ADELAIDE, Australia—At KOJO’s global postproduction and FX operations, moving large volumes of media is fundamental to our business. Each year, we transfer hundreds of terabytes of data ranging from large-format camera files captured on set through to final 4K masters delivered to distributors worldwide.
Historically, media of this scale was shipped on external hard drives or RAID systems. Using Signiant Media Shuttle allows us to accelerate transfers and deliver projects with greater speed and ease while eliminating the risks associated with transporting physical drives. Those shipments can experience significant delays and, in some cases, be lost altogether. Faster and more reliable transfers also help our clients meet demanding production schedules and delivery commitments.
Shooting ‘Jimpa’
Recently, we completed dailies and picture postproduction services for the feature film “Jimpa,” directed by Sophie Hyde, and starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow. Principal photography took place predominantly in Amsterdam, with additional filming in Adelaide, Australia, and Helsinki.
KOJO’s Adelaide facility served as the postproduction lab. During the European legs of the shoot, Signiant provided a flexible and reliable way for us to receive terabytes of camera data from Europe in Australia.
At the end of each shoot day, the camera data had to be backed up and processed so editorial could start cutting the following day. Signiant’s flexible storage options allowed us to establish a project-specific portal using an Amazon S3 cloud bucket. We could configure the storage location in Europe, enabling the Amsterdam DIT to upload camera data more reliably and efficiently than if the storage had been tied to our physical location in Australia.
Once the data was uploaded, I downloaded it to our local servers and verified it against the supplied checksum files and set reports. From there, I completed our usual dailies processing, generating viewing files for client review and editorial media for the assistant editor to sync and prepare. Alongside editorial feedback, we also provided media-clearance reports back to set. The DIT uploaded the camera data in packages of approximately 2 to 4 TB. Signiant allowed both teams to upload and download data around the clock across two time zones.
Over the five-week shoot, we transferred approximately 160 TB of data between Europe and Australia. Every upload and download through Signiant was secure, reliable and completed at speed.
We adopted a similar workflow for another feature film, “Wicker,” directed by Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson and starring Alexander Skarsgård and Olivia Colman. Filmed in Budapest, the production required a secure off-site backup of its camera media. Although we did not provide full dailies processing on this project, using Signiant, we were able to transfer approximately 6 to 8 TB per shoot day to Australia, where the media was verified, archived and securely stored as a secondary backup.
Meets Stringent Signal Requirements
Signiant Media Shuttle has been KOJO’s preferred solution since July 2020. With TLS encryption, multifactor authentication and other robust security protocols, it meets the stringent security requirements of major studio productions. Combined with exceptional support from our account manager, it gives us, and our clients, confidence that valuable production media is protected throughout every transfer.
Ultimately, Signiant allows us to operate as a truly global postproduction partner, securely connecting productions anywhere in the world with our facilities in Australia and enabling our teams to deliver world-class picture postproduction without the barrier of geography.
More information is available on the Signiant website.
