EFILM Selects SGI InfiniteStorage Technology to Power New Movie Trailer Facility

EFILM Selects SGI InfiniteStorage Technology to Power New Movie Trailer Facility

SGI CXFS Shared Filesystem and SGI InfiniteStorage RM660, Highly Optimized for Rich Media, Deliver the Top Speed Needed for Hollywood Blockbuster Deadlines

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To robustly power a brand new color-correction and editorial production facility, EFILM LLC purchased a complement of technology from SGI (NASDAQ:SGIC) to meet the nail-biting deadlines of Hollywood movie trailer production. A pioneering digital film lab that has relied on innovative SGI(R) InfiniteStorage and storage area network (SAN) technology for many years, EFILM expanded its business into movie trailers in an 8,000 square-foot building across the street from its main Hollywood, Calif., facility. Gutting the interior, EFILM designed its movie trailer business, with networking assistance from SGI Professional Services, to house two editorial suites and a color-correction suite, which also functions as a digital or film screening room for the end product.

The acknowledged market leader in digital intermediate (DI), known for their ability to work with directors and cinematographers to create an entire "look" for a film starting from the first day on a set, EFILM is wholly owned by Deluxe Laboratories. Operational for two months, EFILM's movie trailer business has been busy from day one, with SGI high-speed storage and networking technology at its core.

EFILM works on four to six movie trailers on any given week and completes approximately the same amount per week. Almost all trailers are worked on in 2K resolution and, when completed, most go back out on film, some to video, and more and more frequently, to the color-accurate, DCI-compliant (Digital Cinema Initiative) format as well. The new DCI format is used in theaters that have switched to digital cinema and now use digital projectors instead of film projectors. Just as with full-length films, EFILM can output trailers in 2K or 4K, depending on the digital projector the theatre uses. While the movie trailer data files are small compared to full-length films (two to three minutes versus 90 minutes to two hours), the extremely short production timelines means there's always a rush or an emergency to get the trailers out and into the movie theaters for "Coming Attractions." The need to meet those deadlines was one of the primary reasons EFILM again turned to SGI, backed by their long-term familiarity in the digital intermediate business with SGI InfiniteStorage systems, SGI heterogeneous SANs and the strong differentiator in networking and storage systems: the SGI(R) InfiniteStorage CXFS(TM) shared filesystem.

"For what we do, the SGI network is really the only game in town," said Bob Eicholz, Vice President of Technology & Corporate Development, EFILM. "I haven't found anything that's as robust. We know SGI has reliable hardware and networking capabilities, great service, and competitive pricing. And then there's CXFS, the glue that holds the storage and the network together with all the machines. It allows us to get the data from machine to machine at top speeds, reliably and consistently. The new facility has been extremely successful from day one. We have thrilled clients and it's just been an unqualified success."

To create the SGI SAN to provide high-speed storage and networking to run their new trailer business, EFILM purchased an SGI(R) Altix(R) 350 server with 8GB RAM and 2 Dual-Core Intel(R) Itanium(R) 2 processors (for a total of 4 processor cores) running the Red Hat(R) Enterprise Linux(R) operating environment. The SGI Altix 350 is set up as the gateway server, receiving offline tape from an Avid(R) system -- via a 10Gb link to EFILM's main DI facility across the street -- that shows how the trailer is to be cut, the SGI Altix 350 server then delivers the information to two Autodesk(R) Smoke(R) workstations. EFILM also selected two SGI(R) Origin(R) 350 servers with 8GB RAM as metadata servers, and an SGI(R) InfiniteStorage RM660 RAID storage array -- highly optimized for rich media and streaming applications -- with 21.5TB storage.

SGI CXFS shared filesystem links the servers and storage array via 4 Gigabit Fibre Channel to the two smoke editing workstations as well as linking an Autodesk Flame(R) for compositing and an Autodesk Backdraft(R) media-management workstation; SGI CXFS filesystem also enables soft imports to Autodesk Stones and renders, and to EFILM's color-correction suite. In the suite, EFILM uses a proprietary version of Autodesk's Incinerator(R) color-correction software, called EWORKS. The major pieces of EFILM's pipeline (full-length films or trailers) are all proprietary, many of them 100 percent developed for EFILM, while some others are adaptations of product that are on the market. EFILM also purchased a Barco(R) digital projector for the color-correction suite through SGI Professional Services.

"SGI technology provides the high-speed storage and networking backbone that cutting-edge digital film production facilities rely on throughout the globe," said Louise Ledeen, Media market segment manager, SGI. "EFILM knows first-hand, through their DI business, how well SGI InfiniteStorage SANs can impact a high performance workflow for maximum efficiency, translating into bottom-line profits for a world-class artistic facility."

SGI - Innovation for Results(TM)

SGI is a leader in high-performance computing. SGI delivers a complete range of high-performance server and storage solutions along with industry-leading professional services and support that enable its customers to overcome the challenges of complex data-intensive workflows and accelerate breakthrough discoveries, innovation and information transformation. SGI helps customers solve their computing challenges whether it's enhancing the quality of life through drug research, designing and manufacturing safer and more efficient cars and airplanes, studying global climate, providing technologies for homeland security and defense, or helping enterprises manage large data. With offices worldwide, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., and can be found on the Web at www.sgi.com.

NOTE: SGI, Altix, IRIX, Origin, the SGI cube and the SGI logo are registered trademarks, and CXFS is a trademark, of SGI in the United States and/or other countries worldwide. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in several countries. Intel and Itanium are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Autodesk, Smoke, Stone, Backdraft, Flame, and Incinerator are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

MEDIA CONTACT
Lisa Pistacchio
pistacchio@sgi.com
650.933.5683

SGI PR HOTLINE
650.933.7777

FCMN Contact: pistacchio@sgi.com

Source: SGI

CONTACT: Lisa Pistacchio, +1-650-933-5683, or pistacchio@sgi.com, or PR
Hotline, +1-650-933-7777, both of SGI

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