Archive notice: This article was originally published on January 29, 2019. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We spoke to people at FMX and it turned out that the team from Escape Technology(escape-technology.com) has a ready-made solution for exactly this and that it is already being used by customers. Escape Technology is a service provider for VFX & CGI productions with headquarters in London and, since September 2015, a branch in Feldkirchen near Munich. With its own in-house team and co-operations with various technology partners, Escape Technology provides classic sales, consulting, financing and integration support. Customers range from start-ups and freelancers to large companies from various markets. Escape Technology also offers managed services, pipeline development and its own hardware pool for hire. We spoke to Fabio Ticca (Escape Germany) and Neil Kalsi (Escape UK).DP: If I need a Maya calculator in a hurry, how can Escape help me?
Fabio Ticca: In the best case scenario, all we really need is the key data for the rental period and a brief requirements profile. From this, we work out a rental offer based on availability and performance within the budget. After all, the customer would rather have the goods in use than in our warehouse. On request, we can provide a monthly update in the form of a .pdf file on the stock, prices and current availability of our own stocked goods.
Thanks to business friends and strong trading partners, we generally have access to far more equipment. It is important to know where to get what, how quickly and reliably. Through us, you have access to several sources and therefore to a wider range of products. Why not give us a call, as Telekom used to advertise. It’s the quickest and most effective way because individual needs can be addressed straight away. Issues such as choice of operating system, language, expansion cards and software licences are communicated immediately and availability is checked and guaranteed. Of course, an e-mail can also be sent to me or one of my team colleagues (laughs), especially if it doesn’t have to be so spontaneous.
DP: How did you come up with the idea of offering something like this? And how often is it actually ordered?
Fabio Ticca: Well, we work with a lot of VFX and visualisation companies, so we’re familiar with the usual project timescales, budgets and associated challenges. But it certainly started with the need for rendering capacity, usually towards the end of the project when the deadline is in danger.
Here we are talking about an average project-related rental requirement of between two and four weeks. Logically, it is not worth using capital for this, as acquisition costs are usually no longer covered by the remaining project budget at this point. In addition, the decision-making authority for investments is usually transferred from the project manager to the managing director. As small companies in particular do not have their own machine room, workstations were used as server replacements at an early stage. In this way, we have also created the possibility of equipping companies in projects with freelancers and short assignments properly and cost-effectively.
Neil Kalsi: It was what our clients wanted – and we’ve been offering it here in London for a long time. Tight deadlines combined with high costs for good artists and the general payment morale of the industry always cause cash flow problems – but within our industry you can do something about it, with software rental licences and highly specialised freelancers you can produce good material – so operating expenses remain. But when it comes to capital expenditure, you can balance out a lot with rented equipment and adapt flexibly to the various shows.
DP: How far does the programme scale?
Fabio Ticca: We have set ourselves the goal of having at least 50 rental units available. The current breakdown is around 20 desktop workstations and 30 rackmount servers. Some of the workstations and servers have been selected so that they can accommodate up to 4 GPUs, i.e. they are GPU compute servers, and some of the servers could also function as remote workstations with a dedicated GPU via PCoIP. In general, we are moving more and more back into the machine room. This brings several advantages in terms of manageability, security, performance, integration, power and cooling capacity and noise levels. With a lead time of one to two weeks, we can usually have any number of additional units produced in-house on a Supermicro basis.
DP: Let’s put our money where our mouth is: a large HP station with an Nvidia Quadro card and Houdini for 3 months of crunch time: what does that cost in total?
Fabio Ticca: That depends on the type of Quadro and CPUs and, in the case of Houdini, also on the required RAM. I would expect to pay 2,500 euros for 3 months for a well-equipped workstation. So that wouldn’t be 30 euros a day or around 3 euros an hour. I believe that hardware and software make up a small part of the costs when you consider all the other ancillary costs.
We need to think more long-term here and utilise the possibilities of CAPEX and OPEX correctly. I assume that this workstation represents a tied-up capital value of over 10,000 euros when purchased. While we take care of delivery and organise collection if required, insurance cover is the responsibility of the end customer. In most cases, they already have electrical insurance. Fortunately, we have not had any insurance claims to date.
