Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/57245
STORAGE SOLUTIONS A series of Webisodes for National Geographic were completed at Wink. for Rodale Media, a Web graphics project for Vail Resorts and an industrial video for Cochlear Corp. Commercials also form part of the customer mix. The GraniteStor ST-RAID enables multiple edi- tors to work on the same project simultaneously, starting with ingesting footage or fi les in the edit rooms or at logging stations. "We can now ingest media in half a day or a day where it would have been multiple days without the RAID," Winkler says. "Once editing starts we can have two, three or four editors working at the same time — on dif- ferent segments, on graphics. With the old system we had to clone FireWire or other drives and fi nish the day by exchanging project fi les. Now we just work away and changes take place immediately for everybody." Winkler admits to being a shared storage skep- tic before the GraniteStor ST-RAID. "I didn't think it would save us as much money or time," he says. "But the minute we installed the system the editors were saying, 'How did we exist without it?'" Wink designed a mobile server app that also takes advantage of Small Tree technology. "We in- stalled another Small Tree Ethernet switch in a Mac tower for 6TB of RAID-protected storage," Winker explains. "The switch allows up to four edit or in- gest systems to hook up to the tower so we can set up a mini version of our studio in a condo or hotel in 90 minutes. We can go to a sporting event or press conference and immediately begin ingesting and putting out video clips or Web releases or even a broadcast-quality show. Clients really love it." Once back in Denver or Jackson Hole, the mo- bile server can be plugged into the main SAN so editors can start cutting all the material ingested in the fi eld. "The name of the game is to be smart and effi cient," says Winkler. Thanks to the scalability of the GraniteStor ST- RAID, the storage solution is likely to remain use- ful for quite some time. "Small Tree products are robust and strong," Winkler notes. FOTOKEM At FotoKem's Digital Film Services in Burbank Storage Solutions • March 2012 • 9