Jim Geduldick does not like to ask for directions. He knows where he wants to go, and he'll get there through trial, error, and grit. His quest to master all facets of digital video production led him through a long string of companies ranging from his firm, Visual Collective, through the likes of foreign car manufacturers, engineering software, computer technology, and action cameras. With action cameras, Jim's propensity for blending video with next-gen technology was finally allowed to run free.
However, swan diving into the uncharted waters of shooting virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) content didn't mean being stupid and taking unnecessary risks. Jim's job had him developing and promoting new ways of developing immersive content. That meant cultivating a toolkit sufficient for enabling such cutting-edge work. Fortunately, his background gave him the knowledge needed to optimize his storage strategies for that exponential leap in data and employ that storage in the reliable, efficient means.
In 2004, as Jim recalls, he had a collection of external hard drives from a prominent vendor. Several of them crashed during a single project. A colleague referred Jim to a guy named Roger Mabon, who had just purchased the rights to a two-drive RAID 0 product from Avid®. That product went on to become G-Technology®'s first G-RAID®. Jim tried the drive and was instantly hooked. He's been a devoted fan and user of G-Technology's product portfolio ever since.
"As my career progressed as a cinematographer, and in visual effects and editorial, I took the connection to G-Technology along with me," Jim says. "At the different studios and freelance jobs I'd work in, G-Technology drives just became my reliable go-to. These days, I travel with at least four portable SSD drives. Obviously, the SSDs are a godsend for working with high-resolution and multi-cam imagery, especially with complex visual effects and shooting scenarios related around virtual reality, volumetric capture, and working with digital cinema camera systems like RED®, Phantom, and all the other heavy hitters."
For Jim, the storage he picks for a job is much like the camera system. Both are essential, both must be selected to fit the work at hand, and both must deliver the utmost in performance and reliability. The need for data preservation that originally drove him to adopt that early G-RAID devices carries on over a decade later. In addition to a considerable collection of G-RAID single- and dual-bay drives, Jim now relies heavily on G-SPEED® Shuttle devices as well as the tough yet convenient modularity of the Evolution Series accessories. (To explore just one example of how Jim tortures his storage in the field, check out our case study on his VR work in the harsh conditions of the Nevada desert.)
As Jim continues to push the boundaries Of Mixed Reality(VR & AR), Virtual Production and traditional production, he anticipates keeping G-Technology at his side. "G-Technology drives have been a key component of my career," he says. "The product line has grown right along with my knowledge and ability. I don't know where I'll be five years from now, or what kind of crazy visual worlds I'll be capturing, but I'm confident that G-Technology will still be there delivering the speed and reliability my work requires in any environment."
