Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1453602
34 cgw j a n u a r y • f e b r u a r y • m a r c h 2 0 2 2 2 0 2 2 T R E N D S A udiences have an insatiable appetite for new and higher-fideli y content, and they don't want to settle for anything less than incredible. The quality of the last amazing thing they experienced is now their baseline expectation, and studios have no intention of letting viewers down. From formats beyond 4K becoming even more widely adopted, to the accelerated timelines needed to feed the appetites of content consumers, the expectations on M&E cre- atives today are incredible. Unfortunately, the added pressure of delivering a larger quantity of higher-fideli y content is compounded by budgets and timelines, not scaling to the content ask. To deliver, solutions providers within the industry are working to ensure the tools they are bringing to market are up to the task. Aer all, the onus to meet these needs of audiences shouldn't be shouldered by creatives and production studios alone. It's up to the hardware and soware providers to make sure that the latest advances in production technology are increasing artists' productivity and creative capabilities. Doing so can help keep productions on time and on budget in order to continue to exceed client expectations. Beyond the shift in h w studios are leveraging the latest technology to maintain productivity and efficie y, we've also expe- rienced in recent years a signifi ant change in how technology can empower artists to work from anywhere. Technology and talent reached a long-anticipated crossroads that positioned artists to do their best work in a remote environment. Unfortunately, it took a world-changing pandemic to prove the viabil- ity of this approach — but as we enter 2022, the value of a hybrid work model for M&E professionals simply can't be understated. While this approach continues to evolve and be refin d, workfl ws will become more established and equipment requirements will need to be evaluated for a successful remote work environment. Giving talent access to the right hardware is crucial. As we adjust to this new normal, studios are looking to double down on their infrastruc- ture investments so that artists have the tools they need to stay efficient ytime, anywhere, and be able to remotely access additional capabilities of production-ready hardware still located within the studio. Running mission-critical soware solu- tions on the right hardware will also help studios meet today's increased demands. Leading developers of production tools are optimizing their offerings to take advantage of the latest workstation capabilities that studios are now counting on. Innovations in hardware technology are delivering higher core counts and higher-fre- quency CPUs than ever before – meaning everything works faster so that production timelines can be accelerated, and artists can iterate more freely. Lenovo's ThinkStation P620 is a great example of this. Launched in 2020, it delivers the power and performance that studios such as DreamWorks Anima- tion need to bring their cutting-edge anima- tion feature films o life. But having powerful workstations in a production facility is only one piece of the puzzle. Incredible things can be accomplished with the right production solutions. When combined with increased collaboration in the year ahead, we can expect content to be brought to life faster, with fewer pain points in the creation process. One of the biggest drivers of efficie y that we've seen in recent years is the broad- er adoption of real-time technologies that H OW S T U D I O S A R E P R E PA R I N G A S E X P E C TAT I O N S K E E P G R OW I N G Lenovo (www.lenovo.com) BY ROB HOFFMANN continued on pg 36 Technology is supporting remote workfl w like never before.