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Academy Software Foundation publishes paper on open source technology

Paper looks back at the origins of the current open source landscape, which began in the 1990s with the use of visual effects in projects such as Toy Story and Jurassic Park

The Academy Software Foundation, which counts Unreal Engine, Netflix and SMPTE among its members, has published a new paper looking at the evolution of open source technology in the modern filmmaking era.

The paper looks back at the origins of the current open source landscape, which began in the 1990s with the use of visual effects in projects such as Toy Story and Jurassic Park.

The public releases of OpenEXR (originally developed at ILM) and OpenColorIO (originally developed at Sony Pictures Imageworks) in the early 2000s, led to open source tools and libraries becoming widely adopted throughout the industry, and supported by third party software developers.

“We’re pleased to share the Foundation’s first-ever research paper, tracking our many accomplishments since our founding, four years ago and what we have next on the horizon,” the Foundation’s executive director David Morin.

“Together we are proud to be building both a community and an open source development platform with studios, vendors, and developers that empowers filmmakers to realise their most ambitious visions.”

“This industry demands that multiple vendors share things, and in part, that ability is built upon a lot of the open source software,” added Jordan Soles of member company Rodeo FX. “The community that lives behind an open source project is as valuable as the project itself. To be able to be part of a community of developers who understand what you’re trying to do and can lead you in the right direction quickly is fantastic.”

The research paper is available to download here.