Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

GPL Technologies Builds Flexible IT Infrastructure for Moonbot Studios

05/01/2016

Shreveport, Louisiana is the home to Moonbot Studios, a 6-old-year multimedia production studio with a knack for creating storytelling magic. Founded by filmmakers William Joyce, Brandon Oldenburg and Lampton Enochs, the company won an Academy Award in 2012 for the whimsical animated short The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Currently boasting a staff of 50 artists, producers and support personnel, Moonbot has also produced feature-quality animation for television, games, apps, branded entertainment and a myriad of other mediums. Along the way, it's filled its trophy rack with four Emmys, 12 Clios, 14 Cannes Lions and five Webby Awards.

The company's output covers a wide scope, but its work is unified by engaging, heartfelt storytelling and impeccable execution. One week we may be working on a book and the next week on a film, notes Brandon Oldenburg, Moonbot's Chief Creative Officer. Every project is different, but it all focuses on stories that appeal to the child inside us all.

Moonbot's team of master storytellers is empowered by an impressive array of technology, much of it supplied by GPL Technologies. GPL has outfitted the company with everything from artists' workstations and software to the scalable EMC Isilon storage units that serve as its data hub. GPL also provides technical support and acts as technical advisor, providing Moonbot with recommendations on technology acquisition, pipeline management and other IT issues. GPL have been really smart in figuring out how technology can enable the creative process, rather than drive it, Oldenburg says. Their support on the tech side allows our team to focus on daydreaming up big ideas.

The diversity of Moonbot's work poses a number of technical challenges. The workflow employed on an animated film is different from that used to create an interactive-web video. Moonbot has to be able to adapt quickly to the demands of individual projects. Flexibility is big for us, explains Pipeline Supervisor, Brennan Chapman. We do 3D projects that require big render nodes, but we also do 2D work where they aren't necessary. Render nodes are expensive. If you use them all the time, it makes financial sense to buy them. But for us, GPL's rental option is more prudent. It allows us to avoid spending money on fixed assets that we don't use on every project.

Moonbot can easily add capacity, which gives them the leverage to pursue a wide range of projects. We work on a lot of projects that have short time lines, and we have to be able to add resources quickly, Lampton Enochs, Moonbot CEO says. We are always looking for projects that excite and challenge our creative team. When the right opportunity comes along, we want to be able to say, yes.' A technology partner who can help us do that is gold.

Moonbot's latest project is Taking Flight, a 5-minute animated short, directed by Oldenburg, that it has submitted for Academy Award consideration. For that 4-month project, GPL provided the company with a 36-node render farm that it used to process some 178,000 frames of animation. Using our old nodes, it might have taken as much as four hours to render each frame; the nodes GPL provided reduced that to an hour per frame, Chapman recalls. That shortened the turnaround time for iterations. It also reduced costs as the licensing fee for the rendering software is by the hour. We got a lot more bang for our buck.

The ability to call on technology experts with a deep understanding of animation and the creative process has been invaluable. We were racing to meet our client's deadlines, adds Enochs. We needed to stick to our schedule and meet our goals with no room for error. Without the flexibility built into our pipeline, we wouldn't have finished in time.

There are a lot of IT companies, but only GPL specializes in the technology used in animation and visual effects, notes Chapman. They are not just a tech vendor; they are a company that we can partner with. We can ask them How should we this?' or What should we do moving forward?' That is super helpful to us.

###
LINK: https://news.creativecow.net/story/880470...
See more stories from creativecow

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

26/03/2026

Audio-Technica and Extron Announce Microsoft Teams-Certified Enterprise Solutions

Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...

26/03/2026

SPORTEL Asia Returns to Singapore with 370 Participants from 35 Countries

SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN to Showcase Satellite-to-IP Migration Solutions

LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100). The C-Ban...

26/03/2026

Seattle Mariners Upgrade Center Field Video Display at T-Mobile Park with Daktronics

The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...

