Blur Studio Uplevels Games, Episodic FX and Simulation on HP Z6 G5 A Workstation

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Blur Studio: A Leader in High-End Animation

Blur Studio is a renowned animation company specializing in award-winning game cinematics, feature films, episodic series, and commercials. Founded by director Tim Miller, Blur is recognized for its artist-first approach and its ability to tell compelling, visually rich stories.

Recent projects include Netflix's animation anthology series "Love, Death + Robots" (currently in its fourth season) and a cinematic trailer for the action-adventure game "Exodus" from Archetype Entertainment.

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Introducing the HP Z6 G5 A Workstation

Sean Cody, Head of Systems at Blur Studio, is responsible for equipping artists with the tools they need. He has been testing the new HP Z6 G5 A desktop workstation, provided by HP.

The HP Z6 G5 A is described as a powerful yet compact machine, featuring a next-generation AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO CPU. It supports up to three GPUs, enabling artists to efficiently create and render complex photorealistic CG scenes, such as those seen in the "Exodus" game trailer.

"This machine is the most powerful workstation at Blur right now. It was quite surprising that I could just drop it in, and artists were using it in production within 15 minutes," said Cody.

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Achieving Next-Level Cinematic Trailers

Blur recently completed a cinematic trailer for the AAA sci-fi action-adventure game "Exodus" from Archetype Entertainment. This trailer, featuring photoreal digital humans and high-action sequences, debuted at the 2023 Game Awards and exemplifies the complexity of Blur's projects.

The HP Z6 G5 A allows artists to work with massive environment files without extensive scene optimization. They can render composites locally and utilize multiple content creation tools simultaneously, such as SideFX Houdini and Autodesk Maya.

"I'm surprised how light, quiet and compact this machine is compared to our other Threadripper workstations. It's an impressive system for sure, not just performance-wise, but also for the well-designed physical build."

— Sean Cody, Head of Systems, Blur Studio

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"HP Anyware is a tool we live and breathe by."

— Sean Cody, Head of Systems, Blur Studio

Blur Studio has historically relied on custom-built high-end workstations. While this offers bespoke customization, it requires significant maintenance for airflow, temperature control, and power regulation.

Cody notes that the HP Z6 G5 A is a "purpose-built version" of what they create themselves. He was surprised by its compact size, quiet operation, and superior airflow and performance compared to their existing OEM and custom systems.

Optimizing Remote Infrastructure

The HP Z6 G5 A facilitates flexible remote work setups. Cody explains, "We use it to connect our HP machines, then it's like our artist teams are still in the office." The compact form factor of the HP Z machines allows for easy connection of multiple units, overcoming density limitations found in other systems.

When evaluating the HP Z6 G5 A, Blur compared it to existing comparable workstations. The machine demonstrated extremely fast loading times, allowing artists to turn around work much faster without system slowdowns. The transition from DDR4 to DDR5 memory is highlighted as a significant advantage, enabling more efficient CPU performance.

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Surpassing Simulation Benchmarks

The direct PCIe lanes to the processor in the HP Z6 G5 A are beneficial, reducing the need for careful I/O choices that can cause bottlenecks in complex scenes on other workstations. The increased memory capacity allows artists to work with fewer constraints.

Cody expresses frustration with OEM machines that limit GPU choices while dictating other components. The HP Z6 G5 A provides ample room for expansion and customization, which is crucial given the size of modern GPUs.

The HP Z6 G5 A has significantly enhanced Blur's workflows, particularly in simulation. When a simulation artist encountered issues with a pre-optimized shot in SideFX Houdini, the Z6 G5 A was assigned for troubleshooting.

"The [HP] Z6 G5 A not only handled the shot, but the artist was also able to do so much more with the simulation," Cody explained. "Part of what we do at Blur is get things as super high fidelity as possible – way beyond everyone's expectations, then dial it back to optimize a scene until it's doable. This machine allowed us to push things even further with less optimization or troubleshooting, giving artists more time to put stuff on the screen, which is ultimately our goal."

Beyond simulation, artists using Autodesk Maya are leveraging the HP Z6 G5 A for character modeling. These tasks, along with FX, represent the heaviest processing workloads, making the Z6 G5 A ideal for these functions. Scene assembly artists have also shown interest in these powerful machines.

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Moving into Real-time

Blur is also testing the HP Z6 G5 A with Epic Games' Unreal Engine for video production, achieving excellent results. The Blur team is collaborating closely with Epic to optimize workflows for their distinct style and use cases.

“Unreal is a great technology and now we're pushing the edges together,” concluded Cody.

To learn more about creating and rendering complex projects, explore the HP Z6 G5 A desktop workstation PC.

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HP Z Workstations & Solutions: Power for Your Users

HP Z Workstations & Solutions are designed to meet the demanding requirements of power users, including engineers, data scientists, and designers. HP offers a range of mobile, desktop, and rack-mounted systems that can be configured to specific team needs, providing essential expandability, performance, and security.

These workstations feature cutting-edge processing power, enabling them to seamlessly handle data-intensive AI workloads and keep users at the forefront of innovation.

Learn more about HP Z high-performance AI workstations

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