I am looking into improving the backup process a group of animators use. Currently they back up their work into external hard drives or DVDs manually, taking full copies of everything. The data consists of thousands of high resolution images, project files of various video editing software and sound files. Basically everything is binary data and nothing should ever be merged on checkin.
Should I investigate version control systems that I would use as a software developer (Subversion, GIT etc.), or is there a class of version control systems intended for non-SW data that would suit these needs better?
If your scope is just "backup" then I'd say stick to backup solutions.
But if you are thinking about the whole lifecycle of the animator's work, then the type of use typically falls into the "Digital Asset Management" category for the very reasons you mention: huge data volumes; binary formats.
Since version control (SCM) software is usually designed for text files that can be diff'd and merged, they tend not to do so well with binary formats in high volume. While your average web graphics are not going to be an issue for (software) version control tools, you mention video, which puts you in another league.
The bad news (maybe - depends on your business) is that DAM is dominated by the big end of town. @Atmospherian has mentioned AlienBrain which is a good representative of niche offering for artists. At the other end of the spectrum you have more general purpose offerings like Oracle's UCM (formerly Stellent). Make sure you check the price tags though.
There must be open source or lower cost alternatives available - but I don't know them, sorry.
What does seem to be very common are custom inhouse solutions. Unlike managing code, where changes to the files themselves have their own significance, managing digital assets tends to focus on the metadata (the image/video is just an associated blob). And since since many shops have their own particular production workflow, it makes the territory ripe for some skunkworks programming (if that's your bent - go for it!).
So while I'm not recommending any particular products, I suggest if you think "digital asset management" rather than "version control" when scouting for solutions you will probably find answers more suited to your needs.