BlueArc Storage Solution Powers Visual Effects Behind “Avatar”

Posted: Jan 06, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 6, 2010

BlueArc® Corporation, a leader in scalable, high-performance unified network storage, today announced that four-time Academy Award® winning visual effects creator Weta Digital relied on a BlueArc storage solution for artistic rendering of groundbreaking animation and scene development for the major motion picture “Avatar.” According to estimates from Hollywood.com Box Office, James Cameron’s sci-fi film, “Avatar” has sustained the number one position in the U.S. box office for the third-straight weekend and has grossed over $1 billion in revenue worldwide, making it the fourth highest grossing film of all time on a worldwide basis and climbing.

Avatar is highly acclaimed as revolutionary filmmaking for its 3D viewing and all-digital virtual filming environment, made possible by stereoscopic cameras that were specially designed for the film's production. For Weta, this unique process resulted in unprecedented demands on animation rendering workflows and storage infrastructure. To keep pace, Weta used a clustered system of 12 Titan servers to store and manage over 500 terabytes of data feeding thousands of render nodes acting in concert to produce the special effects for Avatar, as well as an additional 700 terabytes of nearline storage.

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