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SYSTEMS @ WORK
Human Resources
Derek Chan, head of digital operations at DreamWorks Studios,
is ecstatic. DreamWorks used to release an animated film every
18 to 36 months. “Now we're doing a show in May, another in
November, and then May. We're reaching a scale no one else has
been able to do. When we ended up building these systems, it
changed the landscape for us,” says Chan. The systems Chan is
using are telepresence systems.
DreamWorks Animation SKG, creators of many popular
films including “Shrek,” “Madagascar,” “Chicken Run,” and
“Bee Movie,” is well known for its high-quality 3-D animation.
Creating these movies takes the combined effort of many top
animators located around the world. For DreamWorks, a great
deal of collaboration takes place between its home studios in
Glendale, California, and its subsidiary, Pacific Data Images,
400 miles north in Redwood City.
The long distance between sites was causing important
DreamWorks executives, artists, and directors to waste time
traveling rather than creating. DreamWorks tried a variety of
network conferencing systems, but none provided a smooth
stream of communication—in-person visits were much more
productive. DreamWorks partnered with Hewlett-Packard (HP) to
create a videoconferencing system that allows people around the
world to communicate as though they were sitting around a
conference table. The result is an HP product called HP Halo, a
telepresence and videoconferencing system. The technology has
proven successful and similar systems are being offered by other
vendors under the general title of telepresence systems.
Telepresence participants sit at a long, one-sided conference
table facing a wall covered with large displays. The room is
equipped with unobtrusive video cameras and a high-resolution
document camera. When connected to the telepresence studio at
another location, the displays show the other meeting participants
seated as if across the table. A large display above the participants
shows documents that people want to share using the document
camera or directly from a PC. Microphones and speakers allow
participants to converse in a natural voice. People outside the
telepresence environment can dial into the system to join in on
audio.
Network connections are the most important component of
the telepresence system. DreamWorks' HP Halo system provides
a dedicated high-bandwidth network line between its Glendale
studios and its Redwood City offices. Users describe the so-called
tele-immersive environment as being stunningly lifelike. It's as
though the participants are physically together.
For DreamWorks, this means a fundamental change in the
way it does business. Teams can work together by sharing and
discussing documents, images, and video, while cutting the time
and cost of travel. Animators and producers use the system
to collaborate from disperse geographic locations, developing
storyboards, reviewing artwork, and adjusting character designs in
real time. The document camera allows artists to sketch ideas to
share with the group. The network is fast enough to transfer video
clips from motion pictures while it is transferring live action video
of participants.
Using HP Halo, DreamWorks became the first company to
release two animated films in one year. Executives that previously
traveled overseas once every three weeks now travel once every
three months. Trips between Glendale and Redwood City have
been reduced by as much as 80 percent.
Discussion Questions
1.
What network considerations are involved when introducing a
telepresence system? How might DreamWorks' requirements
vary from a retail company such as Home Depot?
2.
How did telepresence allow DreamWorks employees to be
more productive and efficient?
Critical Thinking Questions
1.
Although some workforces are becoming more mobile, others
such as DreamWorks find it more effective to stay put. What
types of business activities are best carried out through travel?
What kinds of professionals benefit from avoiding travel? How
do telecommunications assist both?
2.
In your chosen career, do you anticipate a lot of travel or a
little? What types of activities will you perform that require
telecommunications?
Sources:
King, Julia, “Premier 100 IT Leaders 2008,” Computerworld,
December 10, 2007,
www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?
“DreamWorks speeds film production with HP Halo Collaboration Studio,”
HP Case Study,
http://h20219.www2.hp.com/enterprise/downloads/Case%
20Study_DreamWorks%20hi-res_7_17_07.pdf,
accessed April 28, 2008;
HP Halo Web site,
http://h20219.www2.hp.com/enterprise/cache/
570006-0-0-0-121.html,
accessed April 28, 2008.
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