The Digital Studio Challenge: A Catch 22
Each
time, this is a big challenge for the whole 3D team which includes: 2 3D-Animators,
3 modelers, 1 software integrator and 1 tester.
Mark Kirk, Technical Director for Systems, Pacific Data Images
Managing the technology of Pacific Data Images is certainly a challenging task for everyone on our team. The last two years have been a tremendous period of growth at PDI due to both the expansion of our visual effects/commercial group and the Antz feature production. So, one of the primary responsibilities is planning and implementing this growth, with all of its ramifications, while maintaining a robust environment to support production. For example, the last year has seen the introduction of over 200 new computer systems to PDI. The timely preparation and deployment of these systems is critical in itself. However, an important side-effect of this has been the necessary growth of our network. Expanding PDI's specialized, high-performance LAN (local area network) in the face of such rapid growth is a significant design challenge.
The "7 x 24 uptime" nature of production makes implementing growth and other changes difficult. Planning, preparation, and scheduling are extremely crucial. When we are afforded the rare opportunity to make some major change, it must be done quickly and without error. Technology also requires talented people to manage it. PDI is fortunate to have a superb systems group, but continued growth fuels the search for additional systems administrators. The dramatic shortage of skilled systems administrators makes expanding our staff difficult. All studios are facing this problem.
Everything we do must further our end goal of providing a stable and powerful environment for the animators. We never want technology to become a bottleneck for our creativity.
Mark Kirk, Technical Director for Systems, Pacific Data Images
Managing the technology of Pacific Data Images is certainly a challenging task for everyone on our team. The last two years have been a tremendous period of growth at PDI due to both the expansion of our visual effects/commercial group and the Antz feature production. So, one of the primary responsibilities is planning and implementing this growth, with all of its ramifications, while maintaining a robust environment to support production. For example, the last year has seen the introduction of over 200 new computer systems to PDI. The timely preparation and deployment of these systems is critical in itself. However, an important side-effect of this has been the necessary growth of our network. Expanding PDI's specialized, high-performance LAN (local area network) in the face of such rapid growth is a significant design challenge.
The "7 x 24 uptime" nature of production makes implementing growth and other changes difficult. Planning, preparation, and scheduling are extremely crucial. When we are afforded the rare opportunity to make some major change, it must be done quickly and without error. Technology also requires talented people to manage it. PDI is fortunate to have a superb systems group, but continued growth fuels the search for additional systems administrators. The dramatic shortage of skilled systems administrators makes expanding our staff difficult. All studios are facing this problem.
Everything we do must further our end goal of providing a stable and powerful environment for the animators. We never want technology to become a bottleneck for our creativity.
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