Lightworks

Not to be confused with the rendering (computer graphics) API called LightWorks from the UK company LightWork Design Ltd..

Lightworks

Lightworks Beta 10.0.3
Developer(s)	EditShare LLC
Initial release	1989
Stable release	1.3 / January 2009; 2 years ago (2009-01)
Preview release	Lightworks Beta 10.0.4 / April 7, 2011; 7 months ago (2011-04-07)
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, Linux (planned), Mac OS X (planned)
Size	41.77 MB
Available in	English
Type	Non-linear editing system
License	Open Core
Website	http://www.lightworksbeta.com/

Lightworks is an Oscar and Emmy award winning professional NLE system for editing and mastering of movies in 2K and 4K as well as television productions in PAL, NTSC and HD. Numerous internationally renowned and Oscar award-winning feature films, including The King's Speech, Martin Scorsese's The Departed, Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction, Braveheart and Batman were edited on Lightworks.^[1]

History

OLE Limited was founded in 1989 by Paul Bamborough, Nick Pollock and Neil Harris. In 1994 it was sold to Tektronix,^[2] who were not successful at developing the company's products. Then it was sold on to the newly formed Lightworks Inc. in 1999, then owned by Fairlight Japan, and then purchased by Gee Broadcast in May 2004. Under new ownership, new product releases have resumed with the release of the Lightworks Touch range and more recently the Alacrity and Softworks ranges for SD & HD editing.

In August 2009 the UK and US based company EditShare acquired the Lightworks editing platform from Gee Broadcast (together with their video server system Geevs).

At the annual convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, NAB Show, on 11 April 2010, EditShare announced that they plan to transform Lightworks into Lightworks Open Source.^[3] It was presented at IBC in Amsterdam September 2010.^[4]

On November 9th 2010, EditShare announced that Lightworks would be downloadable on November 29th of the same year, at first exclusively for the users who had registered during the initial announcement,^[5] but subsequently publishing the software as "public beta".^[6]

Release of an Open Source version is planned for Q4 of 2011, after code review has been finished.^[7] Money is to be made from proprietary plugins offered in an associated online shop, especially ones needed for access to video file formats used by professional cameras.

Products

Using a control interface similar to the industry standard Steenbeck controller they produced a non-linear editing system. It had a number of (for its time) unique features, such as “sync slip”, synchronized varispeed playback with audio scrubbing, synchronized multi-channel playback, and an object-oriented user interface with a dedicated hardware console. Some of these features are still unmatched by other competing systems.

The system went on to win Scientific and Technical Academy Awards and Emmy Awards.^{[citation needed]}

The development team contained former members of the computer games company Magnetic Scrolls and the Computer Film Company, some of whom went on to join the Sohonet media network development team.^{[citation needed]}

Softworks is the latest product from Lightworks offering the Lightworks User Interface and toolset in a software only package for laptops or office workstations.

Softworks and Alacrity support mixed formats and resolutions in real time and allow a project to be output in different resolutions without re-rendering. Alacrity supports dual outputs while the same facility is available for Softworks users as an option. Lightworks proven support for film and networked operations provides great workflow for larger productions.

See also

• List of video editing software
• Comparison of video editing software

References

1. ^ http://www.lightworksbeta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=107&Itemid=260
2. ^ "Company News; Tektronix To Buy Lightworks Editing Systems - New York Times". Nytimes.com. 1995-04-11. http://nytimes.com/1995/04/11/business/company-news-tektronix-to-buy-lightworks-editing-systems.html. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
3. ^ Press Release
4. ^ Press release: EditShare previews for IBC 2010
5. ^ Lightworks News Nov 2010
6. ^ "Lightworks". Lightworksbeta.com. http://www.lightworksbeta.com/. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 
7. ^ "Lightworks". Lightworksbeta.com. http://www.lightworksbeta.com/. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 

External links

• Lightworks
• Lightworks Tutorials
• Lightworks Users' Video Tutorials