything is key-frameable and everything is animateable, there is really no shortage of ideas. As an artist, I can sit on this box and come up with 15 or 20 new looks quickly, and in the middle of an edit. I’ve never been able to do that before.’

August points to the vector-based paint component as a significant advantage. ‘If, for example, I’ve painted on some text using a smear brush and I don’t like the way it’s come out, it’s not written in stone,’ he says. ‘You then just select the paint stroke and it gives all the control points and you just move them.’

It’s a ‘dynamite box,’ says August, who has explored a number of post solutions in his previous assignments evaluating editing systems for u.s. networks.

Playing field changed

Four years ago, August built Calgary’s first all D1 online post-production facility at the Spruce Meadows equestrian complex, which August says outputs a high volume – about 70 hours – of programming a year. Thereafter, August worked as a freelancer on a number of sporting events including the Lillehammer Olympics for cbs in 1994 and the Atlanta Olympics last year, both gigs earning him technical Emmys.

Declining an offer from cbs to head up the New York-based editing department for the upcoming Nagano Winter Olympics, August landed at White Iron.

‘I’ve had the opportunity to look at quite a few systems,’ says August, ‘and at its price point, ds really changes the playing field.’

With White Iron’s work on animation and special effects and station packages, August says ds is being used in the shop as a design tool for high-end animation and graphics. The company’s first test on the system was a series of 10 60-second national spots for the Dairy Nutrition Council of Alberta out of the Venture Group.

The impact systems like ds may have on post is still a guess, but August says as the industry begins to adopt this kind of technology, there could be changes in how projects are billed, with a blurring of lines between offline and online work.

White Iron itself is currently learning about how the business side will pan out, but things look good, says August. ‘I don’t think it will be much of a problem,’ he says, citing the expense of spending an hour on a high-end system like Flame and the opportunity with ds to provide a price advantage and functionality at once. ‘We’ve had some of the agencies through the room and they’re all excited to get on the box.’

A comprehensive system like ds could also have an impact on the talent behind the controls. ‘I don’t know who is going to assume the next role and drive the boxes like ds,’ says August. ‘Is it going to be the editor? Is it going to be the graphic designer? Is it going to be the 3D designer? I do all of those things. I think that’s what has made it easy for me to migrate to something like this.’

August, who also trains editors, says for someone with industry experience, the learning curve on ds isn’t that steep, but the essential ingredient remains talent. ‘You can’t train someone to be an artist,’ says August. ‘That’s what makes a successful shop – talent and people who want to make good tv.’