Gorilla opens Bristol office

Wales’ largest post-production company, Gorilla has opened a facility in Bristol.

The office is in Finzel’s Reach, alongside BBC Studios and Channel 4, and has been designed to operate as a standalone facility for the local market as well as provide remote editing backed up by Gorilla’s Welsh HQ.

Managing director Rich Moss said: “It’s been a fantastic opportunity to build a brand new facility that’s relevant to the times we live in but backed up by the decades of experience, resources and infrastructure we have in our Welsh base.” 

Gorilla’s Bristol operations manager, Tom Arnold, added: “Bristol has always been at the forefront of programme making. It’s such an exciting time to be part of brand new cutting edge facility with a close knit team. Our departments from project management and technical support to picture and audio finishing have vast amounts of experience across multiple genres and formats. We are also looking forward to providing opportunities to new and diverse entrants to mould our future industry. “

Rhodri James, Gorilla technology and operations director, said: “Our latest facility provides the best in class in modern post-production creative services. It not only uses the latest technology, but it’s connected to Gorilla’s private cloud infrastructure enabling a smarter way of working. This is the first Bristol facility designed for hybrid Post Production, allowing our clients to choose a menu of options that best suits their production needs.”

Arun Hall, colourist and online editor, added: “What’s always appealed to me about Bristol is the diverse selection of work we’re lucky to have here. The scope creatively to really embrace and invest in a project is something our creative departments will thrive in.”

Broadcast Tech spoke to Moss about the scale and services it is planning for Bristol.

What facilities will it offer?

Full end-to-end post, from media management through offline, picture and sound finishing and delivery. We’ll have 10 offline, 1 grade, 2 online, 1 tracklay, 1 dub and 20 remote suites initially with the same again planned for our second phase.

How will it enable hybrid/flexible working?

The facility is designed with hybrid working in-mind, allowing productions to choose what works for them. This enables editors and edit producers to be on-prem one day or at home the next with the same login details. We have creative, editorial and production personnel in our Cardiff facility and our Bristol facility and spread remotely over the UK all working on the same project.

How does it link up to your current office?

The Bristol Office is connected to our Cardiff HQ LAN through large capacity diverse network paths. Our 24/7 Cardiff staff can log in, backup, ingest, deliver and support the Bristol facility both during the working day and out of hours.

Why Bristol, and what work will you be seeking in the city?

We were originally attracted to Bristol as it’s the home base of many of our remote clients and as they return to work then a presence became a priority for us. Also, it’s apparent that Bristol is currently going through a new era of television production, in which there’s an upturn across all genres, specifically in natural history, non-scripted and scripted.

How much did you invest in your new expansion?

This first phase of our expansion has seen us commit to over £1m of investment in equipment, infrastructure, technology and property.

Which key creatives will be working from your Bristol office, and how many staff will work there?

There are currently eight new staff supported by the Cardiff team of 60. We see this number increasing as our client base grows. Arun Hall is leading our picture finishing with Colin Chipchase in audio. Our post producers Katelin Rice and Cass Corbett are supported by operations manager, Tom Arnold.