Avere Systems, a leading provider of enterprise storage for the hybrid cloud, continues to power visual effects (VFX) studios in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry with its NAS Edge Filer technology. In 2013, 100 percent of the top 12 blockbusters were rendered using Avere technology, including the Oscar-winning film, “Gravity,” starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Building on this success, to date in 2014, 80 percent of this year’s top 10 box-office hits have used Avere solutions to render their special effects. The company will be featuring this in-demand technology August 11 - 14 at the annual SIGGRAPH conference in Vancouver, the M&E industry’s premier event on the theory and practice of computer graphics and interactive techniques.

“We considered a number of options, and the Avere FXT Edge filers proved to be the best solution, giving us cost effective and scalable performance, the ability to easily drop the technology into our existing environment and excellent customer support,” said Mark Day, director of engineering at Rising Sun Pictures, a VFX specialist with credits including “Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows” and “Gravity.” “With the Avere deployment, we’re experiencing six times faster performance—a render job that previously took six days, for example, now takes just 24 hours. We’re able to keep our artistic and production teams working efficiently.”

Achieving the life-like special effects that audiences demand requires a robust storage infrastructure. Avere’s solution delivers higher visual impact in less time, at a lower cost and with increased flexibility. Answering the M&E industry’s need for performant, affordable and scalable storage solution, Avere has powered the visual effects for some of the biggest blockbuster hits in 2014, including:

Transformers: Age of Extinction
X- Men: Days of Future Past
Maleficent
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Godzilla
With Avere’s hybrid cloud solution, VFX studios can store data anywhere–on premises or in the cloud, making collaboration easier and minimizing the risk of production delays which can jeopardize a motion picture’s success. Some of the foremost VXF studios that rely on Avere include Framestore, Image Engine, Red Bee, Rising Sun Pictures, Sony Pictures Imageworks, ToonBox Entertainment, The Mill and Whiskytree.

“Avere’s Edge filer solution is clearly resonating with the leading VFX studios and they are seeing impressive, measurable results,” said Ron Bianchini, president and CEO of Avere Systems. “We intend to continue growing with the media and entertainment industry through 2014 and beyond.”