WTDaBuzz · Production & AI · 17 October 2026
A colour-management update can affect several suppliers working on the same production. ACES 2 makes version and output decisions a useful subject for the production brief, even when the detailed implementation belongs with colour specialists.
The official ACES 2 overview describes a redesigned suite of rendering transforms and updated metadata and transform-identification provisions. The overview is dated September 2025. It is a technical framework description, rather than evidence that every production tool implements the same configuration automatically.
Agree the review conditions
For a virtual video production involving several teams, an image review needs a shared understanding of what is being evaluated. A creative judgement becomes harder to communicate when different recipients are reviewing material under different assumptions.
A hypothetical production might use one output for an internal preview and another for a defined delivery requirement. The team should label those purposes clearly so a comment about one does not become an accidental instruction for the other.
Ask suppliers about the actual configuration
A general statement of ACES support is the beginning of a technical conversation. The responsible specialists should establish the relevant version, configuration and intended exchanges for the project.
The producer’s role is to ensure that this discussion has an owner and happens early enough to inform the schedule. The article does not prescribe transform settings or replace a colour-managed test with the relevant experts.
Follow one example through the chain
A representative test can show how a piece of material moves between the proposed teams and reaches the intended review destination. Record the conditions used and ask each recipient to confirm what it received.
If a difference appears, the team needs a way to preserve the evidence and identify the decision that follows. A successful exchange should also retain enough information to be repeated later.
The commercial value of a colour framework is realised through a working production process. Clear ownership, test conditions and version records help suppliers use that framework consistently.
Image: Illustrative production monitor, Getty Images / Unsplash+, licensed original. It is not a colour-reference or ACES demonstration image.