Lightworks

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Lightworks

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Basic data

developer Edit share
Publishing year 1988
Current  version 14.5
( October 17, 2018 )
operating system Microsoft Windows , macOS , Linux
category Non-linear video editing
License Freemium
German speaking No
www.lwks.com

Lightworks is a professional video editing program that is used for editing and mastering movies in 2K and 4K as well as television productions in PAL , NTSC and HD in 2D and 3D. Lightworks is one of the pioneers in computer-based film editing and has been in development since 1989. Numerous internationally known and Oscar-winning feature films, including Martin Scorsese's Departed , Mission: Impossible , Shutter Island , Pulp Fiction , Braveheart and Batman , were cut on Lightworks. According to the manufacturer's announcement, the commercially available program was to be released as open source on November 29, 2011 , but shortly before the planned release, this project was postponed indefinitely. Lightworks is available in a highly limited, free free version and a paid Pro version for Windows, macOS and Linux.

history

The development of Lightworks began in England around 1988/1989. The design of the software was created by film editors and implemented by programmers. This approach differentiated the editing system from other pioneers of non-linear video editing such as Adobe or Avid , which at the time were largely designed by programmers and technicians, and resulted, among other things, in the fact that the operating concept of Lightworks is still more closely related to classic film editing methods such as the Steenbeck cutting table leans against the typical computer methods such as file dialogs.

Right from the start, the system also supported specially designed hardware controllers and control panels, which are modeled on the classic control panels of editing tables and TV mixers and thus accelerate work with the system compared to the sole use of mouse and keyboard. However, these additions are optional to this day.

In the 1990s, the system quickly spread, especially in the production of American and English feature films with very high budgets. Due to numerous aspects, including the very high purchase price, Lightworks was much less popular outside of Hollywood and cinema production than the most successful co-providers, who focused their products much more on the technically much less demanding and at the same time larger TV market.

In 1994, Lightworks was acquired by Tektronix , a provider of also very high-priced video and film products. In 1999, after the NLE market grew, the management of Lightworks bought the rights to the Tektronix software again, and Lightworks again operated independently as Lightworks inc. Cooperation, distribution and sales followed, including to Fairlight , but most users of Lightworks remained mostly in the "high-end" niche of feature film production, largely for cinema - although the functionality for TV production was constantly expanded.

In 2009, Lightworks was bought by the American company EditShare, which specializes in products for networking editing systems from all manufacturers for TV and cinema.

In April 2010 it was announced that the release of Lightworks as open source was intended. This promise was not kept, Lightworks is still closed source, although Editshare sometimes advertises the program as open source for marketing purposes.

Since April 2010, Lightworks was in the beta test phase, the end of which was scheduled for November 29, 2010. According to Editshare, around 1,700 developers (companies and individuals) and over 250,000 users registered during this period. The stable version 14 for Windows, OS X and Linux is currently available for download.

service

Lightworks can be operated with a keyboard and mouse; professional users often use a keyboard with colored keys. The internal database is designed so that working quickly and safely is possible even with extremely large projects. Network solutions are available for use in working groups such as TV broadcasters, which make it possible to access image and sound material, cuts and effects simultaneously from several editing stations.

To enable editors who have not yet used Lightworks to work effectively and quickly, a keyboard layout compatible with Avid or Final Cut Pro can be loaded.

Very successful editors, such as Thelma Schoonmaker , who won the Oscar for Best Editing with Lightworks and edited many of Martin Scorsese's films, or Chris Gill , whose editing work includes 28 Weeks Later , repeatedly publicly emphasize the advantages of using Lightworks have moved.

Functions

Lightworks offers editors a very extensive range of functions.

cut

  • Resolution, format and codec-independent editing
  • Frame rates: 23.976, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 60 and free fps, 2D and 3D
  • Multi-camera cut with any number of camera sources
  • Sound and editing sync management with resynchronization functions
  • Match frames for master clips, subclips, and subclip master clips

Trimming

  • Ripple, roll, slip and slide, lift and ripple, asymmetrical multitrack trimming
  • JKL trimming, also dynamic
  • Trimming via trim window and in the timeline
  • Trimming via keyboard, mouse, numeric and controller
  • Find and close gaps

Film and cinema functions

The processing of images and sounds recorded with digital cinema cameras or with 35 mm and 70 mm film cameras for presentation in the cinema requires very specific tools. In particular, film material scanned in the copier and sources rotated by RAW require atypical functionality for file and video-based editing. Since Lightworks is traditionally used primarily in this segment, the software offers unusually comprehensive tools for this purpose, including:

