The customer
The Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg is one of the most renowned international training institutions for film and media.
Since its founding in 1991, the film academy has taught and produced according to the principle of "learning by doing". With the support of teachers and professionals from the film and media industry, the 500 students produce around 250 films of all genres each year. From screenwriting, directing, production and camera work, to set construction, editing and editing, animation and visual effects, film music and sound design, as well as interactive media, all areas of film production are covered.
Within the Film Academy, the Animation Institute is responsible for the study areas of animation and interactive media and provides extensive digital post-production systems for the entire Film Academy.
As one of the most successful training centers for animation in Germany, the institute enjoys an excellent international reputation. Animated films from the Film Academy win numerous awards at the most prestigious international festivals every year.
The request
In order to be able to offer the students the necessary working area, the main requirements were a flexible room design and the relocation of all loud and heat-generating workstation computers. It was also necessary to be able to process video material in the highest image quality and 4K resolutions with a high frame rate (4K60) in real time.
The solution
The previous bridging of distances using point-to-point connections has been completely replaced by a powerful KVM matrix system based on a Draco tera enterprise KVM matrix. This connects seven spatially separated workstations with projectors and TV displays and a presentation computer in the seminar room, which can accommodate 40 people. To ensure fault tolerance and future security, the distance is bridged using fiber optic cables. The rooms are connected to different source devices, such as computers, tape players and recording devices, as well as special video servers, using various crossbar systems.
Each workstation is equipped with a keyboard, mouse, screen, projection, measuring device and loudspeaker, as well as a Draco ultra KVM extender. These extenders, developed in cooperation between IHSE and the Fraunhofer Institute (IIS), enable students to access videos in unique resolution and image quality.
Individual workstations are also equipped with integrated USB 2.0 modules. This allows the connection of special input and control devices such as Wacom graphics tablets and Tangent Element panels for color correction.
The use
The suites and the seminar room can be quickly adapted to changing requirements for film or television if necessary. Since all computers can be accessed and all tasks completed from every console, students save a lot of time and effort because they no longer have to change their workstation for each step of the work process.
The central environment of the source devices protects them from unauthorized access and leads to more convenient and efficient administration.
Despite the physical distance, the students can work in real time with all the film production tools that are on the computers in the server room. These include Avid Symphony, Adobe Premiere and R&S Clipster for finishing and mastering, as well as Assimilate Scratch, Nucoda Filmmaster and Blackmagic DaVinci for 2/4k color correction.
Almost all digital formats from HDCAM SR to Red RAW or ARRI RAW can be processed using the matrix system. Film, HD post-production and S3D production, even for digital cinema and 3D stereo, can be carried out without any interference or delays.
“The diverse usage requirements of the post-production and seminar rooms required flexible wiring of the existing computers and peripherals. The IHSE Draco solution made it possible to increase the usage capacity quickly and easily.” – Michael Schott, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
