Technology Provides The Tools For Artists To Express Their Talent

Rhythm & Hues is a film production studio specializing in visual effects and computer animation for feature films and television commercials. The studio has created cutting edge visual effects and animation for movies such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Night At The Museum, among others. Founded in 1987 at Los Angeles, USA, Rhythm & Hues went global by adding another studio in Mumbai in 2001. Rajesh Pai, Chief Technology Officer, speaks to Biztech2.0 about IT in VFX studios doing high-end computer graphics imagery.
What are the key IT requirements of a large VFX house such as yours, which is developing high-end animation and effects?

In the case of any VFX studio in today’s time, technology and art go hand in hand. Technology provides the means and the tools for artists to express their talent. For a studio, it is imperative to make things easy for an artist to communicate and create his/her vision using the tools provided. With constant advancements in the field of technology, both on the hardware and the software side, upgrading to better technology is a continuous process.

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Along with providing the best of hardware for users in the studio, and the software that is able to match their creative requirements, it is also necessary to have an effective pipeline that can seamlessly integrate and track the various assets that are part of the production workflow. Having in place the right kind of infrastructure to support multiple productions at a time, including data archival and backup systems, is also very important.

What are the key IT challenges that come about in a VFX studio? What were the challenges that were specifically faced by Rhythm and Hues?

Every studio faces similar challenges in terms of using IT for enhancing their productivity. Better and more effective ways for doing things are constantly being evolved; newer technologies and products are regularly being adopted. The expectations from clients for better visual effects is ever-increasing.

At Rhythm and Hues specifically, as we continue to grow, our biggest challenge has been to find innovative ways to collaborate and work together over multiple locations. We currently have three locations – Los Angeles, Mumbai and Hyderabad. Making our production pipeline work seamlessly across these locations, making sure that the communication between people in different geographies and time zones is smooth, ensuring that the data between these locations are in sync at all times – this has been an exciting challenge.

A bigger challenge has been in terms of getting the right kind of people to help build and maintain the cutting-edge IT facilities that are required. While we have been fortunate enough to have some of the best brains in our team of IT professionals, we are constantly on the lookout for smart people that thrive on challenges and are willing to think out of the box for finding solutions to unique problems.

How did you overcome those challenges?

For collaboration across multiple locations, we use Video Conferencing on a daily basis for teams to meet and share information and task updates. Cross-location supervision and task sharing has become the order of the day. We have applications to synchronize and transfer data across locations that are both automated and command-driven. We have the same pipeline, the same tools and a common infrastructure, all linked over a Virtual Private Network (VPN). We also have an internal Instant Messaging service and a screen-sharing tool that further helps with communication.

As for recruiting the right people, we have found that freshers who are smart and excited about a career in the VFX industry work our better than experienced candidates. We regularly conduct presentations at various technology institutes across the country in search of fresh talent. We like to train people on the job and groom them to succeed in their assigned roles.

What is the primary IT infrastructure at Rhythm and Hues in terms of workstations, concentrating on the production aspect?

At Rhythm and Hues, we use clustered storage for our primary data, which is archived and backed up regularly. We use standard workstation class computers for our desk-side systems. In fact, we buy locally assembled systems that are built to our required specifications, rather than going for branded pre-built workstations.

For rendering, we use an in-house developed distributed processing application that harnesses the computing power of all idle workstations in the studio. We also have several rack-mounted render systems to enhance our dedicated rendering capacity during crunch-time.

All our locations are connected over a Virtual Private Network, which allows us to work seamlessly as one global company.

What is the size of your IT team? How do you manage a large team and the attrition rate?

Contrary to what one would expect, we have a small team in comparison to the overall staff strength. The size of the overall Technology team at Rhythm and Hues would be around 10% of the total staff strength.

Within the Technology team, we allow people find their own niche and specialize in areas of their interest. There is always something new and exciting to do. We are always in the middle of one challenging project or another, generally involving bleeding-edge technologies. Every team member is encouraged to participate in the problem-solving process. Given this satisfying working environment, we have been fortunate enough to keep the attrition levels at a minimum.
What are your priorities as the Head of Technology at Rhythm and Hues India?

Driving innovation and using available technologies to constantly improve what we have already built. Keeping the teams motivated and challenged so they can outperform themselves. Keeping abreast of developments in the IT field in order to leverage technology to help Rhythm and Hues meet its overall goals.