Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1488128
The evolution of gaming experiences over the last 20 years is mind blowing. Gone are the days when companies could bring a bunch of developers in a room, have them crank out some code and exit with a winning title. Now gamers expect more than the "game". They want an immersive experience with high-quality graphical content that has the same, if not greater, production value of a feature film. Not to mention, there are now increased demands on audio quality and video resolution with 4k, 8k and HDR becoming commonplace.To top it off, com- panies are challenged to produce these cutting-edge entertain- ment experiences with consideration for remote talent and how to collaborate securely. Scaling technology to meet the massive new unstructured data requirements driven by the combination of gaming and VFX has become a formidable challenge. And vice versa, the film world is also including game elements and discovering a new field of view when it comes to supporting the production process. Historically, these two worlds have been mutually exclusive with rooms full of developers making games and rooms full of people in production houses making films. What is happening now is that game engines have started to be used in films and game dev companies have started making their own films and in effect, becoming production companies. As a result, a new set of challenges arises behind the scenes from the explosion of unstructured data that this creates. As independent developers step into the film world and film experts into game world, the combination brings a whole new set of processes, software and asset management to be considered. For example, game dev companies traditionally don't utilize media, asset management or MAM, which production houses all have. And production houses that are used to archiving as they go to keep storage requirements down, aren't ready for the massive scale that is generated from versioning and source code edits inherent on the gaming side. In film production, the standard approach is to predict data storage in advance, based on prior show requirements and purchase based on the expectation that petabytes of data will be generated up front. They retain the assets they need and then they archive everything else. Whereas in game development, source code and game engine changes require a version control system to manage the code on the back end and the potential for data sprawl becomes enor- mous. It is easy to scale out of control because you're checking in so many versions of assets that are never retired. With virtual production becoming a de facto standard since the pandemic, the lines of production and game development are becoming even more blurred, and we're seeing Post & VFX shops adopting game engines to enable current workflows and power their LED volumes. This generates even more data, add- ing to the overall scale of a show. Essentially, these two types of media with different data loads and manage- ment requirements, have now become a hybrid form of entertainment with new and massive storage demands. Navigating any unfamiliar landscape can be overwhelming. With so many variables to consider, media and entertainment companies are finding them- selves in a maze. It is shrewd to engage experts with ample experience in both specialty and scale to help navigate the IT complexities ahead of the game (pun intended). At the same time as workflows and storage requirements are evolving, unfor- tunately, so is the threat landscape. So, finding a partner who can help you assess both your needs and risk and recommend a strategy to enable secure and successful outcomes becomes critical. This is where Dell Technologies is uniquely situated to help customers navigate. Dell has a long-standing relationship with the M&E space as well as a team of IT experts who have worked across the industry and understand how to architect solutions that fit. Further, Dell's advanced storage portfolio is contin- ually evolving with masterful engineers who are solving for high performance creation, secure and real time workflows and cost-effective archives. Whether the work is originating from film studios or game developers, companies need expertise to assist in designing the right size storage architecture to meet their needs. With this kind of thoughtful, proactive and strategic approach, the next level of entertainment possibilities become endless. WHEN DEVELOPMENT MEETS PRODUCTION Right sizing storage to unlock the next level of entertainment Andy Copeland SPONSORED CONTENT