Fibre Channel Technology Enables PostWorks To Create Powerful Solution For HD Color Mastering

Recognizing the explosive trend to transition from traditional post-production workfl ows to workfl ows that support highdefinition, PostWorks, Inc. realized that these new innovations require creative solutions to support the formats and deliverables that the industry demands.

PostWorks – a full service, high-defi nition, post-production facility, specializing in HD conform and mastering – needed to store and manage the footage for high-defi nition programming. After working with this year's Academy Award documentary nominees "Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids" and "Tupac: Resurrection," Matthew Schneider, director of technology at PostWorks determined that there was a need to change the current workfl ow and increase PostWorks' capabilities to complete color grading in a higher resolution.

In the world of high defi nition video, there is 8-bit and 10-bit color mastering. When color grading, PostWorks prefers to work in the higher resolution of 10-bit. "Our current 2-Gb Fibre Channel SAN did not have suffi cient headroom to accommodate 10-bit high defi nition," stated Matthew Schneider. "We were mastering on local SCSI docs that were unprotected and had less capacity than Fibre Channel. To gain productivity, we needed a solution that we would be able to network our Avid Nitris Systems, offer protected storage, a shared fi le system and solutions for fast effi cient data transfers. We began our search for 4-Gb Fibre Channel solutions."