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people to think that if storage can be remote, then why can’t all the operators? Dobberkau believes that what is required for the best possible post-production work is maintaining dedicated spaces where the intimacy of creative work is imperative for excellent results – yes, have greater connectedness between those spaces – fast access to storage devices right next to you or via dedicated connection. “Intimate environments, whether it’s between a director and a colourist or a director and audio engineers, are critical for creativity and very difficult to do well when people aren’t in the same room,” says Dobberkau. He concludes: “These are artists, not just somebody getting any old job done – and they are used to doing things in a particular way. I don’t believe this part of human nature is going to change in the next ten years. Above all, and something we can’t let ourselves forget, technology needs to support the art, and not the other way around.”
“Theoretically you can do it, but practically there is still a long way to go.” CREATING THE CREATIVE SPACE Most of the uptake of Rohde & Schwarz storage solutions has been in the post- production sector. Dobberkau has noticed that finishing quality media and entertainment still requires dedicated systems in dedicated facilities. The complete off-the-shelf post-production facility has yet to be invented. But when facilities are looking at what kinds of servers to use – on-premises, private cloud, public cloud – they often need help to accurately assess the best options, especially for longer term ROI. “There are so many options that it’s really challenging to compare them properly,” observes Dobberkau. “I’ve found people have a hard time doing the costing maths or financial modelling that is required in order to work out which storage method works best in the short term or long term. While the shiny new buzz of the cloud seems attractive at first, we as humans are not always good at guessing the long-term costs and consequences of our choices. Owning it and controlling it remotely is the key.” An added challenge is that such an industry buzz/trend often encourages
of demand – a demand often fuelled by the media and entertainment industry. Being based in a major industrial centre, especially one serving media companies, may mean you have more or less reliable data transfer speeds on a normal day. But mission-critical infrastructure, especially on deadline-sensitive material, can’t just be left to the whim of what is, essentially, digital weather. Recently, there have been a few large-scale experiments doing production entirely in the cloud. These are fascinating and producing some really useful experience for further study, but doing quality post-production in the cloud is still not really on the cards. “Today, this is technically very hard to accomplish,” explains Erik Dobberkau, product manager of post & premium content solutions at Rohde & Schwarz. THESE ARE ARTISTS, NOT JUST SOMEBODY GETTING A JOB DONE
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