Gorilla has connected its Cardiff and Bristol finishing operations around high-performance EditShare NVMe storage, working with Altered Images to give creative teams faster access to native media while reducing the manual media movement that can slow down high-end television (HETV) and film workflows..
Customer: Gorilla Group TV (Cardiff and Bristol, UK)
Industry: Post-production for high-end television, film and broadcast
Challenge: Growing HETV and feature-film workloads required faster shared access to native camera media, while manual copying, conform syncing and cross-site media movement were slowing finishing, QC and delivery workflows.
Solution: Deployment of EditShare NVMe shared storage across Gorilla’s Cardiff and Bristol facilities, supporting Baselight, DaVinci Resolve, assist, QC and delivery workflows, with media synchronisation between sites.
Results:
- Cardiff and Bristol teams can work from synchronised local EditShare storage
- Colourists can collaborate across sites using Baselight systems and shared media
- Manual conform syncing and cross-site media movement reduced
- QC and delivery teams can review large image-sequence renders directly from EditShare storage
Formed in 1999 around a single linear tape edit suite, Gorilla now operates three facilities spanning Avid editing, Baselight and DaVinci Resolve grading, and audio dubbing, including Dolby Atmos.
Creating a new tier
As Gorilla’s scripted and feature work increased, teams were working from local and internal storage, moving large volumes of media manually between systems. Conforms had to be copied onto individual Baselight systems and kept synchronised as projects progressed.
“We have expanded our films and HETV output and reached the point where it was time to invest in what we call tier-zero storage,” says Gorilla Managing Director Rich Moss. “It was our first shared storage tier designed for the high speeds required by image sequences and the other media we work with in finishing.”
Gorilla initially deployed EditShare NVMe shared storage at its Cardiff facility in 2025. Following its success, the company worked with Altered Images to extend the EditShare environment into Bristol, installing a second NVMe system in spring 2026. The facilities are connected by a low-latency 10Gb link, allowing media to be synchronised between the two systems.
“The Bristol project was about extending the capability Gorilla had already seen from EditShare NVMe into a second location,” says Mike Fitchie, Head of Technical Presales at Altered Images. “Our technical consultation with Gorilla has always been based on long-term value and personal support.”
Conform once, work in either city
For Online Finishing Editor Mark Bankhead, the change has been immediate. “Before EditShare, we were doing a lot of media management, moving conforms between Baselights and different internal storage systems,” he says. “As projects progressed, we had to keep the media synchronised manually. EditShare has completely transformed our conform workflows.”
A production can be conformed onto the EditShare storage at one facility and synchronised overnight to the other, giving Cardiff and Bristol users local access to the same media.
“When you access a scene, the media is there and automatically comes online,” says Bankhead. “We no longer have to manually manage it from a facility 50 miles away. We can concentrate on the work we need to do.”
Sharing creative resources
The infrastructure is also changing how Gorilla allocates colourists and grading rooms. On The Dream Lands for Sister Pictures, two colourists working from Bristol have been able to use Baselight systems and media located across both facilities, including one remotely controlling a Baselight in Cardiff from a Bristol grading room.
“The addition of tier-zero shared storage has given us the flexibility to join the two sites and has changed the way we finish high-end productions,” says Moss.
Christine Kelly, Colourist at Gorilla, adds: “EditShare has made it much easier for colourists to work in parallel across the company. With a simple change of media container within Baselight, we can continue working on projects across different sites as though the media were local. For a company spanning multiple locations, that makes a huge difference.”
Native media, QC and delivery
Performance was central because Gorilla’s scripted teams generally work with native camera media throughout finishing. Baselight systems now access source media directly from EditShare storage, with local caching used where appropriate.
The impact extends into QC and delivery. Large image-sequence exports previously had to be copied from finishing storage onto local drives before playback and review, with feature-film deliveries sometimes involving around five terabytes of image sequences.
“If we exported an image sequence for a feature, QC would previously have needed to copy it to an internal drive before they could play it,” says Bankhead. “Now they can take the render on the EditShare and play it immediately. It has sped up the whole delivery and QC process.”
The EditShare systems have supported drama and feature-film work including The Rapture for Mammoth Screen, Film4 feature H Is for Hawk, and The Dream Lands for Sister Pictures. On H Is for Hawk, grading was completed in Bristol while online finishing took place in Cardiff, showing how stages of a production can be divided between facilities without manual media management.
The next opportunity
Gorilla is now exploring how EditShare FLOW Automation could save further time. Ken Burnett, Technical Operations Manager at Gorilla, says: “We are automatically synchronising media between our Bristol and Cardiff sites via our 10Gb line. Both sites will work from a local EditShare unit, with FLOW keeping each site synchronised. FLOW has removed the operational complexity, allowing our colourists to focus entirely on the creative side of the job.”
For Moss, the value lies in the workflows already transformed and the platform it provides for further development. “It has opened up the flexibility to connect our sites, share our resources and change how we deliver that work as a business.”
“The addition of tier-zero shared storage has given us the flexibility to join the two sites and has changed the way we finish high-end productions.”
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