  • Direct import of 35mm film scans ( DPX ) and REDraw, with support for 35mm 3-perf, 35mm 4-perf, 16mm-20 and mixed film formats
  • Change lists, timecode and keycode, also in the same list
  • Frames, keycode, ink, film data and foot display, for picture and sound, and their display as a video overlay
  • ALE, FLX, and CSV for EDL, also 24fps
  • Output Cut List, Change List, Optical List, Pull List, Dupe List, Audio EDL

Effects

Classic editing suites were and are often used “only” for editing content. Even today, many editing systems use other software to create effects. However, since the end of the 1990s, the trend has been increasing that, in particular for more demanding formats, such as advertising, feature films or high-quality image films, all effects are edited in parallel to the master. In this case, the industry jargon of film and TV production typically does not speak of “editing”, but instead of “on-line” and “finishing”. The boundaries are fluid: different manufacturers position their products either as a cutting or finishing system by reducing functionality with the same software. A typical example of this is the manufacturer Avid , which markets the same software as a finishing system called “Symphony” and “only” as the Media Composer editing system with slightly reduced functionality . Lightworks began in 1989 as a pure editing system and was then massively expanded in the effects area in the 2000s, and today offers numerous finishing functions for effects, such as

  • Keyframe editor
  • Real-time effects in SD, HD and 2K (film)
  • Copy and paste for effects and attributes on single or multiple clips
  • Alpha channel , also for apertures
  • Transfer modes in the timeline
  • Support of plug-ins (including Adobe )
  • Global and local effects and transitions
  • Speed ​​Tool for Varispeeds
  • Node-based effect and layer tool
  • Bezier curves, with editable paths and curves
  • Comprehensive 2D and 3D DVE
  • SafeArea for positioning and title, also SD / HD combined

Dedicated VFX systems such as Combustion or Nuke offer even more functionality than finishing systems such as Avid DS, Autodesk Smoke or Lightworks, but cannot cut in real time. The finishing systems are designed to meet the typical requirements as quickly as possible with high quality, dedicated VFX systems, on the other hand, are typically designed for maximum complexity and functionality, and real-time capability and processing speed are of secondary importance.

Color correction

In addition to effects, another step in making masters is color correction , which is used both technically and creatively. For this purpose, Lightworks offers the classic high-quality functions, such as primary real-time color correction with shadow, center, and peak separation and secondary real-time color correction. However, all finishing systems do not quite achieve the performance of dedicated digital intermediate color correction systems. In addition to numerous color filters, there is also a special filter in the range of functions for the production of TV broadcast masters to ensure that colors and brightnesses can be broadcast.

Tools and external devices

In order to enable an editing suite to produce technically correct and broadcast-capable masters, external additional devices were originally required, such as image measurement technology. Many of these have recently been implemented internally by the software itself, due to the increased performance of computer technology. Improvements in ergonomics and thus the working speed, for example in the audio area, are increasingly being operated fully or partially computerized, for example mixing console and jog shuttle.

  • Real-time vectorscope and waveform monitor with measurement technology precision
  • Level displays for all channels
  • Multitrack and real-time mixer in software and hardware, with bus routing, submixes, management of multiple mixes and automation of optional external mixers
  • Voice-over for sound recording via microphone directly into the timeline
  • Optional jog shuttle hardware controller for the cut

volume

  • Audio is field-accurate (1/100 frame)
  • Audio mixing in real time
  • 16 input and 16 output channels each
  • OMF support, with level and panorama
  • Real-time tone normalization
  • On-screen mixer and / or connected external mixer with fader automation
  • Keyframe support with additional functions such as keyframe reduction
  • Real-time tone filters and effects
  • Mixed bit rates and sampling frequencies on timelines
  • Level displays for all channels
  • Panorama , mute and solo
  • Display the audio waveforms

program

  • Real-time SD, HD and 2K playback (may require additional hardware from manufacturers such as Blackmagic or Aja)
  • Several timelines can be used at the same time
  • Optional unlimited undo
  • Unlimited image and effect tracks
  • Complete Unicode support
  • No loading / saving, all changes are saved immediately in the database
  • User-definable keyboard layout and interface layout, with default settings for Avid and FCP keyboard layouts

Media management

Media management is a rather unimportant functionality for simple editing tasks. However, the larger, longer and more extensive editing projects become, the more important it becomes. Since the roots of the Lightworks software lie in the use for feature film productions, the system offers very extensive database and media management functions, including

  • Media management for moving, copying and consolidating media on a cut and project basis
  • Comprehensive search, sorting and manipulation of the project database
  • Master and subclips, also across multiple projects and cuts
  • Reconnecting media files
  • EDL import for batch capture and metadata exchange
  • Batch export
  • networked work at several stations

Support of external programs and plug-ins

The system offers integration or interfaces to external programs (e.g. BorisFX , After Effects , Digital Fusion) for the creation of complex VFX and titles or simply for the division of labor between several people .

