DreamWorks deepens technology partnership with Lenovo to boost film production

DreamWorks Animation has expanded its collaboration with Lenovo by naming the company as its preferred provider for compute services, workstations, and solutions.

This expanded relationship builds on the existing partnership between the two companies, adding further integration of Lenovo's devices, data centre infrastructure, and services into DreamWorks' operational environment. The objective is to offer DreamWorks the compute resources required to meet increasing technical and artistic demands in film production.

DreamWorks has cited measurable impacts from the adoption of Lenovo technologies. The studio reported a 20% performance increase thanks to Lenovo's Neptune liquid cooling, which has improved render speeds and allowed for faster iteration in production pipelines. Additionally, the adoption of ThinkStation P620 workstations has produced a 25% performance gain for animation programmes compared to previous systems, resulting in reduced loading times and a more responsive experience for artists.

In terms of infrastructure utilisation, DreamWorks experienced 98% data centre usage while generating 300 million compute hours for the production of The Wild Robot, underscoring the capability of Lenovo's infrastructure to support resource-intensive projects.

Kate Swanborg, Senior Vice President of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances at DreamWorks Animation, said, "Based on our long-standing relationship and Lenovo's consistent delivery excellence, expanding our collaboration was a natural next step. This deepens our collaboration and gives DreamWorks the flexibility and operational scale we need to fuel our business ambitions and deliver world-class filmmaking."

Ken Wong, Executive Vice President and President of Lenovo's Solutions and Services Group, stated, "This expanded relationship underscores the vital role of advanced, scalable technologies and services in powering complex creative workflows and meeting the demands of modern content production. It highlights the strategic impact of a trusted technology partnership in delivering the performance, reliability, and innovation required to push the boundaries of what's possible in filmmaking and what's possible in business."

Lenovo's portfolio supporting DreamWorks includes ThinkStation and ThinkPad P Series Workstations, designed to deliver performance required by artists and technical directors, as well as ThinkSystem servers and high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure for rendering and animation pipelines.

Lenovo's TruScale Infrastructure as a Service allows DreamWorks to scale compute resources as needed while avoiding large upfront capital expenditures. The service is tailored to align infrastructure capacity with production timelines and supports proactive monitoring, managed services, and expert support around the clock. In parallel, Lenovo assists DreamWorks with sustainability goals by helping transition to more energy-efficient technologies and retiring outdated systems.

DreamWorks also utilises Lenovo Premier Support Plus, which offers 24/7 support, rapid problem resolution, and guidance to keep creative workflows on track and minimise production delays. The Lenovo service model is intended to ensure operational agility for DreamWorks at every stage of production, from daily support needs to critical compute deployments.

DreamWorks has relied on Lenovo's computing solutions during intensive productions, notably making use of Neptune liquid cooling for increased data centre performance and energy efficiency. The technology enabled faster workflows and real-time iteration for artists, enhancing both speed and system stability.

Lenovo's services have also enabled rapid deployment during scaling processes. For example, an HPC deployment was completed in 1.5 days, instead of the anticipated one week. Custom hardware integration and support were cited as key factors in meeting the studio's production-readiness requirements.

This technology infrastructure supports DreamWorks' upcoming film projects, including The Bad Guys 2 scheduled for release in August 2025, Forgotten Island announced for September 2026, and Shrek 5 planned for December 2026. Lenovo's role spans across these projects, supporting both creative and technical demands.

Looking to future developments, DreamWorks is working with Lenovo to streamline operational and infrastructure processes, making use of predictive analytics and intelligent workflows supported by AI-optimised infrastructure. The studio clarified that while it does not use AI for imagery generation, it is exploring its potential for improving production pipeline efficiency to provide more opportunities for artists to focus on creative work.

Bill Ballew, Chief Technology Officer for DreamWorks Animation, commented, "This extension of the Lenovo partnership is a key component of our technology strategy. The Lenovo hardware solutions are incredibly powerful, and we are now looking forward to engaging with their AI teams to identify solutions that will optimise our compute infrastructure even further."

Wong added, "As production strategy evolves, the Lenovo-DreamWorks partnership serves as a blueprint for how enterprises can leverage integrated technology to scale intelligently and meet the demands of creative and operational excellence."