AltVFX

Optimised Creative Pipeline

"We wanted to do it in a way that reflected the changing face of postproduction and embraced new workflows and technology.."
Colin Renshaw, AltVFX

Founded by Takeshi Takada and Colin Renshaw, Alt.VFX was virtually formed overnight. All of the initial planning and specification for the company was formulated in a coffee shop that served as their temporary office.

“We were homeless but with big plans. Luckily Digistor never asked us for our fax number” jokes Colin.

The duo were soon joined by 3d Guru Nick Angus and Animator Sarah Collier, lead Nuke compositor Matt Chance,  flame artist Urs Furrer, Smoke Guru Ant Newton, and Avid Editor Matt Bennett and the list keeps growing.

Off to a stellar start they are already winning international awards for their work and Alt.VFX has captured the interest of the boutique Commercial and VFX market. “ We wanted build a post house like no other in Australia. We wanted to create the kind of environment we have always wanted to work in. We wanted to do it in a way that reflected the changing face of postproduction and embraced new workflows and technology.’

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Within 4 weeks from sign off the facility was in full motion already commencing their first major TVC 'the nocturnal migration' for Tooheys Extra Dry...and its only getting busier.

From the beginning Colin knew that the primary toolset he wanted was Autodesk's Creative Finishing products due to his extensive experience with the Flame toolset but also his intimate knowledge of the Autodesk pipeline. "The interoperability is second to none and really delivers the ultimate post interactive experience.  Autodesk Creative Finishing with the Media and Entertainment suite delivers a full pipeline that is a dream to work with. Clients dig it. With everything else, we knew how we wanted our facility to work and Digistor knew how to put that together, They had all the tools and skills to make our “what ifs” a reality so they were the obvious choice to engage"

Digistor designed, project managed, configured, documented and rolled out an entire facility in a short amount of time and with fantastic success.

"From the outset the project was going to be a challenge....and I love challenges" says Account Manager, Sean Curran "The turn around from initial enquiry to onsite rollout was about 6 weeks...as Takeshi and Colin got the keys the day before rollout we couldn't even complete a site survey before rollout, so we had to roll with project. The moment I knew this was going to be a massive challenge and undertaking I wanted in. The timeframe was extremely short, we had to keep things under wraps until launch and we didn't get to meet our clients until rollout day. Not the way we usually do our projects but we rolled with it and we've had an amazingly successful project"

Nocturnal Migration - Alt.vfx VFX Before and Afters from altvfx on Vimeo.

The piece of the puzzle that Alt were unsure of was storage and switching. “Throughout the consultation and design process it was very apparent that AltVFX needed something more robust, faster and much more flexible solution than the standard SAN offerings on the market” Sean mentions.

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”Having not worked with a SAN in their previous Autodesk environments the advantages over simple direct attached storage clicked with the operators immediately and the workflow advantages became apparent very quickly.”

“The requirement for multiple suites requiring multiple streams of 2k and uncompressed HD DPX sequences really made the decision quite simple. The DVS Spycerbox SAN was decided on due to its blistering speed and small form factor. 5x2k streams of DPX in a 5RU chassis is unmatched by other vendors on the market and was an easy winner in the storage race."

Takeshi Takada the managing director of Alt VFX states unequivocally that Digistor “Just made it happen”. "We gave them a scope, a requirement, and not much lead time and they delivered exactly what we needed. Digistor's  support team is awesome and working with Sean and Syama on sales and tech is an absolute pleasure. We are so happy to be working with a reseller and systems integrator that knows our business and supports their clients."

Alt's facility includes Autodesk Flame Premium including Flame, Lustre and Smoke Advanced, Smoke on Macs, Autodesk Flare on HP workstations, a fully optioned Davinci Resolve Colour Grading Suite, Autodesk Maya Entertainment Creation Suites Premium on HP DVS Spycerbox SAN, Foundry Nuke and NukeX suites on HP and AVID Media Composer Nitris DX.

To find out more visit  www.altvfx.com.au