DP: And if we go for a small workstation – what costs should I expect for an Adobe Creative Cloud workstation from the small segment per quarter, for example?
Fabio Ticca: Our entry-level models are optimised systems in terms of clock speed, with local NVMe storage. They are designed with a focus on compositing with After Effects or Nuke, but can also be used for real-time applications such as Unity or Unreal Engine.
I would expect to pay at least €1,500 for the quarter if the workstation is worth around €5,000. Below that, I would tend towards a good notebook from HP or Lenovo as an investment instead of renting.
DP: Which renderers and render nodes are available? And are there configurations for networks?
Fabio Ticca: There are usually two scenarios for render nodes and renderers. We replace the existing units with very powerful servers over a short rental period by simply re-cabling them. There is hardly any integration effort and no additional licence costs. In most cases, however, the costs for Rendernode licences are no longer significant compared to the hardware if the rental period is already short. Especially if you use Chaos Group V-Ray or Autodesk Arnold, to name just two, and monthly licensing is possible. The entire industry is adapting to the rental or subscription model, whether in the cloud or on-premises. Incidentally, we do both – more on this on request.
DP: When you place the order, what is the process like?
Fabio Ticca : The delivery date is defined when the order is placed, then the rental units are delivered to the studio by direct courier or haulage company. Here, the in-house IT department (or we, if desired) then takes over the integration into the network and the installation of the required applications and scripts. At the end of the term, all you need to do is start the recovery option or format the disc so that no data is left on it. We then reset the systems back to their original state at our premises after checking them. Customers who rent repeatedly can of course also make a clone of the disc for the next time.
DP: How flexible are the configurations?
Fabio Ticca: The more lead time we have, the more configurations we can realise individually. We already offer customisation of individual components such as GPUs, RAM or network cards. When it comes to high-quality peripherals such as UHD TFTs, Wacom Intuos tablets or storage solutions, we have to rely more on standardised models.
The workstations and servers are under the full control of the customer during the rental period. No admin passwords are assigned or areas blocked. We do not even prohibit customers from installing their own hardware in our rental equipment. The only requirement is to reset the machine to its original state at the end of the rental period.
DP: And what happens if the client postpones the deadline due to the amount of changes?
Fabio Ticca: No problem! We will not withdraw units from a client during or at the end of a rental period without prior agreement. Extensions are always welcome and are provided for in our price model. A spontaneous increase or return can also take place by arrangement.
In fact, customers who have rented from us even have a right of first refusal when we sell off the hardware for replacement. As we only offer branded products, in most cases there is still a long 3-year on-site warranty, which can even be extended before it expires. We therefore generally offer a lease with a favourable purchase option in the future.
DP: Sorry, but a quick question about politics: Escape Technology is headquartered in England. What will we do if the Brexit axe falls?
Fabio Ticca: Well, since September 2015 we have had an independent GmbH and the office in Feldkirchen near Munich. In that sense, we are already two independent companies. Both locations have their own team and warehouse, so I can confidently say that Brexit is not an issue, but hopefully represents an opportunity for our customers.
Neil Kalsi: Escape has already expanded across the Channel – there are many studios that can benefit from our services. But Brexit “hard” or “soft”: the VFX business in London is still as lively and vibrant as ever, and almost all the major studios have offices here. The atmosphere in Soho is also still creatively charged. But many of the artists here – some rumour most of them – are already from the EU, and when the Brexit axe falls, many of the studios will relocate to the surrounding area.
We are already seeing this in the pipeline with some US studios relocating to Germany as the creative talent is here – along with tax benefits and incentives.
DP: And if we look a little into the future: What software packages and special configurations are on your R&D list right now and what do you think will help artists next year?
Fabio Ticca: To date, our rental offering has been aimed more at project requirements or individual workstations, but I see a backlog in many places in the area of storage and infrastructure. These are both aspects that have a company-wide reach and therefore require greater investment and planning security.
It would therefore be helpful if customers could experience the difference between current GigE copper networks and today’s easy-to-realise 10/25/40 GigE topologies in terms of integration and deployment via a rental offer, for example. Without this upgrade, it makes little sense to look at new storage technologies and concepts. However, we urgently need these for the increasing data volumes and data handling that will be required for future VFX & CGI productions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
