IE Effects Deploys Isilon NAS

Isilon Systems, Inc. announced that IE Effects, a 3D visual effects and post-production studio, has deployed Isilon scale-out NAS as the primary storage repository for its entire post-production operation, including 3D effects for Michael Jackson’s This Is It and various Disney and Motorola commercial campaigns.

Using Isilon’s X-Series, IE Effects has unified all of its visual effects, editorial, and color grading applications onto a single, shared storage resource, increasing workflow efficiency and accelerating project time-to-delivery. With Isilon IQ, IE Effects can cost-effectively scale its storage in-step with application demand, enabling it to process more visual effects projects in less time and expand its bandwidth to accommodate new business opportunities across movies, television, commercials and theme parks.

"The increasing demand for 3D entertainment is creating significant challenges for VFX workflows as 3D doubles the size of a given project and requires significantly higher data performance to meet deadlines," said David Kenneth, executive producer, IE Effects. "Until Isilon, we hadn’t seen a storage system capable of delivering the concurrent throughput and ease of management needed to consistently deliver leading-edge 3D effects. Now, we can process 3D and 2D projects simultaneously from multiple locations, increasing our bandwidth for new business and allowing us to grow at a previously impossible rate."

IE Effects delivers leading-edge 2D and 3D visual effects for movies, television, commercials and theme parks, including Disney, Honda and Motorola, among others. Prior to using Isilon scale-out NAS, IE Effects didn’t have a central storage system, leaving valuable content stranded in disparate data silos and limiting data access. Without a shared content repository, IE Effects artists and contractors couldn’t easily interface with production content, hindering collaboration and slowing project completion times.

Working with Isilon systems integrator Integrated Media Technologies (IMT), IE Effects deployed Isilon IQ, featuring its OneFS operating system, to unify its entire post-production operation onto a single, shared, easy to use storage resource, aggregating a variety of performance-intensive effects applications to improve productivity and collaboration. Using Isilon’s SnapshotIQ data protection software, IE Effects can take unlimited data snapshots, while simultaneously running multiple 2D and 3D effects applications, providing the studio with flexible, reliable data protection that reduces risk and system management. With Isilon scale-out NAS, IE Effects has been able to accelerate production cycles and reduce storage costs, driving increased operating leverage throughout its business.

"The need to aggregate applications and drive more efficient team collaboration is critical to business success regardless of the industry," said Sam Grocott, vice president of marketing, Isilon Systems. "Add to that the need to do so at less cost, and traditional SAN and NAS systems simply aren’t up to the task. IE Effects use of Isilon scale-out NAS to unify its operations and accelerate project delivery times is another compelling example of Isilon’s benefits for data-intensive IT environments."