Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/348146
www.postmagazine.com 6 POST JULY 2014 BITS & PIECES CHICAGO — ACM SIGGRAPH announced the selection of Elliot Kotek, co-founder of Not Impossible Labs, as the keynote speaker at SIGGRAPH 2014, the 41st International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Tech- niques. The event will take place August 10-14 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. The current content chief and co-founder of Not Impos- sible Labs, and editor-in-chief of www.notimpossiblenow.com, Kotek (pictured) is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Beyond Cinema, and the former editor-in-chief of both Moving Pictures and Celebs.com. "Elliot Kotek is an ideal keynote speaker for SIGGRAPH 2014," says Dave Shreiner, SIG- GRAPH 2014 conference chair. "The motto of Not Impossible Labs, 'technology for the sake of humanity,' is the perfect example that the SIGGRAPH community strives for in mak- ing a meaningful impact on society with their work. Not Impossible Labs' projects serve as inspiration to the thousands of researchers, artists, educa- tors and computer graphics professionals that gather at SIGGRAPH each year." By using crowd-sourcing to crowd-solve healthcare issues, Not Impossible aims to provide low-cost and DIY solutions on an open-source platform, and to enable devices to reach people in need throughout the world. NEW YORK — As an entertainment and arts advertising agency, SpotCo faces tight deadlines that are often measured in seconds, not minutes. To ensure that file-read times during post production meet their demand- ing requirements, SpotCo recently installed the ThunderNet2 networking solution from Small Tree (www.small- tree.com). "The SpotCo video department is extremely happy with the Thun- derNet2 and the 4-port Ethernet 10 gigabit (10GbE) card from Small Tree in our video server," says Andy Bond, video editor with SpotCo, best known for its work with such Broadway shows as "Chicago," "Kinky Boots" and "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder." "We're doing things like scrubbing across near 4K videos in After Effects and Premiere with absolutely no net- work bottlenecks. No delays, hiccups, nothing. This has taken rendering from over an hour on 1GbE to a few minutes using 10GbE. And, opening a complicated 13Gb file from 20 minutes to less than a minute. We couldn't be happier thanks to Small Tree." ThunderNet2 was created to support the increased processing power available to pros, including the new Mac Pro machines at SpotCo. Combining high performance I/O capabilities of Thunderbolt 2 with the flexibility of PCIe and Small Tree's 10GbE driver, Small Tree's ThunderNet2 provides creative media professionals a solution to integrate Thunderbolt- equipped platforms into high perfor- mance storage and data networks. ThunderNet2 boasts a range of 1- or 10Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to Thunderbolt-equipped systems from Apple and HP, providing high levels of network performance and connectivity to Small Tree's Ethernet shared storage appliance, TitaniumZ or 10 Gigabit Ethernet switches. Thun- derNet2 can also provide additional Gigabit Ethernet connectivity to the user's current network. MTI FILM ESTABLISHES NEW YORK PRESENCE HOLLYWOOD — MTI Film (www. mtifilm.com), developer of software solutions for dailies processing, digital restoration and other applications, has established a presence in New York City with the relocation of its director of product support, Amy Hawthorne. Hawthorne (pictured) will provide New York clients and prospects with in-person training, support and demonstrations while continuing to support the worldwide cus- tomer base for DRS Nova and Cortex Dailies. "We've always maintained close ties with our New York customers through our office in Providence, RI, but our business there is expanding quickly," notes MTI Film CEO, Larry Cher- noff. "Amy's move to [New York] will help to re-cement existing ties and grow new ones. As production continues to expand in Atlanta, New Orleans, Toronto and Boston, it makes sense to have a strong, personal presence on the East Coast." Hawthorne began with MTI in 2004 as a software support technician for Correct DRS at the company's office in Providence. She moved to LA in 2009 and took on expanded customer-fac- ing duties, including marketing and reseller management. With the introduction of Cortex Dailies in 2012, Hawthorne became the lead trainer and demo artist for the family of products. SPOTCO AD AGENCY DECREASES RENDER TIME WITH SMALL TREE THUNDERNET2 ELLIOT KOTEK, CO-FOUNDER OF NOT IMPOSSIBLE LABS, TO KEYNOTE SIGGRAPH 2014