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OpenColorIO tool from Into the Spider-Verse now open-source

The OpenColorIO tool from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is now available as an open-source program.

Brittany Vincent

February 14, 2019 2:20 PM

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Wondering how animators gave Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse its iconic look? it was achieved partly with OpenColorIO, which has now been opened up to the open source community.

The tool, which has been used to help create movies like Hotel Transylvania 3, Alice in Wonderland, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, is now available as an open source option for others to use and enhance their own movies with. It has become the Academy Software Foundation's second project, an open source association lead by the Linux Foundation.

With the contribution of OpenColorIO to the Academy Software Foundation, Sony Pictures Imageworks is looking to encourage the community to use the tool and help expand it beyond what it's currently capable of, which if you've seen Into the Spider-Verse, you're aware that's a lot.

The Academy Software Foundation was founded back in August 2018 as part of an effort to get open source software development going in Hollywood. Its founding members include Epic Games, Cisco, DreamWorks, Autodesk, Google Cloud, Intel, Walt Disney Studios, Foundry, and more. Sony Pictures Imageworks was one of the latest companies to join as of last fall, and now that OpenColorIO is available, people will have several opportunities to make their work sparkle.

“We want to contribute OpenColorIO back to the community that relies on it, and the Academy Software Foundation is the natural fit,” said Sony Pictures Imageworks vice president Michael Ford. “The developers and companies that use it every day will guide the project roadmap, starting with the features and release cadence for the new 2.0 version.”

Check out the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse for a look at what OpenColorIO can do. Even if you're not a big Spidey fan, you've got to admit the technique is definitely impressive. Lots of creators could certainly benefit from this tool.

Brittany Vincent

Senior Editor

Fueled by horror, rainbow-sugar-pixel-rushes, and video games, Brittany is a Senior Editor at Shacknews who thrives on surrealism and ultraviolence. Follow her on Twitter @MolotovCupcake and check out her portfolio for more. Like a fabulous shooter once said, get psyched!