Shapeshifter

Shapeshifter Post employs Draco tera enterprise to manage post production workflow

The Customer

Shapeshifter Post, founded in Hollywood 12 years ago offers custom-tailored edit solutions and workflows for any project; be it a commercial, promo, feature film, television show, or live event.

Shapeshifter is a place of technical and creative excellence, with the goal of providing effective post production solutions in a relaxed, boutique environment; an objective that has been successful in forming a steady and loyal following of clients with a variety of project requirements: tapeless, HD, 3D, 2K and beyond.

The Challenge

When Shapeshifter needed a KVM solution to streamline their workflow, they turned to local specialist and distributor OOBAXS to help.

The Solution

Working with OOBAXS to design and deploy a solution using IHSE’s Draco tera KVM matrix switch, Shapeshifter Post was the first post-production facility in Hollywood to embrace the high speed technology. “The Draco series is the fastest core switching product on the market,” said Alan M Frank, technology strategist and founder of OOBAXS. “IHSE’s willingness to be a responsive partner with their end-users has led to the evolution of a product that is changing the way movies are made.”

“We had been researching KVM matrix switching/extension options for many months, and needed a robust solution that could support all our input devices without issue, including our Avid Symphony, DS, and Media Composer, as well as De Vinci Resolve, and Final Cut Pro workstations. The IHSE solution was by far the superior choice,” said Russo Anastasio, president of Shapeshifter Post. “We knew that by installing the IHSE Draco, we would increase our productivity, but didn’t realize the extent of that increase would be such a game changer!”

The Benefit

“It enabled us to leverage our existing copper wire infrastructure; the DVI displays are crystal clear and crisp, and switching is instantaneous and
flawless. Our changeover took us less than an evening, and we have been running without issue ever since. The functionality and increased
productivity that we have realized by installing IHSEs NEW high-speed HD product has truly been a game changer for Shapeshifter”.

“Post-production tasks can be time consuming and draining on resources and typically depend on individual hardware and locations,” added Frank. “An editor may have traditionally worked in one bay for picture editing, but then would need to move to a new location to add in special effects or color-time. With the Draco tera, an entire production house worth of resources becomes accessible at any single end-point.”

The Draco tera system offers DVI video extenders over Cat X or fiber for “mission critical” server and computer access, as well as, fiber-optic HD-KVM matrix switches. Manufactured by IHSE in Germany, with local support from IHSE USA in New Jersey, the Draco, featuring ZERO blocking, high speed switching, HD DVI to 1920 x 1200, and 4 HID, has already made its impact on Hollywood studios.