Scalar's RenderCloud
The digital media industry is thriving, with nearly all major blockbusters, such as Transformers, GI Joe, District 9, Thor, Tron and X-Men all requiring extensive rendering to product their special effects. However, as digital media technology has progressed, it has become increasingly difficult to push next-generation media over legacy networks and infrastructure. Furthermore, studios have struggled with fluctuating render needs – high-capacity infrastructure may only be required for several weeks or months when a project is in production – and studios don't want to be left with the burden and cost of supporting high-performance IT systems beyond the lifecycle of an individual project.Scalar's RenderCloud allows digital media studios to overcome these issues and avail of our remote, high-performance server farm on an as-needed basis, using resources as required and sub-leasing their allocation during slower periods, providing them with a means of cost recovery. Additionally, our farm is supported by an ultra-high-speed network which allows studios to connect to each other through our hub. This enables work-sharing on large projects and allows artists to work as if the infrastructure was deployed on-premise, while still benefitting from the security of a separate location. With RenderCloud, studios are no longer subject to technical limitations, can budget for projects more predictably, and can compete on a global scale. RenderCloud will scale to over 12,000 cores by mid-2012, and these powerful resources are available to studios nationwide for what amounts to under $8 per server per day.
RenderCloud has 24/7 hardware monitoring with on-site services, and the farm follows guidelines laid out by the Motion Picture Association of America. Scalar's team has decades of experience building out large-scale infrastructure and has worked collaboratively with studios Digital Domain, Image Engine and Rainmaker, and Great Northern Way Campus to bring this exciting project to fruition.
