Visual Effects Studio Crafty Apes Remains Online with VDI for Remote Work
… the 10ZiG Zero Clients to their personal PCs. Once connected, it enabled the virtual workstation environments from their computers. For those who didn’t have their own personal computers, RFX procured them through its distributors.
The editors and artists can now access their workstations from their PCs at home via the studio’s VDI infrastructure.
Performance and Security
The solution aims to ensure security by encrypting and transmitting pixels directly to the remote endpoint. Likewise, Teradici’s PC over IP protocol is optimized to render graphics at full fidelity without latency.
“It replicates like a very long, high-quality KVM extender, for lack of a better term,” Buyyala said. “It’s the equivalent of them being at their desk, but they are connecting from their homes. And they get a secure way of accessing their particular workstations.”
RFX has provided IT solutions for film production since 1978. The industry knows founder Ray Feeney for helping to develop one of the first motion control camera systems. In the early days of Star Wars, RFX was a large Silicon Graphics Inc. (SGI) reseller. Regarded for its high-performance computers in the 1990s and early 2000s, SGI is now part of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Increased Demand
Crafty Apes isn’t the only film production studio looking to establish remote access for their staffs.
“Many of our existing high-performance customers who run studios were in that boat,” Lammam said. “We’ve been fielding quite a bit of demand from both of those types of clients.”
Besides Crafty Apes, DNEG and Scanline VFX are existing customers still using Teradici’s software for remote access, Lammam said. The crisis has also brought on some new customers from visual effects studios. Among them is Atomic Cartoons, which provisioned 800 of its animators to work from home, according to Lammam.
To accommodate the uncertain situations around COVID-19, Lammam said Teradici is providing more flexibility on software licensing. For example, the company is allowing shorter-term licenses at no extra cost, he said. Overall, Lammam said demand for Teradici’s Cloud Access Software has doubled since the pandemic forced people to work from home.
For its part, Edson said Crafty Apes’ editors and artists will work from home as long as necessary. Nevertheless, recalling the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Edson realizes it will take time for the industry to rebound.
“After 9-11, nothing was shot,” he said. “It lasted up to a year. Then it increased more than ever.”
While there is concern about how long this COVID-19 interruption will last, Edson said he is optimistic.
“This industry is probably more flexible than any,” he said.
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