HP, AMD Power Over the Hedge
HP technology helped DreamWorks Animation SKG create the 3D-animated feature, OVER THE HEDGE, which was released today in U.S. theaters and is showing at the 59th Cannes International Film Festival.
HP, which is DreamWorks Animation's preferred technology provider, delivered servers, workstations and HP Halo collaboration studios to meet the demanding business and production needs required to create the new animated comedy.
DreamWorks Animation's digital artists created lighting and vfx for OVER THE HEDGE using HP xw9300 workstations and HP ProLiant DL145G2 servers powered by Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors. In fact, the ProLiant servers provided OVER THE HEDGE more than 15 million render hours —three times more than DreamWorks Animation's original SHREK film — making it the most powerful render-farm in DreamWorks Animation's history.
These systems provided increased computing power over DreamWorks Animation's previous generation of systems, helping artists work on multiple scenes simultaneously. These systems provided more than 30% additional computing power over DreamWorks Animation's previous generation of systems, helping artists work on multiple scenes simultaneously — similar to how PCs based on AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors help consumers improve multi-tasking capability. DreamWorks Animation production management staff also used HP Compaq nx6125 notebooks based on AMD Turion 64 mobile technology to help streamline a variety of production activities.
“As we've grown as a company, so has our collaboration with HP,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, ceo DreamWorks Animation. “They were there at the beginning with SHREK and have been with us every step along the way. I don't think we'd be where we are today as an innovator and a leader in visual effects and technology were it not for the incredible support we’ve had and continue to get from HP and AMD.”
"Computer-generated filmmaking consumes an extraordinary amount of computational power and our creative ambition always seems to stay two steps ahead of what's possible," said Ed Leonard, cto, DreamWorks Animation SKG. "HP not only enables us to stay two steps ahead on the animation side, but on the business side, too. With HP and AMD's help we are able to release two CG films a year — unprecedented in the industry."
“Our users are among the most demanding in the world,” said Craig Ring, visual effects supervisor. What OVER THE HEDGE artists wanted most was more time — more time to explore creative options, make characters more engaging and produce an extraordinarily high degree of visual sophistication.
HP and AMD technology gave them the time they needed. “The HP xw9300 workstation made it possible for us to deliver a more visually complex movie than ever before,” Ring added. “The faster workstations allowed us to have a whole cast full of characters that had long fur and a whole forest filled with bushes, trees and grass.”
“The characters have millions of strands of hair on their bodies,” explained Dave Burgess, supervising animator. “To render all that out takes time and processing power. You need to do your animation, fire off a rendering and have it come back as soon as possible so you’re seeing it at the highest resolution to know if the look or movement or sequence is working.
“Thanks to the HP workstations, we have been able to animate in close to realtime,” Ring added. “The flexibility that gave us meant there were fewer creative compromises in OVER THE HEDGE. When the director said, ‘I really want to do this,’ the answer came back ‘yes’ more often.”
Lighting and visual effects departments were first to incorporate the HP xw9300 workstations and were its heaviest users. “The lighters were excited about the speed and throughput of the AMD processors,” Ring said. “The Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors were a fundamental difference and helped people work on multiple scenes at once. It’s like having multiple computers on your desktop. You can work with one shot while the workstation is off calculating another.
HP, which is DreamWorks Animation's preferred technology provider, delivered servers, workstations and HP Halo collaboration studios to meet the demanding business and production needs required to create the new animated comedy.
DreamWorks Animation's digital artists created lighting and vfx for OVER THE HEDGE using HP xw9300 workstations and HP ProLiant DL145G2 servers powered by Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors. In fact, the ProLiant servers provided OVER THE HEDGE more than 15 million render hours —three times more than DreamWorks Animation's original SHREK film — making it the most powerful render-farm in DreamWorks Animation's history.
These systems provided increased computing power over DreamWorks Animation's previous generation of systems, helping artists work on multiple scenes simultaneously. These systems provided more than 30% additional computing power over DreamWorks Animation's previous generation of systems, helping artists work on multiple scenes simultaneously — similar to how PCs based on AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core processors help consumers improve multi-tasking capability. DreamWorks Animation production management staff also used HP Compaq nx6125 notebooks based on AMD Turion 64 mobile technology to help streamline a variety of production activities.
“As we've grown as a company, so has our collaboration with HP,” said Jeffrey Katzenberg, ceo DreamWorks Animation. “They were there at the beginning with SHREK and have been with us every step along the way. I don't think we'd be where we are today as an innovator and a leader in visual effects and technology were it not for the incredible support we’ve had and continue to get from HP and AMD.”
"Computer-generated filmmaking consumes an extraordinary amount of computational power and our creative ambition always seems to stay two steps ahead of what's possible," said Ed Leonard, cto, DreamWorks Animation SKG. "HP not only enables us to stay two steps ahead on the animation side, but on the business side, too. With HP and AMD's help we are able to release two CG films a year — unprecedented in the industry."
“Our users are among the most demanding in the world,” said Craig Ring, visual effects supervisor. What OVER THE HEDGE artists wanted most was more time — more time to explore creative options, make characters more engaging and produce an extraordinarily high degree of visual sophistication.
HP and AMD technology gave them the time they needed. “The HP xw9300 workstation made it possible for us to deliver a more visually complex movie than ever before,” Ring added. “The faster workstations allowed us to have a whole cast full of characters that had long fur and a whole forest filled with bushes, trees and grass.”
“The characters have millions of strands of hair on their bodies,” explained Dave Burgess, supervising animator. “To render all that out takes time and processing power. You need to do your animation, fire off a rendering and have it come back as soon as possible so you’re seeing it at the highest resolution to know if the look or movement or sequence is working.
“Thanks to the HP workstations, we have been able to animate in close to realtime,” Ring added. “The flexibility that gave us meant there were fewer creative compromises in OVER THE HEDGE. When the director said, ‘I really want to do this,’ the answer came back ‘yes’ more often.”
Lighting and visual effects departments were first to incorporate the HP xw9300 workstations and were its heaviest users. “The lighters were excited about the speed and throughput of the AMD processors,” Ring said. “The Dual-Core AMD Opteron processors were a fundamental difference and helped people work on multiple scenes at once. It’s like having multiple computers on your desktop. You can work with one shot while the workstation is off calculating another.
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