CASE STUDY - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ka-boom puts Facilis TerraBlock at Heart of Irish Tech Revolution
HUDSON, MA – Based in Belfast, Ka-boom is one of Northern Ireland’s fastest growing Production and Post Production facilities for TV and Film. The facility boasts full Avid DS, Avid MC 8, Symphony, Final Cut and Pro Tools 5.1 Dubbing Theatre all centrally connected via 10Gb to its Facilis TerraBlock system alongside Northern Irelands Largest ADR Stage. The facility works on a mixture of local and international productions. Alongside its Post Production services, Ka-boom provides a full production services with experienced team of production staff.
Ka-boom is a good example of a new breed of young and dynamic Irish facility that has benefited from the so-called “Tiger Economy” that emerged at the start of the century. The facility is five years old and started life as an audio post house. Today, it has developed into a fully fledged video and audio post house with full range of off- and online services for commercial, TV and film productions.
“Despite our rapid growth, we still retain the mentality of a small, versatile post house offering bespoke client services and this is how we intend to remain,” explains Zach Willis, managing director of Ka-boom. “We’re still young, still growing and expanding. We offer specialist client services, which are adaptable to clients’ needs. We employ the latest technologies: we’re at the cutting edge of the application of these new technologies and workflow processes.”
Shared storage opens up a new world of collaborative working
In the early days of Ka-boom, storage was provided using standard local drives with no network storage. As the need arose to support multiple edit suites then the requirement for some kind of shared storage architecture became evident.
“At the time we performed a paper-based comparison of the various shared storage systems that were available,” explains Willis. “It boiled down to a choice between Avid’s ISIS and Facilis Technology’s TerraBlock. We chose TerraBlock since it ticked more boxes and offered a lot more at a competitive price level.
“We were attracted by the flexibility that TerraBlock provides – it is equally happy using Fiber of 10GB Ethernet connectivity. It doesn’t restrict us to one sort of technology nor one type of software. It works well with our Avid suites and it integrates seamlessly alongside graphics packages such as Adobe Premier and Photoshop,” Zach continued.
“Most importantly, TerraBlock empowers our creative teams to work collaboratively, which is a revolution for us and our growing client list,” Zach Willis explains. “With TerraBlock, we have broken down all the silos that existed within traditional facility architecture. Sound, editing – all of our team work together on the same projects, at the same time. It’s so much more efficient as a way of working.”
Smart technology with a sound business case
Despite the effect being nothing short of revolutionary, Ka-boom found that TerraBlock is a remarkably effective and intuitive shared storage system. The company bought a 48TB Facilis TerraBlock 24D system. They were amazed at how easily it integrated alongside their Avid and other systems without needing additional interfacing equipment.
The system was supplied by Facilis’ local representative – Dublin-based Tyrell CCT. Ka-boom is equally impressed with the technical and operational support, which is provided locally by Tyrell. The relationship with Tyrell is long-standing and has added value to the process of selecting and installing TerraBlock.
“Tyrell have been trading with Ka-boom for over five years in both their audio and video departments,” explains Bryan Malone, managing director of Tyrell CCT. “We have definitely aided with their growth since 2010, but it’s our technical collaboration that stands out for me. In order to continue to grow at the rate they wanted, there we some challenging discussions over what storage system was required. Suffice to say, 18 months on, we can all reflect on Facilis & Tyrell support being the most suitable collective choice.”
Revolutions in the working environment fuels growth throughout Ka-boom
Ka-boom has been operating its TerraBlock system for almost two years - a period that has seen the facility go from strength to strength. It has taken on a second building and expanded to offer four edit suites. Still, Willis has plans to install a further two suites within the new building.
“For sure, TerraBlock has helped us create an environment where growth is enabled and supported,” states Zach Willis. “On an engineering level, TerraBlock empowers us to connect all our suites in a single ecosystem. And it enables our most important resource - our fantastic creative staff – to work totally collaboratively, as one unified team.
“I’m certain that TerraBlock has contributed to our success and continues to support our expanding operations. It’s one business building block investment that has rewarded us and will be a long-term feature in our dynamic business model,” Willis concludes.
About Facilis Technology
Founded in 2003, Massachusetts-based Facilis Technology, Inc. designs and builds affordable, high-capacity, turnkey shared storage and archiving solutions for post production and content creation professionals working in the film, television, education and audiovisual markets. Its production-proven solutions are fast and intuitive –making it easier for creative professionals to collaborate and work more efficiently. Flexible, scalable and compatible with industry-standard creative solutions, Facilis’ products blend seamlessly into any studio environment –boutique, mid-size or large –and have been installed in more than 3,000 facilities worldwide. https://www.facilis.com/
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