Technology, such as the 3D one, has been rapidly advancing and changing the film industry. But it’s not the only one.
Cloud computing and film aren’t necessarily two things that you’d lump together; one deals with entertaining people whereas the other aids people with saving and transferring of data from one place to another.
However, these two seemingly distant aspects of modern life are closer than we may initially think. While we are more used to the concept of streaming media thanks to the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, the idea of cloud computing – which uses a similar theory – is actually playing an integral part in the creating of some of the biggest blockbusters to hit our cinema screens.
How Does It Help?
At first glance it can seem quite hard to see how cloud technology and film fit hand in hand, but if you look at the techniques that are used within the film industry to actually create the feature film, the reasoning behind why many studios are turning to cloud-based systems becomes apparent.
The rendering process is one of the most power-hungry aspects of film making; compositing all the scenes of a film with visual effects and audio can take a very long time and requires a huge amount of computing power.
On-Demand Computer Power
Rather than trying to source a powerhouse of computers which can deal with the huge workload, many compositors are utilising the power of cloud computing to remotely use computing power to run their rendering processes, meaning such projects can be completed in a much quicker timeframe.
According to an article on BBC News, visual effects company Atomic Fiction are advocates of using this cloud technology. Laurent Tailefer, computer graphics supervisor for the studio comments in the article that “The amount of shots we are dealing with… and the level of detail of their contents – the photo-real reconstruction of Manhattan for Robert Zemeckis’ movie The Walk, for example – require a computational power that would imply a massive investment which would make it impossible for a studio like ours to be competitive,”
“For Deadpool, some shots of the city had so much detail in the models and textures that rendering the final images required more memory than available on standard computers.
“Cloud machines offered us that missing power, making extremely complex shots possible to render.”
Security Concerns
While cloud computing is a huge help for the industry when it comes to compiling the final cut, there is still some scepticism with regards to the security of this technology, especially in an industry which relies on complete secrecy until the film is ready to be released.
Studios are combatting this worry by creating their own, private cloud systems, meaning that they don’t necessarily have to worry about the public – or other studios – gaining access to their systems like they would If they used the same cloud systems that Netflix, Amazon and Google do.
This is essentially a huge investment for studios to undertake, but for the sole reason that they can essentially guarantee their work’s safety – which is more than enough of an excuse to spend so much when cheaper cloud solutions are available to them.
Security is something that we take very seriously here at Video2DVD, and while we don’t use cloud technology to process your VHS tapes to DVD format, we love understanding how those working in Hollywood work! We can’t imagine how much computer processing power would be required to composite and transfer such large, important files!
If you’d like more information on how we can transform your old VHS tapes into a more modern format that the whole family can enjoy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us today!