2021 WFW studios strengthens production services with Sohonet

For more than 50 years, WFW Studios (aka William F. White International Inc) has equipped Canada’s film and television industry with the most extensive and technologically advanced rental inventory in the country.

Since 2019, it is also Canada’s leading supplier of first class studio space servicing everything from tentpole features for the content giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and Disney to experimental proof-of-concept web shorts from the industry’s rising stars.

10 gigabytes in every facility

Its 12 state-of-the-art studios encompass over 30 sound stages and more than 1.4 million square feet of production-ready studio space in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto. WFW Studios offer premium, full-service facilities with mill and paint shops, furnished offices, boardrooms and script-reading rooms that crucially come equipped with 10 gig fibre-optic connectivity from Sohonet.

“I worked with Sohonet while at Pinewood Shepperton, UK and know how good the technology is,” says Doug Sandland, Director, Information Technology for William F.White Int. “When I came to WFW four years ago I decided to reach out to them again.”

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“We have 10 gig in every facility for a reason,” Sandland explains. “We aim to offer our clients anything and everything. It used to be the case that productions would transport media to another facility but, we decided to give them the option to keep it in house at WFW Studios. We have multiple tenants at each studio and with 10 gig we can facilitate all of them to upload and stream high data payloads for VFX and raw Camera Files.”

What’s more, the group had this fast connectivity even before COVID.

“Lots of things have changed since COVID but we were lucky we had Sohonet in place. Now demand has gone through the roof. Remote working is simply part of how films and shows get made now.”

“I worked with Sohonet while at Pinewood Shepperton, UK, and know how good the technology is.” – Doug Sandland, WFW Studios

“Filmmakers and producers want the freedom to work away from set,” continues Sandland. “It means a director or an editor, a colorist or a DoP can be anywhere in the world and, provided they have an internet connection, we can stream content to them live from set.”

“Remote working is simply part of how films and shows get made.”

Discover the Sohonet Media Network

The Sohonet Media Network (SMN) provides dedicated, uncontended connection to distributed teams and partners with guaranteed bandwidth speeds. It enables workflows such as on the fly color correction by a colorist who could be located tens or hundreds of kilometers away in their facility. Creative decisions can be made by VFX supervisors and editors in concert with directors and DPs slashing wasted time and maximising time on location. Fewer key crew need to travel to set, reducing carbon emissions and costs as well as keeping everyone safe.

“With this bandwidth we have set the benchmark for the industry in Canada,” Sandland says. “Many other major studios offer bandwidth connectivity but few, if any, have our service offer. Having superfast, secure high bandwidth links is an essential part of modern production infrastructure and something our clients rely on us to deliver.”

The Sohonet Media Network is the world’s largest private fibre network for film, TV & advertising. Click the button below to find out more about Sohonet network connectivity services.