VisionColor™ ImpulZ 2.0
Cinematic Film Color.
Extremely reliable, native ACES © HDR compliant analog color spaces. For the most demanding cinema workflows and the best film color you've ever seen.
When is the release date?
Early 2022. The exact date will be announced soon.
How do I get notified?
If you haven't already done so please create a Color.io Account. You don't have to do anything else. We will notify you as soon as ImpulZ 2.0 goes live.
What is ImpulZ 2.0?
VisionColor ImpulZ 2.0 is a library of analog color spaces that map specific camera signals to the chrominance and luminance response behaviour of premium motion picture and photographic film. ImpulZ 2.0 is built on top of ACES IDTs and functionally extends the ACEScct color space with non-linear gamut confinements based on real film measurements.
How is it different from 1.0?
All library components have been completely re-engineered.
Instead of our own input-device-transform system we are now building on top of ACES IDTs. This means more supported cameras and highly stable, artifact-free conversions.
Instead of a logarithmic base color space we have completely re-sampled our film data with accurate vector mappings into the huge ACES color space. This means massive benefits for accurate film emulation with never before seen color separation and density.
We've completely re-engineered our color science framework. When creating a library of consistent color mappings a highly reliable color science framework is key. It's the progress we've made at the framework level that has allowed us to create what we're confident to say are the best film emulations in existence.
How is it different from other film emulations?
We can confidently say that VisionColor ImpulZ 2.0 are the most robust film color emulations in existence.
The commercial success of our previous efforts in film emulation has allowed us to iterate over our methods and evolve our technologies over the past seven years - undistracted by market pressure and with a new team of researchers, colorists and developers.
And while countless LUT packages and so-called "film emulators" have saturated the market in the past few years, not a single one of these products checks all of our boxes for usability and reliability in the context of functional color science.
With ImpulZ 2.0 we have created a product that completely satisfies these high standards. We'll go into more technical detail in the following sections.
What is native ACES HDR?
In this context, "native" means that our film data samples are not extrapolated from a small gamut. Large gamut, high dynamic range film color coordinates are the foundation of our color science framework. To the best of our knowledge there are no film emulations in existence that have been derived from a color space comparable in size and dynamic range.
What is functional color science?
Functional color science refers to our methods for deriving highly stable analog-to-digital color mappings from real film data samples.
Several factors like signal-to-noise ratio and the geometric properties of the different film vector spaces make digital film color emulation a non-trivial problem. Our method is based around functions that generate importance metrics for every vector in our film data sets. These importance metrics are used to calculate a weight of sample noise and 3D vector location in relation to the bounds of the target color space. The accumulated weights are used to select for the optimal data points in the final color mapping. The result are highly stable, noise-free film color emulations built around the color vectors that are most relevant to the aesthetic of a film stock while exhibiting the lowest noise.
Does it support HDR?
Absolutely. In fact, the base color space of our film data samples has a high dynamic range to accurately capture the natural response behaviour of film. So not only is our HDR implementation technically accurate, it is really rather stunning. Also our native high dynamic range, large gamut base color space allows us to provide perfect interpolations for non-hdr outputs and smaller color spaces.
Does it work without ACES?
Yes. We've created a VisionLOG pipeline for non-ACES users. This pipeline provides accurate device calibrations as 3D LUTs that are suited for a variety of non-aces workflows. These mappings are stress-tested and proven to be incredibly stable so you can expect all the benefits from the ACES pipeline in your non-aces environment.
How do I upgrade from 1.0?
If you purchased ImpulZ 1.0 from VisionColor or Color Grading Central in the past, you will be able to upgrade from your existing ImpulZ 1.0 license at a reduced price. Please follow these steps to migrate your license to Color.io:
- If you haven't already, please create a Color.io Account. Note that you have to create a new account on Color.io, even if you previously signed up on vision-color.com or Color Grading Central.
- In your account go to the Orders Page. This is where you can migrate your old licenses. Scroll to "Restore Purchases" and open the form.
- Select the vendor where you purchased ImpulZ 1.0.
- Enter the email address you used to purchase. It is the email address under which you received your order confirmation from VisionColor or Color Grading Central.
- Enter your order ID or invoice number. You can find your Order ID in the order confirmation email you received. Note that the order ID is not the transaction ID.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any issues with the migration or upgrade process.
How much does the upgrade cost?
The price of the upgrade will depend on the type of license you currently own.
Licenses eligible for upgrade are:
- VisionColor ImpulZ Basic
- VisionColor ImpulZ Pro
- VisionColor ImpulZ Ultimate
- VisionColor Hollywood LUT Bundle
Pricing will be announced soon.
Motion Picture Film Emulation
Premium negative and positive motion picture film, deep-sampled and mapped to digital color spaces. Precision engineered for extreme reliability and the most demanding cinema workflows. Native ACES © HDR compliant color science with optional SDR simulated output.
35mm Color Negative
Motion Picture Film
Daylight balanced
Kodak Vision3
35mm Color Negative
Motion Picture Film
Tungsten balanced
Kodak Vision3
35mm Color Negative
Motion Picture Film
Tungsten balanced
Kodak Vision3
35mm Color Positive
Cinema Print Film
Dual-Illuminant
Kodak Vision
35mm Color Negative
Motion Picture Film
Daylight balanced
Kodak Vision3