26/03/2026

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Names National Team Partners Across 100+ Countries

The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Expands Vantage Integration with Adobe Premiere, Media Encoder, and Frame.io

Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: FOR-A Brings Nippon TV's viztrick AiDi AI Production Tool to Market with NVIDIA

FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Reaches New Long-Term Multiplatform Rights Agreement with the WNBA

CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...

26/03/2026

Zac Brown Band to Perform Sunday Night Baseball Open on NBC and Peacock

Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...

26/03/2026

2026 MLB Season Opens With Full Slate of National Games

Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...

26/03/2026

DIRECTV Adds Nine MLB Team Channels for 2026 Season

DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...

26/03/2026

Nationals.TV Now Available on Charter, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, Verizon Fios and More

Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...

26/03/2026

MLB.TV Launches on the ESPN App Starting Opening Day

Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...

26/03/2026

What's Next for Spotify and NAVER in Korea After a Stockholm Summit

Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...

26/03/2026

EastWest DrumX: Early access

Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...

26/03/2026

Dynamic Range Day 2026

Friday 27 March Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...

26/03/2026

ASMR Choir from SRM Sounds

Includes four separate instruments Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...

26/03/2026

IMPORTANT FEEDBACK: PESP 6

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...

26/03/2026

Why YEP Changed My Career (And Why It Might Change Yours)

By Matt Klein Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Inks New WNBA Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Apogee Insight Acquires PMA Research

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

NBC Announces Exclusive Coverage of Sail4th 250 Tall Ships in NYC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

UK Group of media tech companies take the spotlight at NA...

28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...

26/03/2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments New graphical configuration tool and...

26/03/2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...

26/03/2026

Allen Media Group To Deploy Anoki ContextIQ

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

LG Announces New Premium FAST Channels

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

IABM to Host Breakfast Event at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nexstar Defends Tegna Deal in Calif. Court Filing

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast control capability

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...

26/03/2026

2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design

2026 Oscar Nominated Films Powered by Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton March 25, 2026 0 Comments DaVinci Resolve Studio used on 27 of this year's no...

26/03/2026

Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Show 2026

Leader to present full suite of advanced Test & Measurement solutions at NAB Sho...

26/03/2026

Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbreaking Opera Time to Act

Boston Conservatory to Present New England and Collegiate Premiere of Groundbrea...

26/03/2026

HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March, bringing more world-class entertainment in one subscription

Thursday 26 March 2026 HBO Max included for Sky and NOW customers from 26 March...

26/03/2026

Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before in Brand Campaign

Thursday 26 March 2026 Sky Sets Iconic Costumes Dancing Together Like Never Before' in Brand CampaignTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy o...

26/03/2026

CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control System

Wuppertal March 26, 2026 CS live Builds Future-Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet and hi Control SystemRiedel Communications today announced that Czech-based ...

26/03/2026

Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Horror Series If Wishes Could Kill' Premieres April 24

Back to All News Have a Wish Worth Dying For? Netflix's First Korean YA Hor...

26/03/2026

'The Truthers,' Starring Jose Coronado and Stphanie Magnin, Premieres on Netflix on 24 July

Back to All News The Truthers, Starring Jose Coronado and St phanie Magnin, Pre...

26/03/2026

Harmonic Delivers Winning Live Sports Streaming Innovations

Enhancements to Harmonic's Sports Streaming Solution Introduce Server-Side Multiview, Contextual Metadata-Driven Advertising, Dynamic In-Stream Ads and Robu...

26/03/2026

ABC Business Media Report: Trusted Data, Real Insight

Open the report Our 2025 report brings together results from 79 business magazine titles across 22 market sectors, published by 49 media owners. Over the year,...

26/03/2026

Into the Omniverse: NVIDIA GTC Showcases Virtual Worlds Powering the Physical AI Era

Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...

26/03/2026

Fiat to sponsor The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1

RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm. The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...

26/03/2026

Game On: Five New Titles Now Streaming on GeForce NOW

That gaming backlog won't clear itself - GeForce NOW is here to help. Stream the latest titles straight from the cloud across a variety of devices. This we...

26/03/2026

Phantom C-Series High-Speed Cameras Set a New Standard for Automotive Crash and Safety Imaging

Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...