Thinkbox, an Amazon company, has announced the availability of Deadline 10, the latest version of the compute management software that makes render farm workflows behind 3D modeling and graphics applications more flexible by enabling customers to access any combination of on-premises and cloud-based resources for hybrid workflows. Deadline 10 is the first release to offer customers access to Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Spot Instances that can significantly reduce the cost of running rendering applications, and help customers increase compute capacity on the same budget. Customers can also purchase by-the-minute render time in the AWS Cloud through Thinkbox’s Marketplace. Deadline for Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, Arnold, an Autodesk offering, and Chaos Group’s V-Ray can all be purchased in the marketplace. Deadline 10, including support, is offered at a lower price of $48.00 per year. (Perpetual licenses are available upon request.) To get started, visit www.thinkboxsoftware.com/sales.
Deadline 10 integrates with the AWS Cloud to enable customers to expand their render farms–whether on-premises, cloud, or hybrid–simply and securely. To ensure that all the appropriate assets are available in the cloud, Deadline synchronizes with local servers and manages the data transfer before rendering begins, tagging accounts and instances for bill allocation. With flexible third-party licensing options, Deadline 10 customers can purchase software licenses from the Thinkbox Marketplace, bring their own licenses, or leverage a combination of the two to grow render farms elastically from the AWS Cloud.
“Thinkbox has a long history of streamlining rendering for media and entertainment companies, and Deadline 10–our most flexible and cost-efficient release yet–empowers customers to render without limits,” said Chris Bond, founder of Thinkbox Software and director of product management, Amazon EC2, at AWS. “Becoming part of the Amazon family has helped us scale out, and we look forward to continuing to enhance the product’s on-premises, cloud-based, and hybrid compute management capabilities.”
“Autodesk customers have benefited from Deadline and Thinkbox’s artist plug-ins,” said Chris Bradshaw, sr. VP, Media & Entertainment, Autodesk. “With the integration of our products into the Thinkbox Marketplace, our customers can tap into Deadline and the AWS Cloud for their rendering workflow.”
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More