Inside an ACES pipeline

How a consistent colour pipeline keeps CG, plates and the final grade in agreement — and why it matters long before delivery.

1 min readBy Nora Lindqvist
Camera operator framing a shot on a cinema camera monitor

Colour problems rarely show up where they are created. A CG asset lit in the wrong colour space can look perfect on an artist’s monitor and fall apart in the grade weeks later.

One colour space, end to end

We ingest plates, render CG and composite in a single scene-linear working space, and view everything through the same output transform the DI will use. When a shot leaves us, the colourist receives exactly what our artists saw.

What we ask for at turnover

  • Camera raw or log plates with the correct input transform documented.
  • Your show LUT or CDLs, plus a few graded reference frames.
  • The delivery specification from the studio or streamer.

Why it saves time

When everyone agrees on colour, notes are about the picture rather than the pipeline. Artists stop chasing mismatches and spend their time on the work that will actually be seen.

Portrait of Nora Lindqvist
Written by

Nora Lindqvist

Nora leads the compositing department and looks after colour pipeline, plate prep and the final look of every frame.

Have a shot that seems impossible?

Send us your script, storyboard or rough cut. We reply within one working day with questions or a first bid.

Studio
3290 Albert Street
Canberra 5311