If we look behind the scenes of some of our favorite movies and TV programs today, we just might see the power of Dell technology at work. From Hollywood big screens to the smaller screens of Google Play and iTunes, it’s great to see Dell is behind some of today’s most popular on-screen creatures, in particular.
HBO’s hit TV series “Game of Thrones” has followed Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons from newly hatched creatures to fire-breathing giants. While enormous and powerful on screen, the complexity of these dragons is nothing compared to the technology behind them. Pixomondo’s Oscar-winning visual effects team relies on Dell technology to breath fire into these dragons. To tackle the tough graphics requirements, Pixomondo uses Dell Precision tower workstations for quick content creation, along with Dell UltraSharp U2410, U2711 and U2312HM monitors for a clear, detailed display. Dell Storage arrays and Dell PowerEdge servers are also used for quick rendering, and ultimately produce a superior final cut ahead of the production team’s aggressive deadlines.
Pixomondo offers a unique perspective of the evolution of the show’s visual effects and uses Dell’s high performance technology to overcome challenges of their unique and Emmy winning approach. Game of Thrones shoots on location and does not use a green screen like many fantasy dramas. This means the studio has to use 3-D modeling and rely on advanced technology to make the body movements exact. Their visual effects team even used chickens to study how muscles worked and incorporated those learnings into the 3-D models. Check out this recent Bloomberg Business feature to see the creation process, as well as an exclusive interview with Dell’s Molly Connolly, Precision Workstation WW Industry Media and Entertainment Strategist.
Tippett Studio, another successful Dell customer, recently built a movie-making app where users can insert “Jurassic World” dinosaur footage into their own videos. Jurassic World MovieMaker is the very first 3D movie app to be created and was built with Dell Precision tower workstations, UltraSharp U3415W monitors and PowerEdge servers. To enhance videos and be a part of the “Jurassic World” action, customers can download the app for free on Google Play or iTunes.
Tippett Studio also helped with the animation of the notable teddy bear, Ted, in the Hollywood comedy “Ted 2.” For the sequel, Tippett Studio recreated Ted using the latest Dell technology and rendering tools to evolve his appearance; improvements such as the quality of his fur and reflections in his eyes create a noticeably more realistic character. Using the speed and performance of Dell technology, Tippett Studio was able to iterate more on animation, integrate Ted with more props than the first movie and assimilate Ted into special environment images taken from each location; this all works to replicate subtle variations in light and color which ties Ted into the real world with the other actors. Not only did Dell technology improve animation but the technology also cut down animation time. Using Dell Workstations T5810, T7810, T7600, T5500 paired with Dell PowerEdge Servers R630 Dell Servers C6145 and SonicWall E8510 allowed the studio to turn around hundreds of shots in a faster amount of time, as well as scale up quickly to handle additional creative direction by Director Seth MacFarlane.
We are excited about our media and entertainment customers’ success and we continue to build innovation in Precision workstations based around our customers. We encourage you to participate in the conversation in the comments section below, or send them via Twitter to @Dell.
