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Case Studies & Customer Quotes
Optima Digital
Over the years, Optima has added systems and applications from many major vendors including Autodesk, Thomson, and da Vinci. They recently came to the decision that it was time to update their infrastructure so that their systems from all these manufacturers could work together more efficiently. They chose to go with a Sledgehammer.
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BBC
BBC Resources started investigating high-definition (HD) in 1998 to both
understand the technology, and determine its commercial viability. Blue
Planet, an eight part series exploring our planet's oceans and released
in 2001 to much acclaim, was one of the first projects to be made available
in HD, but was the result of an up-conversion as the series had been posted
in standard definition (SD).
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Digital Post
A core business component for Digital Post is their telecine operation.
The film-to-tape portion of the facility is comprised of two transfer
suites. While both employ da Vinci 2K color correctors, the first has
a Cintel Millenium system and the second uses a Thomson GVG Spirit Datacine.
Both systems are equipped to work at all SD and HD resolution video standards
as well as at 2K for film projects - the Cintel system delivers 2K data
via High-Speed Data Link (HSDL) where film frames are digitally encoded
within a dual link HD-DSI stream. With the Spirit Datacine, film frames
are transferred via a High-Speed Parallell Interface (HIPPI) network.
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REZN8
As a 2D & 3D design and animation facility producing a growing volume
of work for entertainment industry clients, REZN8 needed to get data
onto their network faster. But their render cluster made a SAN unsuitable,
and several NAS systems didn't fit their open model.
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PostWorks
NYC-based post-production specialists PostWorks decided that a new, economical
piece of equipment was needed to liberate more expensive machinery
from time-consuming tasks. Due to a massive volume of content and unrelenting
deadlines, bottlenecks developed as edit rooms were tied up just to
manage the encoding work—digitizing and loading .dpx fi les in
particular as projects involving digital intermediates increase. PostWorks
needed the ability to allocate legacy resources more productively and
profitably.
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Zoic
Not wanting to fall prey to the high costs associated with rapid expansion,
Zoic Studios management needed to design and built a digital infrastructure.
They choose to build the infrastructure around the concept of a “liquid”
pipeline - which would provide the ability to expand and contract resources
as required while supporting both PC and MAC based applications in a
cost effective and high speed environment. Sledgehammer stepped in and
provided the foundation for the ZOIC production environment.
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Customer Quotes
For
Harry Potter 3, Sledgehammer NAS is deployed as a high-speed data bridge
between our CG and Compositing departments, and has performed flawlessly".
Steve MacPherson, Technical Manager
MPC
We did in-house tests prior
to purchase, and Sledgehammer performed exceptionally well. So, the combination
of low maintenance and high performance has simplified, and fortified,
our infrastructure".
Rich Torpey, VP of Engineering
rhinoFX
We were looking for a solution
to bring HD footage directly onto the server without tying up our Discreet
flame® machines to do the I/O. It is takes too much time to do it
that way, and ties up the flame® system from the production process.
We chose Sledgehammer HD!O to do that part of the process, allowing
our flame® systems to do what they do best. The Sledgehammer
has incredibly high bandwidth, and gives the maximum speed to our clients.
Other systems we evaluated throttle bandwidth back based on the numbers
of users. Sledgehammer didn't do that, making it the obvious choice
for us".
Saker Klippsten, Head of Engineering
Zoic Studios
We evaluated many systems
to include in our rental pool before choosing the Sledgehammer HD!O,
we selected Sledgehammer because it was the only system that completed
the missing link in our end to end workflow solution. The primary output
from our camera is a 4k, 16bit "digital negative" provided through
a fiber optic Infiniband connection and requires a recorder capable of
supporting in excess of 500 MB/sec of frame accurate recording. The
Sledgehammer HD!O delivers that for us. Additionally, the recorder is
network ready, allowing our customers to easily move data into post
production through any number of interfaces. Finally, we selected Max-T
as our partner because of their focus in the entertainment industry".
John Coghill, Vice President and General Manager
DALSA Digital Cinema
We were looking for a central
storage solution to create the perfect bridge between our 3D and compositing
departments. We chose Sledgehammer for its capability of seamlessly sharing
files in our multiplatform environment. Our artists and editors can graphically
browse clips and easily select the ones they need, put the material that
needs to be exchanged back onto the Sledgehammer, and quickly output an
MPEG file for client approval at any point in the process. This enhances
our productivity and saves time for us and for our clients".
James Vanderhaeghen, Visual Effects Coordinator
Nozon
We needed a storage system
that could keep up with our production and work with the various platforms
and operating systems for our different workgroups. We looked at various
SAN products but wanted to add storage to our existing network, not create
an entirely new network. Sledgehammer fit seamlessly into our existing
environment and now enables us to work with large files and large numbers
of files on all our systems with the speed we require".
Doug Miller, General Manager
Napoleon Group NY
The
Sledgehammer is now an integral part of our production as equipment
like our Smoke is able to pass files to the Sledgehammer and back without
hesitation, facilitated by Xstoner. Data transfer rates in and out of
Smoke to the Sledgehammer are phenomenal, saving us a lot of time and
aggravation. Xstoner and Sledgehammer combine to help us accelerate
the pace of overall editorial simply by providing accessibility to the
drives and content at the most critical times. People who use equipment
around the clock like we do can't afford to stop and start. Sledgehammer
and Xstoner keep up with our pace, and that is invaluable".
Don Packer, C.O.O / Founder
Finish Editorial
We produce a large number of
films per year and have total creative control of the entire process.
We needed a storage system that would help accelerate the process and
allow access to the material from the entire network. At the beginning
of the production process, we use Sledgehammer for media acquisition.
Once the material exists on the server, we access it from the various
workstations in our graphics department, including our flame. This optimizes
the utilization and the productivity of the workstations and resources
required for each part of the process. Working on so many films, we allocate
resources to each project based on the immediate need. Sledgehammer helps
us stay productive and enhances our resource allocation".
Ron Sabatino, Director of Visual Effects
LLP Production Services, Inc.
We were looking for a central
storage solution and evaluated different options. We chose Sledgehammer
for its ability to handle our 2K film material as well as serve and
store content for our large render farm. It integrated quickly and easily
into our very diverse operating environment and is speeding up our creative
processes and improving efficiency. In the very near future we expect
to utilize Sledgehammer as the heart of our DI pipeline as well as the
centerpiece for a new collaborative compositing application we're deploying".
Sebastian Sylwan, Chief Technology Officer
Lumiq Studios
Not only is it the fastest
NAS server available, it's built from commodity components which we can
freely upgrade whenever we like. So our Sledgehammers will always get
faster".
Aurelio Campa, Technical Manager
Jim Henson’s Creature Shop
Our immediate needs
were pretty straightforward; namely more and faster storage, and Sledgehammer
has indeed delivered in both 2D and 3D applications".
Bob Cazzell, Chief Information Officer
REZN8
Sledgehammer HD!O allows
us to work faster and more efficiently. That translates into creativity
boosts and tighter turn around, both of which give us an edge over the
competition".
Mike McCall, President
Sideshow Post