Sep
Just before IBC, which starts on the 12th, Scratch launches into the free world with the release of the Play viewer/editor.
Scratch Play is intended for the playback of different formats, both professional and consumer. Thus, Assimilate ‘s new product competes with the DaVinci Resolve system (at least in this aspect), as it is widely used as a viewer for various types of media both on set and in postproduction.
Support for these formats is very broad, ranging from film RAW files(RED, Arri, Sony, Canon, Phantom), RAW files from DSLRs(Canon 5D, Nikon N600), others for editing (MXF, ProRes, WAV) or VFX (DPX, EXR), the usual display and web formats (QuickTime, Windows Media, MP4, H.264), to still image files (such as TIFF, JPG or PNG).
One of the goals of Assimilate is that this new software makes it possible to review files without interrupting the work of the DIT station. Play follows the same Scratch philosophy with the “CONstruct”, so you can mix still images and video or clips with different settings (formats, resolutions, color spaces) in the same timeline and create infinite versions of each one. If we take this factor into account, it is also a way to start teaching the basic handling of the Scratch timeline to new users.
http://vimeo.com/73679960
http://vimeo.com/73679138#
Scratch Play also features color correction tools, based on the original Scratch technology, that allow exporting LUTs (1D and 3D) and ASC CDLs, as well as JPEG snapshots of the generated looks.
Other functions allow you to view camera metadata and modify the framing, size and rotation of images. Some of its limitations include the incompatibility with stereoscopic material and the impossibility to add markers and keyframes or to burn metadata.
http://vimeo.com/73680499#
http://vimeo.com/73678478
It’s certainly a smart move, although it remains to be seen if it will bring them more customers or if they will compete with the Scratch Lab system, designed for the creation of dailies.
If you want to download Scratch Play (for OS X or Windows) you can do it from this link. The free player includes advertising, but if you want to remove it you just have to pay 5$.
