Pixar and VAST: The Data Platform Behind Pixar’s Animation Production

Overview

Pixar, winner of 23 Academy Awards, leverages VAST Data to create captivating visual stories for global audiences, revolutionizing data-intensive animated feature productions. Pixar began working with VAST in 2018 as it first pioneered new animation techniques using volumetric rendering.

Solutions

To meet creative demands, Pixar chose VAST to power its render pipeline for animation production. VAST ensures real-time access, keeps the renderfarm busy, and enables AI-ready, collaborative, multi-production workflows.

Results

With VAST, Pixar has fast, parallel access for movie render needs, nearly 2PB at peak. Improved operational resilience across multiple films, supported 150K volumetric frames, and laid the foundation for future AI-driven animation workflows.

• 15 PB of capacity

• Customer since 2018

• Render 2PB at peak