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MEDIA & ENTERTAINMENT For Image Engine, High-Performance Storage Solutions Enable Creativity and Innovation in Visual Effects Creating visual effects that bring characters and scenes to life in films and televi- sion is a precise, creative, collaborative and often high-pressure endeavor. In recent years, the work has become even more challenging as Hollywood’s demands for realism has grown and the technology – such as stereoscopic 3D – has become even more complex. During this period, Image Engine, a Vancouver-based VFX company, has emerged as a leader with groundbreaking work on films such as Dis- trict 9, Watchmen and 2012. To deliver the kind of work required in this demanding arena, Image Engine has leaned heavily upon its BlueArc network storage solutions, which allow its artists the opportunity to be as creative as their imaginations allow. THE CUSTOMER Perhaps you’ve seen the alien creatures in the Oscar-nominated District 9, or the aircrafts, missiles and explosions in the opening scene of The Losers, or the close-up of blood dropping through three stories in The Incredible Hulk. What these memorable film visuals have in common is that each is a highly complex and acclaimed example of the power of CG visual effects to realistically tell a story. The other common thread is they were all created by Image Engine. VFX studio Image Engine, with over 15 years in the industry, is also a pioneer in building the type of corporate culture and technology infrastructure required to service a quality-obsessed, deadline-oriented film industry based 2,000 miles away. THE CHALLENGE As visual effects in film and TV have gotten far more realistic and spectacular, they have also gotten incredibly complex to create. A single shot that might take up four seconds in a movie can be more than 100 frames long, requiring as much as a dozen or more layers of the same image sequence to account for all of the vari- ables in background and light and color and movement. For a feature film that has several hundred or thousands of shots, it is easy to see how storage demands can multiply quickly, and it’s not just the amount of storage that’s challenging - perfor- mance and speed are equally important. “Putting a robust data storage infrastruc- ture in place, which allows artists to work rapidly with large amounts of data, is of paramount importance,” says Image Engine’s Head of Studio, Jason Dowdeswell. “With our BlueArc solution we pride ourselves in being able to meet and exceed our clients’expectations in terms of turning around shots and responding to ur- gent requests. Our clients want to know that any company they are dealing with has the bandwidth they need, no matter how many shots the project may require.” Image Engine also needed a storage infrastructure that could scale up quickly in order to have the flexibility to deliver existing projects and take on new ones. “We had architecture issues with the previous system,” says Terry Bates, Head of Systems at Image Engine. “The storage was divided up into silos and we’d be con- stantly moving projects from storage silo to storage silo.” THE SOLUTION Image Engine realized its existing storage solution needed to be changed and looked at three vendors. In the end, BlueArc was the strongest choice for perfor- mance, speed, scalability and footprint, which was a big issue for the studio. “One of the challenges is server room space,” Bates says. “The BlueArc solution was clearly going to be the one that would take the smallest footprint; to me it was a no-brainer.”The studio is now home to BlueArc Titan 3200s. THE RESULTS The studio has tripled its storage capacity in recent years and is looking to in- crease that for future stereo work. With stereo films, the studio has to create two image streams, doubling the amount of storage needed. “If we need to scale up, BlueArc can do that without affecting the footprint and without impacting pro- duction,” says Dowdeswell. “In terms of how it manages data, BlueArc is leaps and bounds over any competitor right now. What’s extra nice is that we can only guess how much we’re going to need to grow – with expansion to the business and ad- vancement in technology. As we grow, it’s important to know we have the right storage architecture in place no matter what the future holds.” for more customer stories, visit www.bluearc.com BlueArc Corporation Corporate Headquarters 50 Rio Robles, San Jose, CA 95134 t 408 576 6600 f 408 576 6601 www.bluearc.com BlueArc UK Ltd. European Headquarters Queensgate House Cookham Road, Bracknell RG12 1RB, United Kingdom t +44 (0) 1344 408 200 f +44 (0) 1344 408 202 ©2011 BlueArc Corporation. All rights reserved. The BlueArc logo is a registered trademark of BlueArc Corporation. 12/10 CS-IMEN-00 Come visit us in booth at SIGGRAPH 2011 731