As business continued to grow for DNP Studios (DNP), an industry leader in full-service film and high-definition video production/post-production, so too did the agency’s concerns about its workflow. With three fully stocked post-production suites in its new, custom-built, 10,000-square-foot facility featuring MAC Pro’s with 8 gigs of RAM, DNP needed a shared storage system capable of sharing HD footage in real time without dropping frames. To meet its technical requirements, the agency recently installed shared storage technology from Small Tree, designer of simple-to-install, inexpensive Mac-based networking and shared storage products for professional video and audio editors, and the results have been exceptional thus far.
To facilitate its workflow, DNP installed Small Tree’s Edge-corE ES4524D, a 24-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, along with its PEG4 4-port Ethernet card – both of which are a part of Small Tree’s new GraniteSTOR product line. According to Mike Florio, visual effects artist at DNP, the Small Tree system’s reliability has improved the production team’s productivity.
“The improved workflow we’ve experienced since implementing the Small Tree equipment has allowed us to complete projects more efficiently, as we’re not faced with the constant struggle for dataflow,” stated Florio. “We now have capabilities to play back DVCProHD footage, while other editors are pulling ProRes422HQ files from the drives simultaneously with no problems and no glitches. That fact that we don’t have to worry about dropped frames, play back or other typical technical snags that arise in post-production is comforting.”
From concept development and scriptwriting to state-of-the-art production and post-production services, as well as an exciting array of multimedia and web-based communications, DNP Studios develops solutions to effectively inform, inspire, educate and motivate. Among its impressive project roster is the popular feature film “Fireproof,” starring Kirk Cameron. During its theatrical run, “Fireproof” had a domestic gross of more than $33 million, placing it in the top five Christian films by box office sales.
Small Tree is the Mac Networking Expert, making networking child’s play. Small Tree provides a complete portfolio of Ethernet-based networking and storage solutions for Apple Mac OS X customers. Small Tree’s team of networking developers has extensive experience in high performance computing, and knows how to achieve the demanding application requirements of Mac customers. Small Tree also provides contracted programming services for the Department of Defense. For more information about the company and its products, please call 1-866-STC4MAC (1-866-782-4622), or visit www.small-tree.com.
