The Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), the global standard for color management, is joining the ASWF, a home for open source software developers in the motion picture and broader industries.

Developed and maintained by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for more than a decade, ACES is an open source framework for color management and image interchange across the entire motion picture production life cycle, from on-set acquisition, visual effects, post-production, mastering, and archiving. It has become the global standard for ensuring a consistent color experience and maintaining creative vision, used on films including Captain America: Brave New World, The Wild Robot, Wicked, and more. The release of ACES 2.0 this past spring introduced numerous enhancements, including improved color rendering, more consistent display across different dynamic ranges, better transform invertibility, and expanded support for custom output devices. It was the first step for what was now announced.

In fact, as announced earlier this month, ACES will begin its next phase as an incubated project under the ASWF. This move reflects the Academy’s ongoing commitment to evolving ACES as an open, widely adopted standard for color management, with the support of a broader contributor base and shared infrastructure.

“ACES has become a foundational part of modern motion picture workflows, shaped through cross-industry collaboration across hundreds of filmmakers, technologists, and color scientists,” said Annie Chang, VP of Creative Technologies at NBCUniversal, who serves as an Academy Governor, the Academy’s Science and Technology Council Chair, and an ACES Project Co-chair. “Joining the Academy Software Foundation will ensure that ACES continues to evolve in an open and collaborative environment, benefiting filmmakers and content creators around the world.”

As an Academy Software Foundation project, ACES will leverage the Foundation’s open governance model, legal framework, and community infrastructure, increasing the quality and quantity of open source contributions to ACES. This move will benefit both creative users and technical implementers, driving collaboration and integration between ACES and other key open source projects such as OpenColorIO, OpenEXR, and MaterialX.

“Open source is the invisible backbone of modern film production, for both animation and live action, including nearly every aspect of visual effects. Recognizing this, the Academy spearheaded the creation of the Academy Software Foundation to empower filmmakers with collaborative, free, and open tools. Entrusting ACES to the Foundation is a fulfillment of that vision, ensuring this critical standard for color will continue to evolve and thrive with the direct support of the community it serves,” said Rob Bredow, SVP of Creative Innovation at Lucasfilm, who serves as an Academy Governor, the Academy’s Science and Technology Council Vice Chair, and the Academy Software Foundation Governing Board Chair.

“The Academy Software Foundation was created to ensure that we have a healthy, vibrant open source community that can maintain and grow the projects that the motion picture industry relies on,” said David Morin, Executive Director of the Academy Software Foundation. “Over the past seven years, we have seen a dramatic increase in developer participation, cross-industry collaboration, and community adoption of Academy Software Foundation projects. ACES is a critical project for our industry, and we are honored to provide a home where it will continue to thrive and grow.”

As an Academy Software Foundation project, ACES development will be guided by a Technical Steering Committee composed of long-standing members of the ACES leadership and development community, ensuring continuity of vision while welcoming expanded participation. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will continue to participate actively in the development of ACES at the Academy Software Foundation.

Additional details about ACES and the transition to the Academy Software Foundation were revealed at SIGGRAPH 2025, during the Open Source Days on August 10 and 11 at the Marriott Pinnacle in Vancouver and virtually. The evolution now announced supports:

• Closer alignment with other widely used open source projects in the production pipeline
• Expanded community participation and engagement
• A sustainable structure for ongoing development and long-term maintenance

The transition started August 6, 2025, with full integration expected by September 1, 2025.