Hong Kong-Based Imagi Studios Selected Datacraft

Imagi Studios, Asia’s leading company in computer-generated (CG) animated feature film production, has selected Datacraft to build a highly scalable film production and data storage solution in order to manage the massive volumes of data required for the next generation of CG animated movies. The new business win reinforces Datacraft’s foothold in the media and communications industry, which is a key market focus.

Renowned for its expertise in the development and production of CG animation, Imagi Studios is bracing itself for an industry-wide storage explosion tied to the launch of new 3D technologies that is revolutionizing film-making. Just as movie making is growing more complex, the Studios needs a more sophisticated rendering solution to match its burgeoning creativity. Currently, Imagi Studios is working on several projects including Astro Boy for release next year and Gatchaman for release in 2010. Looking further into the future, the Studios is expecting to have a new film for release every 9 to 12 months.

To address these challenging demands at a critical time, Datacraft was tasked with developing a storage system that could deliver linear performance scalability to handle the anticipated data explosion much more quickly than before. For Imagi’s solution, Datacraft selected specialist storage management software from Ibrix; the leader in scalable file serving solutions. Datacraft is now Ibrix’s sole partner in Asia; and subsequently has become the only IT partner in the region capable of implementing a storage system that can handle any type or size of data processing requirements.

"In CG animation production, additional 3-D renderings and constant adding of objects are always needed and each modification requires a vast amount of data," said Yan Chen, Visual Effects Supervisor for Imagi. "Even the slightest hitch in the storage system can result in sub-optimal workflow. As such, having a scalable and efficient data storage system is business critical and can also cut down our capital expenditure cost."

"We selected Datacraft as our partner to handle this complex task because the company has a deep knowledge of storage systems and the capacity to ensure system scalability to meet current and future needs. It also provides the support services to keep our IT systems operating efficiently over the long term," added Johnny Mak, Head of Technical Operations for Imagi.

The new storage solution has been designed and implemented by Datacraft at Imagi’s Hong Kong headquarters and features 24 Dell servers and two EMC Clariion CX3-80 storage devices equipped with 486 disks backed by Ibrix Fusion storage software. The new system allows an aggregate throughput of 4GB of ‘read-only’ data and 1GB of ‘writable’ data, easily surpassing competing suppliers that offered no more than 1GB ‘read-only’ and 300MB ‘writable’ data. This increase in I/O throughput means shorter overall rendering time and more room for creativity, whilst simplifying management and reducing the total cost of ownership.

"The Datacraft team focused very specifically on matching Imagi’s exacting specifications for linear scalability so that performance remains high as data volumes increase," said Francis Pang, General Manager for Datacraft Hong Kong. "To achieve this, the storage system was designed so that every component has spare capacity and operates within optimum specifications."

"Our choice of Ibrix software and the effort by my team to establish sole distributorship in Asia for this leading technology is a testimony to Datacraft’s commitment to be a first class technology partner for Imagi. I am very proud of my team," added Pang.

Following its first theatrical movie TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) released in 2007 which became number one opening at the US box office, Imagi Studios is now producing Astro Boy which is slated for worldwide theatrical release in 2009. To be distributed by Summit Entertainment worldwide (except in Imagi’s reserved territories of Japan, China and Hong Kong), Astro Boy will feature the voices of Academy Award -winning actor Nicolas Cage, as well as Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy and Eugene Levy, along with Freddie Highmore in the title role. David Bowers is directing Astro Boy from a screenplay written by Timothy Harris, with Maryann Garger producing.

Imagi’s contract with Datacraft includes a three-year Uptime support and maintenance contract.