The demand for visual effects is growing while deadlines, budgets, and resources are tightening. In all aspects of media production, the need to produce footage combining 4K and greater resolution and high dynamic range color space puts a strain on all the components of a computer. Apple's Mac computers have been the standard for creative artists to practice their craft but, Apple's computers are falling short of what's needed to process all the data associated with today's visuals.
I refer to an article published by one of our clients, Jan Ozer, that we featured in a VFX Insider email sent back in 2016. Jan rented one of our Mac Pro 12-core (late 2013) computers to test the top-of-the-line Mac against an HP z840 workstation. It's easy to see how the benefits of the architecture of the HP and how you can put in the CPUs and GPUs necessary to handle the media coming in from the field. HP and other companies such as Boxx, Dell, Digital Storm and some others; are addressing the needs of power-hungry creatives who are taking their technology to the max!
It is likely that Apple will step up to the plate with something eventually but, meanwhile, other VFX artists and producers are winning projects because they have what's needed to deliver the director's (or agency's) vision.
VFX Technologies sees this all the time. Working with the top post-production facilities in the USA, we work to bring out the maximum performance from our clients' technology. We are upgrading their networks, providing faster-shared storage solutions, and renting or selling new computers.
We rent a lot of Apple computers. They are still great machines and can handle many people’s media needs. Using Adobe Premiere and After Effects on Macs is second nature to most visual artists. Media Composer and Pro Tools from Avid work best on a Mac. The bottleneck comes when you start talking about Flame and Resolve and rendering. We have many filmmakers that do their editing on an iMac and then call us to rent a Mac Pro to finish the job so that they're not agonizing over the final rendering of their effects. It is a reliable and economical solution.
At VFX Technologies, we hear about every challenge an artist or technologist working at a post company has. We handle the problems they can't. We attend trade shows, seminars, view webinars, and learn about technology trends constantly. That's why we become so vital to our customers. While they're creating and generating revenue, we are making sure they're prepared for whatever monster their client throws at them.