Lightworks
 | |
| Lightworks Beta 10.0.3 Screenshot Lightworks Beta 10.0.3 | |
| Developer(s) | EditShare LLC |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1989 |
| Stable release | 1.3
/ January 2009 |
| Preview release | Lightworks Beta 10.0.4
/ April 7, 2011 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Size | 41.77 MB |
| Available in | English |
| Type | Non-linear editing system |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | http://www.lightworksbeta.com/ |
Lightworks is a video editing software package that originated from the now-defunct Lightworks Inc. (formerly OLE Limited), a British manufacturer of non-linear editing systems.
History
OLE Limited was founded in 1989 by Paul Bamborough, Nick Pollock and Neil Harris. In 1994 it was sold to Tektronix,[1] 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.[2] It was presented at IBC in Amsterdam September 2010.[3] 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,[4] but subsequently publishing the software as "public beta".[5] Release of an Open Source version is planned in the middle of 2011, after code review has been finished.[6] 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.
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.
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.