"Research Up" for Reliable Storage

As the head of video productions for a creative-content advertising agency, Aron Orton doesn’t have a lot of a time for daydreaming. Still, he fits in enough dreaming to separate his work for his competitors.

“I’m a creative guy,” Aron says. “If not for that, I wouldn’t be doing what I am doing now, that’s for certain. Luckily, this job fits into who I am as a person.”

As Director of Broadcasting for a SoCal company called Amusement Park, Aron’s job is something of juggling act. One day, there may be a shoot with NBA basketball star Stephen Curry. Or he might be in San Diego to produce a webisode for a series about food for LG appliances. Or Aron is working on a live television show like  “Heaven Sent,” which aired on Fox TV and featured skydiver Luke Aikins jumping from 25,000 feet without a parachute. Aikins landed safely in a net!

With an IT guy’s sharp eye for tech hardware, Aron is on his second ProMAX Platform shared server. Intense research guided him to the purchase. He doesn’t buy without first looking closely at what’s out there. A stroll through Best Buy or spending 15 minutes on the internet isn’t enough.

Aron expected both ProMAX systems to increase capacity as needed, whether that meant editing higher-grade visuals or upgrading archiving space. He hasn’t been disappointed.

“I’ve found ProMAX to be very reliable. There are the conflicts that you run into now and then. But these haven’t been due to failures in the equipment and I know all I have to do is make one call and I get the help I need,” Aron says.

Of course, research isn’t only critical when buying electronics. Aron starts any editing, directing, or producing assignment by carefully considering his goals.

“Then I research ‘up.’ By that I mean that I spend time looking at what is going on at my level in the industry and I compare that with what’s going on at a higher level, like feature films. I want to know what the best out there are doing. So I watch blogs, read articles, follow the trades,” he says.

For instance, Aron looks for inspiration in the work of feature film director David Fincher. Among his movies are “Gone Girl” and “The Social Network.”

“What equipment is he using? He’s shooting all digital. He’s shooting a ton of footage. How is he working collaboratively with that? That’s the kind of information I used in my decisions about buying the hardware we are working with now,” Aron says.

Be aware, though. Don’t separate your dreams completely from reality. There is an economic trap waiting if you get too carried away.

“You have to be careful when you ask yourself, ‘What does David Fincher use?’ He’s got equipment with solid-state drives. If I get those, it’s going to triple my costs. Then I’ll have to prove it was worth it. I’ll have to go into my boss’s office and sell it, which might not work out,” he says, laughing a little.