Empire Strikes X – Lucas Releases Software Program to Public

Independent filmmakers are praising George Lucas’s Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) for releasing as “open source” a software program that permits filmmakers to adjust the exposure of a scene after it has been shot without sacrificing picture quality. The program, OpenEXR has been used by ILM on Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Men in Black II, Gangs of New York, and Signs. OpenEXR currently runs on Linux, Mac (OS X), and Irix platforms. One writer on the Slashdot website commented, “Although George Lucas may have gone over to the dark side, at least some of his staff prefer freedom and light.”