422 Speeds Up Workflow With Autodesk Smoke

422, the Manchester-based post production house, has invested in a third Autodesk Smoke editing and finishing system. 422 made the investment to cater for the increased demand in work and to speed throughput of HD material around the facility.
The third Smoke, which replaced a Quantel Hal, added to 422's existing arsenal of Autodesk suites - including Autodesk Flame and three seats of Autodesk Maya. Martin Dixon, Managing Director, said: "All of our Autodesk systems are networked to an InfiniBand high-performance architecture, which makes the shuttling of data incredibly fast.
"We're primarily running the new Smoke as a graphics station to serve the other suites with graphics like end-frames, logo animations, product titles and prices and other core on-screen information. We'll dedicate design to the new machine, produce VFX on Flame and bring the whole job together for finishing in one of the other two Smokes."
One of 422's existing Smokes features Batch nodes imported from Flame which, says Dixon, makes that system "a bridge between a Smoke and Flame."
422 has recently completed a series of adverts for console and software retailer, Gamestation using the new system.
The project, which was produced by Mob Films North for CBJWT, was an intensive, fast turnaround project of nearly 20 spots that was constantly changing due to the emergence or disappearance of certain special offers.
Dixon said: "The adverts contained green screen, visual effects and multi-layer graphic offers which were handled across a couple of Smokes. One Smoke handled graphics and effects which were then passed via InfiniBand back to the other Smoke for dropping into the edits as they progressed."
Other recent projects finished on the facility's Smoke and Flame combination includes post for the pan-world TV campaign for Kelloggs Cornflakes, produced by Mob Films North for CBJWT and Iceland's autumn and Christmas 2009 campagins - including VFX and compositing work via Kronfli-Duliba Productions for Tom Reddy Advertising.
(KMcA/BMcC)