Baselight

Baselight is a colour-grading and finishing system for film, television, commercials and broadcast. It is best suited to freelancers and post-production facilities doing demanding finishing work, with separate macOS editions for solo and connected workflows. Its specialist tools come with a substantial recommended Mac configuration and a high subscription price.

Overview

Baselight combines layered grading with finishing tools for professional image workflows. Its strongest case is for users who need localized corrections, matte work, HDR finishing and camera RAW support within a managed-colour pipeline. The 4K output ceiling and demanding macOS recommendations make it less suitable for higher-resolution delivery or a modest workstation.

Key features

The multitrack timeline uses layered architecture with implicit alpha handling, a practical foundation for building complex grades. Baselight 6.0’s X Grade can apply multiple localized corrections in one layer without creating a key or matte for each one, reducing setup overhead for targeted adjustments. Chromogen is designed for scene-referred looks from modern wide-dynamic-range camera data.

Face Track uses machine learning to find and follow faces, and supports copying corrections across a timeline. Baselight v7 adds matte creation and refinement tools, a channel system for hundreds of mattes, and Transform Matching for scaling, rotation and translation. HDR finishing, camera RAW support, managed colour and plugin support broaden its finishing role, but output is capped at 4K.

Baselight M connects with Baselight CONFORM and Baselight ASSIST, making it the relevant edition for facilities using those systems. On macOS, supported hardware includes AJA Kona, Io4k/Plus and T-Tap/Pro devices, plus Blackmagic Ultrastudio and Decklink devices. The system can connect over 10/25/100GbE to other Baselight systems or FLUX Store. FilmLight includes 24/7 user support for Baselight for macOS, along with global phone and email support, project advice, training, installation and consultancy.

Pricing

The Baselight M 14-day trial costs nothing and provides a fully functioning Baselight M for 14 days. It gives facilities a short evaluation period, but does not establish the ongoing cost of that edition. A Baselight free licence costs nothing; its duration and capabilities are not defined, so it cannot be treated as a reliable substitute for a paid licence.

The Baselight S custom-duration licence costs $90 as a one-time purchase, with a custom duration: 1 day = $90, 10 days = $510, and 100 days = $2850, up to a maximum of 365 days. It provides full grading features but excludes advanced collaboration tools. The declining effective daily price makes longer periods less costly per day, while the one-off purchase suits freelancers who need S without committing to a subscription.

The macOS quarterly subscription costs $2,500 a month, billed $2500pq (per quarter); annual subscription costs $7,500 a year, billed from $7500pa. Both offer S and M options: S excludes advanced collaboration, while M includes multi-user interconnectivity. The quarterly commitment fits a facility with shorter-term needs; the annual option is for ongoing use, at a lower starting cost than four quarters at the stated quarterly rate. The trial is the only defined way to evaluate M before choosing a paid term.

Platforms

Baselight supports Linux and macOS. The detailed system recommendations apply to macOS: macOS 14–15 or macOS 26 Tahoe on Intel or Apple Silicon, at least 64GB unified memory, and an external Thunderbolt NVMe enterprise SSD with at least 8TB reserved for cache. That is a substantial setup, so the macOS version is a poor match for users who cannot dedicate this class of memory and storage. Windows is not supported.

Who it's for

Baselight S targets a single freelancer who needs full grading features but not advanced collaboration. Baselight M is aimed at facilities needing multi-user interconnectivity, especially those connecting to CONFORM or ASSIST. Users who need a lightweight setup, Windows support, or output above 4K should look elsewhere.

Pros and cons

Pros: X Grade handles multiple localized corrections in one layer without separate keys or mattes, making targeted grading more direct.

Pros: M supports multi-user interconnectivity and links with CONFORM and ASSIST, a clear fit for connected facilities.

Pros: HDR finishing, camera RAW support, managed colour, matte tools and face tracking serve demanding finishing workflows.

Cons: The macOS recommendations call for at least 64GB unified memory and an 8TB cache SSD, raising the entry threshold.

Cons: S omits advanced collaboration, while M’s defined trial lasts only 14 days.

Cons: Output tops out at 4K, limiting its fit for work requiring higher resolution.

Alternatives

Video Color Grading Software is a broader category to browse if Baselight’s specialist approach is not the right fit.

Choose Colourlab Ai if you need Windows support or want to consider its free public beta, which requires an Apple Silicon Mac. Mistika Boutique is worth considering if a freemium option with a free educational tier, H264-only renders and community support fits your needs. ColourSpace may suit display calibration and verification, though its free ZRO tier has no LUT capability.

DaVinci Resolve offers a free tier on Linux, macOS and Windows, with a paid Studio version at $295, paid once; it is an alternative if cross-platform availability or a free plan matters more. fylm.ai has a free tier for one user and three cloud projects, useful if that project allowance meets your needs. Assimilate Live Looks costs $89 a month for a recurring subscription including support and updates, an option if that subscription model suits better.

Dolby Vision Professional Tools provides free command-line tools for Dolby Vision processing and QC. Look Designer is a paid plugin for DaVinci Resolve; consider it if you specifically want advanced colour-management tools within that host.

Verdict

Choose Baselight if you need professional grading and finishing, and its layered correction tools or M’s facility interconnectivity justify the hardware and subscription commitment. Its clear division between solo S and connected M gives freelancers and facilities distinct paths. Look elsewhere if you need Windows, more than 4K output, or a lower-cost setup without the substantial macOS requirements.