IT infrastructure: getting started

[Eugene Zuyev]

Hi everyone,
our photo studio recently started expanding onto the video production sphere. We bought the RED ONE camera, and preparing to shoot the first project.

Before then we want to update our IT infrastructure to suit the new needs. For the time being we aim at the small videos and commercials. The main questions are processing (which PCI-e cards do we need?), storage, color correction and equipment needed for the shooting stage (displays, post-production workstation)

This is a totally new sphere for us and it turned out that there aren't many competent specialists in our city who could assist us.

As RED cameras are at the forefront of progress now, I suppose this forum is the best place to ask: what guides/manuals/articles/anything would you recommend to read/watch about the IT "backing" of a video production company? How would you start?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for attention! :smiley:

 

[George Butterfield]

This is a totally new sphere for us and it turned out that there aren't many competent specialists in our city who could assist us.

Lucky you! You can become the local RED experts.

 

[Peter Salvia]

Hi Eugene:

I think the first question you should answer for your facility is what deliverables do you plan to offer to your clients. If your final deliverable is a DCDM for theatrical distribution this will warrant a considerably robust IT infrastructure to support it, while if you plan to offer 1080p Apple ProRes Quicktime files as your final deliverable this could warrant a significantly smaller IT infrastructure. And there are plenty of deliverable options in between.

Essentially, determine the product you want to offer then build to accommodate that workflow. The deliverable will dictate storage type, capture and monitoring PCI cards, Non-Linear Editor (NLE), Color Grading application, monitoring devices, etc.