Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474486
j u ly • a u g u s t • s e p t e m b e r 2 0 2 2 c g w 2 7 is also driving the future of the visual effects industry. In 2021, the Producers Guild of America's PGA Green division issued a call to action to the entertainment industry to reduce its carbon footprint by 50% by 2030. AMD's technology allows VFX studios to better assist with these efforts. "One of the things we are really focused on is the efficiencies in CPUs," Knight states. "So we have a higher core count, higher performance, and a lower power footprint, and that really matters." A smaller footprint is also essential for workstation efficiency, especially for cloud-based systems and remote workflows. "Because compa- nies have artists working remotely on multiple shows, they can fit more artists on fewer workstations and give them higher performance. If you wanted to, you could fit four artists on one of our CPUs and each of them has a virtual GPU." Taking virtual production to new heights Virtual production also benefits greatly from faster CPUs, with virtu- al art departments and full LED wall production spaces becoming increasingly popular and requiring more processing power than ever before. AMD CPUs paired with Nvidia GPUs are a leading choice for virtual production workflows. "We're making more things possible," Knight explains. "If a director comes in and says, 'Oh, I love this, but I actually want the sun over there, and I want that tree there…' You have to render that out. With AMD, you can render it really quickly, which saves time and money." Collaboration drives progress Though technology is powering the advancement of the VFX industry, the technology itself is only made possible through collaboration. "When people think of innovation, they think purely of technology. But actually, that's just part of it. Innovation is a conversation as well. It's sharing ideas, listening to what's troubling you, or what's troubling me, and figuring out a solution together. Without the conversation part and partnership part, innovation doesn't happen," Knight says. "They say the spinning jenny is credited for the industrial revolution, but the part they don't really tell you about is that more than likely, pubs played a part in that. It's aer work, lords and day laborers getting together, having conversations and saying, 'Hey, I've got this problem. I'm trying to fix this.' 'Well, I found that this works…' It's a conversation, which is exactly what SIGGRAPH is, and those kinds of conventions. It's people getting together and sharing ideas. That's a massive part of innovation. And that's something that we really pride ourselves on, is getting scrappy and innovative." ¢ James Knight Blur Studios