Pete Miller – Sales and Business Development Manager
The Oscars marked the end of the 2023/24 awards season and, with it, another incredible 12 months for cinema. From the phenomenon that was Barbenheimer to the bizarre world of Poor Things, via Godzilla and Spiderman, there has certainly been a lot of spectacle. And driving all of these, to a greater or lesser degree, has been a hard-working team of visual effects (VFX) experts – I’m always amazed at the work they do and get a tiny buzz when I see a customers name appear in the credits (Yes, I watch the credits)
With this surge in demand for ever more complex film, TV, video game and VR content creation, the global VFX industry is set to grow by as much as 14% over the next four years. This is especially welcome news given the industry-wide slowdown that occurred as a result of the actors and writers strike which, ultimately, brought the industry to an abrupt halt.
This positive outlook is likely to be further buoyed by the recent announcement of a new tax credit for independent UK films, with studios in England set to receive 40% relief on business rates for the next 10 years. This is especially welcome news given the industry-wide slowdown that occurred due to the actors and writers strike which, ultimately, brought the industry to an abrupt halt.
Of course, supporting this industry is a whole load of very impressive technology and, with the sector now getting back into full swing, VFX businesses are recognising the need to invest in the right high-powered infrastructure to meet this skyrocketing demand. And they need this technology quickly.
The majority of those we work with in the tv, film and gaming sectors are heavy technology users who need large quantities of high-end processing units. They have a lot of specific technical requirements and, as the market expands and demand for their work increases, so does their list of needs.
Powerful servers still play a major role when it comes to the creative industries, but there’s also been a noticeable shift towards GPUs and workstations. Providing VFX customers with a tailored system, designed for technical or scientific applications, where they can configure their workstation to suit their exact requirements, enables them to produce the very best content for the big and small screen.
At ETB, we offer a variety of refurbished hardware products, including GPUs, servers, storage and networking devices perfect for the VFX industry. Saving our customers time and money, we provide a one-stop-shop with all our stock on-site. This means customers can buy what they need, when they need it - so when a new project demands increased capacity, they can respond faster than Maverick flying his fighter jet through desert canyons.
