ACES Enters a New Chapter of Open Collaboration

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is launching the next chapter of ACES, with expanded community development supported through the Academy Software Foundation (ASWF).

As announced today, 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.

Developed in partnership by the Academy and the Linux Foundation, the ASWF was created to provide a world-class home for open source software developers in the motion picture and broader media industries to share resources and collaborate on technologies for image creation, visual effects, animation, and sound.

The Academy will continue to participate actively in the development of ACES at the ASWF, with many familiar faces from the leadership and development community remaining deeply involved. This next phase will create new opportunities for collaboration across the motion picture and television industries while maintaining the integrity and vision that have made ACES a trusted foundation for over a decade.

What’s Ahead for the ACES Community

This evolution 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

Timeline and Community Details

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

• A Technical Steering Committee (TSC), chaired by Scott Dyer, Senior Imaging Engineer at the Academy, will oversee development. The TSC will include several current ACES leaders to ensure continuity, along with new contributors from the broader technical community.
• ACESCentral will remain the core platform for community updates, discussion, and resources.
• Over time, ACESCentral will begin integrating with shared development tools to streamline collaboration and visibility.
• The ACES Logo Program will continue, overseen by the TSC, ensuring alignment with project goals and brand standards.

Stay Connected

The ACES community has always been the driving force behind its success. That won’t change.

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Join the conversation on the ACESCentral Discussion Forum! (free registration required)

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We extend our heartfelt thanks to the thousands of contributors and users who have helped shape ACES over the past decade. Your work has been nothing short of transformative—and we’re just getting started.

Thank you, and we look forward to building the future of ACES together.

The ACES Leadership Team