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Disney, DreamWorks, Pixar Go Linux
robinsrowe writes "Most of the major studios use Linux -- such as DreamWorks with more than 1,500 Linux desktops and 3,500 Linux servers. The MovieEditor Conference is an all-day event on computer-based filmmaking in downtown Los Angeles on August 3rd. Studio technology chiefs and other experts discuss ongoing work using Linux in feature animation and visual effects. Presented in collaboration with LinuxMovies.org."
I believe I heard that Pixar released much of their software. Even though these are at steep prices, maybe this will give more companies in the same field a chance to switch to linux.
How much does the selection come down to cost vs customization?
On one hand, renderfarms of ~5k machines get pretty expensive already, and adding another $500k for windows liscences is no small change.
On the other, how much of the software is custom/gets customized, and Linux is a better platform for doing custom software and customization?
Test your net with Netalyzr
Probably due more to custimization. It is just a lot easier to strip down Linux and make it processes data then it is to do for windows. Being that it is free doesn't hurt. Because they have aready used a good portion on their 5k systems. I find I use linux most at work when I need to make a custom appliance. Get a system powerful enough to do the job I need to be done. Set up linux and usally a small custom app and it just runs. Unlike windows where it just get in the way.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Windows fundamentally does not understand how to do batch computing.
Try it. Try launching and controlling thousands of jobs distributed across a windows network. Have fun and good luck with that!
Some bonehead VP at Intel tried to get us to use NT for that shit. It was a disaster. We've stuck with Linux and the VP was "re-assigned".
Since they're using Mac OS X, it makes me wonder why they're not using FreeBSD.
Free of Flash! Free of Flash!
As an independent filmmaker and videographer, and as a Mac AND Linux user, I'm curious to see if they use Linux for rendering or editing? There's a huge difference.
They can do all these fancy graphics on Linux boxes but this same industry still doesn't support Linux users to view the end product. And when someone takes it upon themselves to do so.. they are taken to court and treated like thieves.
Screw Hollywood.. they use OSS software but do they give back.. nope. Not really.
Tell me what you believe...I'll tell you what you should see.
I am not sure if investing in Blue Gene is such a wise idea. Though Pixar does have software running on linux x86 clusters and has experience running off of sparco systems, Pixar is best versed in using their own programs and development systems based upon xserve render platforms. These were the very platforms that were used to render amazingly vivid water scenes in Finding Nemo for less than a million dollars a second (which in the industry is an unheard of level of render efficiency). In fact, the render farm that Pixar used for The Incredibles, known in German as Die Unglaublichen, was an amazing tool in allowing the translation of passive elements of the film into 33 different languages for localized distribution. I discuss on my site here: http://www.dadgev.org/, that the German version of Pixar's The Incredibles actually converted the text in everything from Stock Tickers to Newspaper Articles into German so that the central european audiences would gain as much from the movie as others.
DAdGeV.org - Top Resource for Immersive German Education
Taking a look at the System Requirments for the more well known 3D Animation apps we see Alias's Maya and Softimage's XSI run natively under Linux. Which when you are dealing with animations that can take literally days to render for production it's no wonder they'd want to use a Linux machine instead of a Windows machine, I'm sure it cuts the time by at least 30% (totally grabbed that number out of my ass)
y stem_requirements.shtml/
So is it news that the big animation companies also use OS X instead of XP too? I think the only big name 3d animation company that is Windows only is Discreet with their 3ds Max software, which I think is really only used for games, can't think of a movie that it was used for.
Sys Requirements:
http://www.newtek.com/lightwave/requirements.php
http://www.alias.com/eng/products-services/maya/s
http://www4.discreet.com/3dsmax/3dsmax.php?id=966
http://www.softimage.com/products/xsi/v42/SysReqs
Ave Molech Setting
I think your number for a million dollars a second for rendering is WAY WAY overinflated. Lets put it this way, if Finding Nemo were done at the standard rate as you define it, it would cost 6 BILLION DOLLARS (100 minute film) to produce. So, you're saying their rendering efficiency is not only much better than normal but it's several orders of magnitude better? Or is it just the water scenes that are expensive?
Any man who afflicts the human race with ideas must be prepared to see them misunderstood. -- H. L. Mencken
I read somewhere that there are a ridiculous number of Nvidia developers working on Linux driver support - hundreds comes to mind - and it is largely due to the fact that Nvidia nailed contracts with the feature film industry.
The proprietary Linux ATI drivers (if you want pixel and vertex shader support, this is a must) now perform incredibly well, though are still an annoyance to install for many. Given that ATI seem to be the card of choice for mobile machines, I look forward to the day ATI competes in the feature film market.
No, sorry. No one in his right mind would buy SGIs for a renderfarm, not now and not ten years ago - the price/performance ratio in terms of raw CPU power has been quite bad for SGIs since ages. However, if you want a box for modelers, texture painters, animators etc, then SGIs may have been a good choice. SGI's stock is worthless because powerful 3d graphic cards are a dime a dozen for PCs today, and linux, macOS and windows are all taking over traditional irix applications.
I can't remember any studio using SGIs in a renderfarm. Pixar used headless SUNs in their earlier movies (Toy Story etc), the 3d stuff for Titanic was done on Alphas, and nowadays it's just PCs.
Note that renderfarms are probably the place where it's easiest of all to switch platforms, since they are not interactive and the renderers are usually very portable.
Weta studios had an absurd number of IBM IntelliStations (Maya, Renderman, Alfred).
Seems a venerable KDE was their desktop of choice. More here.
OH COME ON!, just put a little tux in the rolling credits after your movies, that way you are helping the developers of the software you are getting for FREE.
I got a private tour of Pixar a few years ago right before the move to the new building and at the time most of the artists were using SGI Octane 2 and the Renderfarm was a massive Sun system. About the only Macs I saw where on Steve's desk and a few "office managers" desks
The jahshaka application is starting to move in the right direction too, in particular for the linux platform.
:-).
The current video editor component is based on heavily on the work of the Kino developers and one of our forays into TV broadcasting. Some more details can be found here.
There should be a full release of the new jahshaka real soon
I wonder...with historically not very OSS-friendly organizations like Disney switching to Linux...if we can expect to see a more OSS friendly face from them in the near future?
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Having done alot of work on high end Linux (Maya, Blender), Windows (3DSMax, Blender) and OSX (Maya, Blender) workstations, it's safe to say one can't look past Nvidia on Linux for raw polygonal churning power. Linux is an industry standard 3D animation platform, renderfarms aside.
Perhaps with a substantial license deal Apple may deliver a distribution of OSX to fit, but out of the box it's a poor performer. Of note is that the proprietary Aqua interface hits the GPU for fast 2D blitting. The last thing you want is a DE that hogs your precious GPU for mere interface beautification. Similarly relative customiseability is important where mission critical work is to be done, for this reason OSX is significantly less viable. As for Windows, it's barely safe for home users let alone dear Gollum.
Strange, how many years ago? On the documentary extras of various Pixar DVDs, you can see them dotted around.