Lord of the Ring dailies transported with an iPod
Ever had a thought how multiple gigabyte of Visual Effects for the Lord of the Rings went from New Zealand, home of Weta Digital the company behind the effects, to the Pinewood Studios London half way around the world for the director to make approvals?
Media was transferred from Weta to Pinewood Studios in London. There, Jackson's 30-gig iPod was ready and waiting to upload Weta's daily fresh-baked shots and sequences. His iPod was then delivered via sneaker net to his home a few minutes away from Pinewood.
Sneaker net. and meanwhile the guy transporting the iPod was able to listen to some of his favorite tunes.
Some have asked me about the Pixlet compression. This is where it comes into play. For making dailies (that the screenings by the directors and decision makers who approve or disapprove visuals, edits etc.) half way around the world in 1k or 2k resolution still beeing able to transport it around the world on an iPod and not introducing any bad compression artefacts.
Full article at: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/