Formats and input / output

In the late 1980s there were comparatively few formats that were used to produce cuts: typically over 90% of all cuts were made using the BetacamSP format or directly from film. In the course of the following three decades, however, a large number of different formats emerged, many of which are also manufacturer-specific. The Lightworks system supports many of them, and also by means of different input and output methods (such as tape, file, HD-SDI interfaces). For example, are available

  • Uncompressed 10-bit and 8-bit HD and SD (4: 2: 2 YUV) with suitable card, HD-SDI and SDI i / o
  • Avid DNxHD (220, 185, 145, 120, 45, 36)
  • Apple ProRes (play)
  • RED R3D
  • Native DV, including HDV, DV, DVCAM, DVCPRO, DVCPRO 50, and DVCPRO HD, including 1080i 50/60, 1080p 24/25/30, 720p 24/25/30/50/60
  • Native AVC Intra playback for AVC intra-100 and 50 at 1080p 24/25/30, 50/60 1080i, 720p 24/25/30/50/60
  • XDCAM (PRO422, EX, HD, Sony and JVC), 50, 25, 18, 35Mbit, and depending on the format 1080p 24/25/30, 1080i 50/60, 720p 24/25/30/50/60
  • IMX playback (30, 40, and 50 Mbps)
  • Panasonic P2 , 1080p 24/25/30, 1080i 50/60 and 720p 24 / 24N / 25 / 25N / 30/50/60 / VFR
  • Telecine 29.97i to 24p pulldown conversion
  • 30fps / 25fps import into 24fps projects
  • Tape control via RS-422 and RS-232 with frame-accurate log, captures, insert and assemble
  • FireWire device control
  • Log and capture with batch, clip, and direct recording
  • Single image sequences can be imported from DPX, BMP, TARGA, JPEG, GIF, PSD, TIFF, DPX, JP2, MacPaint, Photoshop, PICT, QT Image, SGI, and PNG
  • Broadcast Wave Format sound with drop and non-drop frame timecode
  • Import and export of QuickTime , AAF , OMF I, OMF II and MDA

Popular movies and users

Numerous successful and popular directors and film editors work with Lightworks. a. Guy Ritchie , Danny Boyle , Miloš Forman , Peter Weir , Quentin Tarantino , Brian De Palma , Joel Schumacher and Gus Van Sant . Accordingly, numerous popular films have been cut on the system in the more than 20-year history of Lightworks, for example Shutter Island , The Departed , The Good Shepherd , Bruce Almighty , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , Aviator , Jack, Queen, King, grass , Moulin Rouge , 28 Days Later , Larry Flynt - The Naked Truth , Pleasantville , William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet , The Truman Show , Pulp Fiction , Mrs. Doubtfire - The Prickly Nanny , Gangs of New York , Notting Hill , Braveheart , Batman Forever , Good Will Hunting , The Horse Whisperer , Mission: Impossible , The King's Speech or Goodfellas .

Alternatives

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.lwks.com . (English, accessed May 13, 2020).
  2. ↑ a b c Technical Specifications . (English, accessed July 28, 2018).
  3. ↑ lightworks public beta. with registration for the freeware download . lightworks, accessed December 4, 2011 .
  4. ↑ Free video editing software will be updated a little later. golem.de, accessed on December 4, 2011 .
  5. ↑ Comparison of the versions at lwks.com, accessed on January 30, 2014 (English).
  6. ↑ lightworks. Retrieved April 4, 2013 .
  7. ^ Oscar prizewinner Thelma Schoonmaker: Thelma Schoonmaker wins Oscar editing on Lightworks . (No longer available online.) Www.interlab-net.com, archived from the original on July 24, 2014 ; Retrieved December 4, 2011 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.interlab-net.com
  8. ^ CC: top editors describe a powerful editing tool being unleashed on the public . creativecow.net, accessed December 4, 2011 .
  9. ↑ Lightworks range of functions: List of features . edithare, accessed December 4, 2011 .
  10. ↑ Lightworks references: lightworks references . edithare, accessed December 4, 2011 .