NVIDIA Quadro®4 980 XGL BY PNY AND BLUR STUDIO
UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL OF 3D ENTERTAINMENT
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From Disney and the Sci Fi Channel to Warner Bros., Blur Studio (Venice, California) helps the hottest names in entertainment
and media capture the imaginations of their audiences through top-quality 3D animation and visual effects.
You can catch Blur’s work in movies, video games, TV ads, amusement park ride-films and music videos. The company’s recent work
includes effects for Shania Twain’s futuristic I’m Gonna Getcha Good music video; cinematics for action-packed games such as Rise
of Nations™; production for the SpongeBob SquarePants stereoscopic ride-film at Paramount Parks; and photo-realistic effects
for MGM’s movie Bulletproof Monk.
Technology That Exceeds Expectations
In the fast-paced world of digital content creation (DCC), artists and their customers have towering expectations and intense
deadlines to meet, and 3D images continue to become more sophisticated. To succeed, Blur maintains the highest standards for
the art it creates, employs the industry’s most talented artists, and relies on the best available technology.
“Blur’s biggest asset is our employees, and we strive to provide them with hardware and software that unleashes their creative
potential and maximizes their productivity,” says Blur General Manager Mike Nicolaou.
Since the studio works with networked systems, it is critical to use production tools that are reliable and operate efficiently.
Any bottleneck in the workstation, graphics board, network or render farm would translate into costly down time, lost man-hours,
missed deadlines and lost revenue.
“That’s why we only work with the best workstations, best software and best graphics boards,” says Nicolaou. “Today, the best
graphics board we can give our artists is the NVIDIA® Quadro4 980 XGL from PNY, which is currently used in each of our
approximately 70 workstations.”
DCC Performance for Real World Environments
Although Blur considers performance specifications and professional certifications when specifying professionial graphics boards,
Nicolaou says the true test of a graphics board is its “real world” applications performance with software programs and associated
plug-ins.
Blur chose the NVIDIA Quadro4 980 XGL by PNY because of the speed and reliability with which it runs the firm’s state-of-the-art
hardware (IBM Z-Pro 2.8GHz workstations with 2GB of RAM) and 3ds maxTM from Discreet, the firm’s preferred software application.
“PNY Technologies and NVIDIA work closely with Discreet on an ongoing basis to optimize image quality and workstation speed,”
says Nicolaou. “Their graphic boards help our artists create cutting-edge visuals within the constraints of increasingly tight schedules.”
“As a result, Blur benefits from happy employees, greater productivity – and a growing reputation for delivering mind-blowing
visual effects,” adds Nicolaou.
All NVIDIA Quadro by PNY graphics boards are rigorously tested with leading DCC software programs to certify the highest
reliability and performance in demanding applications.
The PNY Advantage
To succeed in the ultra-competitive world of DCC, Blur must also manage its day-to-day business operations flawlessly through
controlling costs and accurate financial forecasting.
“PNY helps us remain competitive by offering the NVIDIA Quadro4 980 XGL at a reasonable price, always providing us with
boards in an extremely timely manner, and providing ongoing customer support,” explains Nicolaou.
A Strategic Partnership - Now, and in the Future
Looking forward, Nicolaou says Blur will continue to rely on NVIDIA Quadro graphics boards by PNY. “PNY Technologies and
NVIDIA are good strategic partners that serve us well now – and will help lead us into the future of 3D animation and visual effects
with cutting-edge technology.”
Meet Aunt Luisa
Blur Studio used the NVIDIA Quadro4 980 XGL by PNY in the production of Aunt Luisa, a computer-animated short film the
company wrote, directed and produced. The film, which was one of nine animated features short-listed for Academy Award
consideration in 2002, centers on an aging widow, whose life is made more exciting when, through a scotch-induced haze,
she becomes convinced that bandleader Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians have taken up residence in her house –
even though she never actually sees them.
According to Nicolaou, the film was created in an effort to secure work on future animated feature films. The look of the film was
intentionally stylized to showcase the ultra-realistic animated images Blur’s artists can create using the most state-of-the art resources
– including the NVIDIA Quadro4 980 XGL by PNY.
A 12-person team of artists and animators produced Aunt Luisa entirely in-house, handling concept design, storyboarding and
every phase of the animation process through its networked systems – making the performance of the graphics board critical to success.
“PNY’s Quadro4 980 XGL performed flawlessly, helping us create a film that perfectly illustrates the unique diversity and talent of our artists,”
says Nicolaou.
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