VANCOUVER, Jan. 30, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, Scalar Decisions, the Canadian
IT solutions integrator, announced the launch of their RenderCloud project, which will see a number of British Columbia digital media
studios move to a high-performance cloud computing model to render
their digital productions, availing of Scalar's centralized IT
facilities at the Centre for Digital Media on the Great Northern Way
Campus in Vancouver, BC.
RenderCloud is a farm of high-performance servers manufactured by technical
computing company SGI and supported by an ultra-fast 10GB Ethernet
built on Brocade networking technology. The project, which is the first
of its kind in Canada, will allow studios to not only pay for server
technology on an "as-needed" cost-per-day model, but also to connect
and collaborate on projects by leveraging the high-speed network
interconnectivity. The project is set to scale to over 1500 servers by
the middle of this year and will allow BC film studios to compete with
US counterparts through reduced budgets and increased performance.
Darren Sharpe, General Manager of Scalar's Western Division, said, "As
an experienced managed services provider, Scalar is proud to bring this
service to the digital media studios of BC and beyond. This innovative
project is the culmination of over a year of infrastructure design by
our most experienced architects, and we look forward to delivering more
value-add services to the digital media community in the coming
months."
The RenderCloud project received input from a number of key stakeholders throughout its
development. BC studios Rainmaker, Image Engine and Digital Domain were
the first to sign up for the project and will have the added advantage
of being able to sub-lease their resources to other studios as
required. The actual server farm is located at the Centre for Digital
Media on Great Northern Way Campus, an emerging digital media district
in Vancouver, BC.
"RenderCloud - which sits next to the Centre for Digital Media and the
future home of Emily Carr University— is a key piece of infrastructure
in our redevelopment plan to build Vancouver's digital district.
Whether it's the digital and creative businesses, academic institutions
or the artists' studios and galleries that call this Vancouver
neighborhood home, Great Northern Way Campus is the ideal location for
a visual effects and animation processing centre tapping into B.C.
power and internet grids," said Matthew Carter, president, Great
Northern Way Campus.
"RenderCloud will help all of us to keep Vancouver firmly positioned as
the epicentre for production whether that's feature films' special
effects, animation, or gaming," said Catherine Winder, President and
Executive Producer of Rainmaker Entertainment, who serves as the
spokesperson for the Vancouver Studio Group. "The opening of
RenderCloud makes us competitive with such cities as London and New
Zealand, and puts Vancouver into consideration for the next generation
of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings productions."
About Scalar Decisions
Scalar Decisions, headquartered in Toronto with offices in Vancouver,
Calgary, Ottawa, and Southwest Ontario, is an IT solutions integrator
focused on data centre automation and cloud enablement, and has been
operating a significant managed services division since 2007. In 2010
and 2011, Scalar was named on the PROFIT list of the fastest-growing
companies in Canada. For further information on Scalar's RenderCloud,
see www.scalar.ca/rendercloud
About Great Northern Way Campus
Great Northern Way Campus is a joint venture between the University of
British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr University of Art
+ Design and the British Columbia Institute of Technology transforming
an 18-acre industrial site in the heart of the city into Vancouver's
hub for the digital economy. Currently home to the Centre for Digital
Media and future home of Emily Carr University, the neighbourhood will
also offer office space for digital and creative sector firms, artist
studios, housing and amenities. It is emerging as Vancouver's creative
sector neighbourhood.
About Rainmaker
Rainmaker Entertainment Inc., a multifaceted animation studio, is one of
Canada's largest producers of CG animation. With an innovative history
that spans over 18 years, Rainmaker today continues to tell engaging
stories and create compelling characters for all media. The studio's
200 creatively-inspired artists and storytellers are currently in
development on the company's first slate of proprietary projects and in
production on the 3D animated family comedy Escape From Planet Earth, voiced by Brendan Fraser, Rob Corddry, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica
Alba, James Gandolfini and Craig Robinson. The film, to be distributed
by The Weinstein Company in 2012, is directed by Cal Brunker (Despicable Me). Rainmaker has also produced the award-winning short LUNA. Originally established as Mainframe Entertainment, the company broke
ground by producing the first ever CGI animation series ReBoot. In
addition to developing its own properties, Rainmaker also produces
feature length DVD's for many top international brands including
Barbie, Max Steel and Tony Hawk, and more. Rainmaker's clients include
Mattel, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, Sony, Ubisoft, Electronic
Arts and MTV. Circle of Confusion, the leading management firm, is
repping the company in Hollywood. For more information, go to www.rainmaker.com