New Media with the power of two cities
A new media office, Nitro, unified its post-production systems at its Helsinki and Turku premises in the summer of 2011. The systems were to be built using the same technologies, as person move a lot between the Helsinki and Turku offices. On the other hand, the special needs of both premises had to be taken into account.
A DVS SpycerBox SAN disk system was acquired in Arabianranta, Helsinki, which allowed the workflow to be centralized on one disk surface. All departments now utilize the same plate surface, eliminating the need to move material between departments. Final Cut editing workstations connect to the disk system with a high-speed 8Gb fiber connection that enables real-time workflow in both light and heavy formats. The Logic Studio audio unit and studio connect to the disk surface via a 1GigE connection.
Nitro is known for its stunning 2D and 3D animations and graphics created by four Autodesk 3ds Max workstations. In addition to the 3ds Max workstations, there is a render farm of five machines in the background, which also utilizes the more than 40TB of SpycerBox disk space.
Instead of SAN, the Turku audio and video units were equipped with local G-Tech G-Speed eS Pro disc stacks. This desicion was made because Turku’s productions are more unit-specific. The software and workstation are otherwise the same as in Helsinki. Likewise, monitoring based on AJA Kona 3G cards and Eizo monitors.
The backup and archiving of the material has been implemented at both premises with similar systems based on LTO data tapes.
Unified systems allow for the exchange of material between locations. For example, the material produced in the Turku studio can be delivered to Helsinki for post-processing with the LTO data tape. Or a project archived in Helsinki can be taken directly from the tapes to be further processed in Turku.
