Case Studies
Baselight v7
Cem Ozkilicci — a freelancer’s perspective
After the release of Baselight v7, we caught up with the colourists who road-tested the release to find out which new tools they’re most excited about.
For more in the series, see:
CEM OZKILICCI | VERONICA TIRON
Cem Ozkilicci, an independent colourist based in Oslo, Norway, spent months putting Baselight v7’s new features through real‑world tasks—he’s used the software on commercial work, long form feature content and fast turn-around corporate content, and his feedback has helped to shape the look of the new release.
For Ozkilicci, being part of the Baselight v7 beta wasn’t simply about getting early access.
“If I’m going to depend on these tools every day, it makes sense to be involved in how they evolve,” says Ozkilicci. “You spot things in real jobs that no controlled test will ever reveal, and I love being part of the process.”
A flexible setup
Ozkilicci works predominantly out of his studio in Oslo, Norway, anchored by a Baselight ONE Linux system with a Blackboard Classic control panel – the core of his colour pipeline. However, by utilising FilmLight REMOTE, his workflow extends beyond the physical suite and he also has access to the full system from an at-home office with a Slate control panel, where he can experience the same functionality, power and responsiveness.
“REMOTE is so close to the real thing that I’ll sometimes forget I’m not in the suite,” he says. “For freelance life it’s a lifesaver – late tweaks, international clients, tight turnarounds… it makes all of that much more manageable.”
Transform Matching
Ozkilicci has been grading on Baselight for 12 years and relies on its intuitive design and feature set. For him, one of the standout additions in Baselight v7 is Transform Matching.
Matching offline and conformed images is often time-consuming, particularly when transform data is missing or inaccurate. Transform Matching removes the guesswork by analysing a reference image and automatically matching scaling, rotation and translation. Colourists can apply it to single frames or entire shots, with keyframes created as needed.
“It sounds like a small thing,” Ozkilicci notes, “but when you’re dealing with a ton of shots with dynamic reframing, being able to match transforms automatically saves a huge amount of time.” He found it especially effective on commercial timelines, where shots frequently shift in scale or position, or both.
“Normally you’d have to realign every shot manually, but with Transform Matching you can have everything framed the way the client intended in editorial without the pain of (re)doing it manually. It’s one of those features you don’t realise you need until you use it.”
He recently used the tool on an eight-minute corporate video in which around 80% of the footage involved dynamic reframing. “Manually, that would have taken at least two days. With Transform Matching, it took about 20 minutes. The Flame artists I speak to are very jealous.”
For colourists—particularly freelancers—this time saving is significant. Conform work is essential but often underestimated and even unpaid.
“Whether you’re working on a 90-second spot, a 10-minute short, a documentary or a feature, conform always takes time,” says Ozkilicci. “And, because the producer’s not often privy to this work, we don’t always get paid for it in full.”
Even in larger facilities, he adds, reducing conform time is a major advantage. “If one studio estimates a week for conform and another can do it in two days, that’s a big plus.”
Segment Anything
Segment Anything is a Flexi Effect that generates mattes using image segmentation. Using the tool, colourists can select the objects they need to isolate using a rectangle or by adding points to the image. They can also use layers to organise multiple objects and control the visibility of objects throughout a shot.
“It’s a life saver when it comes to products in commercial work,” says Ozkilicci. “I put it straight to use on a Coca‑Cola commercial I was working on in the summer, where precise bottle and label isolation was essential. I didn’t have time for rotoscoping, and it handled the bottle and label incredibly well.”
“For product work it’s huge and you can get clean masks in seconds. Plus, it also brings a wow factor for clients, too – they love to see that you can isolate pretty much anything on screen.”
He noted that tiny details occasionally needed refinement, but the time saved was substantial.
“It frees you up to think creatively instead of technically. I could focus on shaping highlights and pushing the colour instead of spending an hour building a matte,” he says.
Depth Keyer
The new Depth Map generator in Baselight v7 creates beautiful, high quality depth maps from live action shots. The output from it is automatically assigned to a Depth channel, which makes it available to any effect in the stack. Colourists can use the Depth Keyer to generate a matte based on the output of the Depth Map, allowing corrections guided by the depth information from the image.
“Depth Keyer was one of the main reasons I jumped on v7,” says Ozkilicci. “I was using another tool at the time which did the job but it struggled in certain scenarios, so I was excited to get the enhanced keyer tools in Baselight.”
“It lets you do these really subtle adjustments, bringing a person or object forward or pulling the background back just enough to feel more depth,” says Ozkilicci. “I utilised this on the Coca-Cola ad as well, where I needed to darken the background and bring up the foreground. And, in some instances, I needed to do the opposite, since the light in the background was going down and we needed as bright a feeling as possible.”
Final thoughts
For Ozkilicci, Baselight v7 is more than a just another release – it’s a set of tools that meaningfully affect how he works.
“These features aren’t just cool demos, they’re tools I’ve already used on real jobs. The tools reduce repetitive work, save me huge amounts of time and support me both technically and creatively.”
“These features aren’t just cool demos, they’re tools I’ve already used on real jobs. They save me huge amounts of time and support me both technically and creatively.”
Cem Ozkilicci
