Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Background

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), established in 1927, is a prestigious organization dedicated to advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Renowned worldwide for its annual Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, AMPAS honors excellence in cinematic achievements across various categories.

Headquartered in Beverly Hills, California, AMPAS operates the Samuel Goldwyn Theater, a premier venue for film screenings, premieres, and industry events. Designed for optimal projection and sound quality, it ensures the highest technical standards for cinematic presentations.

Beyond the Oscars, AMPAS supports film preservation and education through the Margaret Herrick Library and the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, the largest U.S. museum dedicated to cinema. Through these initiatives, AMPAS continues to shape the future of the motion picture industry.

Challenges

As AMPAS expanded its film screening and distribution operations, managing digital cinema files became increasingly complex. Projectionists had to manually download Digital Cinema Package (DCP) files, transfer them to external hard drives, and physically move them between systems before loading them into projectors. This process introduced inefficiencies, requiring long ingestion times—a two-hour movie took two hours to load.

For film festivals, studios provided ProRes or uncompressed files on multiple USB drives, which had to be converted to DCP before screenings. Editors worked separately across different machines, manually transferring files via USBs, further slowing the process. Additionally, AMPAS needed to distribute converted DCP files across three other theaters in Los Angeles, relying on manual copying of USB drives—adding logistical challenges and delays.

The reliance on physical storage devices not only slowed turnaround time but also introduced risks of file mismanagement, compatibility issues, and workflow disruptions, making a more centralized and efficient system critical for AMPAS.

Solution

AMPAS needed a faster, smarter way to handle its growing library of digital cinema files. The constant shuffling of USB drives and external storage was slowing down screenings and creating unnecessary bottlenecks. To keep up with the demands of high-speed film distribution, AMPAS turned to the QNAP TS-h1290FX, a high-performance NAS designed for seamless media workflows.

With blazing-fast 25GbE connectivity and FTP access, the TS-h1290FX eliminates the need for manual file transfers, allowing projectionists to download and queue films instantly. Editors can now convert ProRes to DCP directly on the NAS, reducing delays and enhancing collaboration. A site-to-site VPN connects all four theaters, enabling instant file access without the hassle of physical distribution.

Result

QNAP NAS transformed AMPAS' post-production workflow by enabling faster movie ingestion, seamless remote access, and secure data management. With high-speed 25GbE storage, editors can work directly from the NAS, eliminating external drives and streamlining collaboration across theaters.

The comparison below highlights the key advantages of QNAP NAS over traditional storage methods, helping post-production teams optimize efficiency and workflow management.