Rushes Upgrades Networking with Brocade System

Post-production and visual effects processing increasingly rely on 2K/4K film resolution high-definition CGI content and real-time digital end-to-end workflows. To address that challenge the post house Rushes (part of the Deluxe Entertainment Services Group) has deployed a Brocade BRCD -0.08% data center networking solution based on Ethernet fabric technology helping it meet growing demand and link seven data centers located across five buildings in the Soho area of London. Specifically Rushes turned to Brocade VCS Fabric technology and Brocade VDX 6720 Data Center Switches the primary building blocks for Ethernet fabrics that have revolutionized the design of Layer 2 networks inside of data centers. Brocade Ethernet fabrics are designed to improve network utilization maximize application availability increase scalability and dramatically simplify network architectures in highly virtualized data centers. The new Ethernet fabric deployment will provide the 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) performance elasticity and resilience needed to boost network capacity to meet increasing bandwidth demands. This type of solution will be increasingly important to modern enterprises irrespective of the vertical in which they operate since most will be dealing with increasing volumes of video in coming years; the media sector is paving the way for others to follow. With more than 120 staff members Rushes is a creative post-production and visual effects house recognized for its work on films Wuthering Heights Unknown The Disappearance of Alice Creed and Slumdog Millionaire; television series the BBC's Inside the Human Body and ABC's 13-part series Combat Hospital; music promos for Coldplay Bjoerk and U2; and commercials for Max Factor Nokia and Vodafone. Rushes hosts the Soho Shorts Film Festival each year which showcases new talent in the UK. On any given project at Rushes numerous departments are involved: Telecine (color-correction) editing computer graphics visual effects motion graphics data conversion and delivery. Jez Tucker Rushes' senior systems administrator says All the departments need to work together and connect to the same data stored in the same place so files aren't continually shuffled around creating islands of data or worse duplicates. Rather there's one proven joined-up workflow. Making sure your workflow is as efficient as it can be is a primary concern for post-production. To underpin this Rushes has implemented an IBM General Parallel File System SAN throughout the business to centralize file management. Departments connect either using Fibre Channel – for Effects Artists requiring guaranteed real-time 2K/4K (film resolution) HD or stereoscopic 3D playback performance – or alternatively via VDX 10 GbE. Tucker says In the post-production industry Fibre Channel connectivity is long proven but the move from 1 GbE to 10 GbE is designed to improve collaboration and the efficiency of staff across all departments. Real-time editing over 10 GbE is in its youth but we are excited at the prospect of what it can offer us. Over and above 10 GbE performance Rushes chose the Brocade VDX 6720 switches because they provide the foundation for Ethernet fabrics. Tucker says Given we have a distributed data center environment if we had deployed traditional top-of-rack switches we would have created a huge mesh network resulting in vastly increased management overhead. In contrast installing Brocade VDX switches in each computer room to create an Ethernet fabric is far simpler. Essentially VDX with VCS technology allows you to deploy a geographically distributed chassis switch with each VDX being a blade in that chassis -- all managed as one switch. Over the coming months Rushes plans to install additional Brocade VDX switches in each of the seven machine rooms which will appear logically as one data center. This phased rollout will provide an opportunity for the business to update end-of-life legacy-networking equipment thereby saving on support costs. The new Brocade VCS Fabric technology-based architecture is providing a stable high-performing low-latency infrastructure that is flexible enough to adapt to Rushes' evolving business. Tucker says Low latency is crucial when viewing image playback. You can't have a suite where the video stream is stuttering and dropping frames. The experience for the client must be nothing less than perfect. That's where we set the bar. Neither can you afford to take a hit on production schedules when your render farm starts crunching data. Your network must be capable of performing the tasks required of it. Alberto Soto vice president EMEA at Brocade says The ease of management is the big win for customers choosing VCS Fabric technology and why Rushes purchased our switches over competitive products. They're moving away from dealing with complex network management issues to focus on supporting line-of-business applications and the main task of serving and delighting clients. ,3267
Sonoblok Opens New imm Sound Studio in Barcelona,2012-05-01, Sonoblok has built an imm sound studio in Room 1 of the Sonoblok dubbing studios in Barcelona. Equipped with a 5.1 monitor system with JBL this room was easily adapted to imm’s monitor configuration of 23.1. It took just a few days to update the studio to the new system with minimal interruption to the professional activities of the studio

At the heart of the imm sound system is the IAW (Immersive Audio Workstation) a piece of hardware that allows the engineer to create 3D panning and generate imm files as well as current standard versions within the market. This unit is an indispensable tool for creating imm soundtracks and has other functions for amongst other things room equalization and reproducing the imm soundtrack for final checks at the completion end of the project.

A 32 channel DFC-Neve Gemini has been incorporated as the mixing console. This console is acting as a bridge between Pro Tools and IAW reproduction systems through its plentiful MADI connections. imm sound is compatible with all available consoles and offers potential for development with the implementation of an imm sound monitor system.

 Dean Humphreys The Pianist re-recording mixer who recently visited the sound studio and says 
“My feeling when hearing imm sound for the first time was similar to when I first heard 5.1. Before 5.1 came along we were all working in a matrixed two-track but when 5.1 arrived it was a significant improvement and you couldn't wait to mix a film in this new format. I feel exactly the same now with imm sound.