Leading UK Long-Form Commercial House, Dancing Aardvarks, Revolutionizes Production Workflows with TerraBlock

UK-based production company and advertising agency, Dancing Aardvarks, has recently installed and successfully integrated Facilis’ TerraBlock  24EX/16 64TB Shared Storage System within its main commercial production center. Dancing Aardvarks, which specializes in commercial production from initial concept to final creation, is a leading provider of long form infomercials to the three biggest long form advertisers in the UK.

The company reports that with the integration of TerraBlock shared storage within their core production workflows, collaboration, efficiency and ease of operation within their daily work patterns have been drastically improved.

Having previously been part of an office set up where each desk had a range of different direct connect drives, Facilis’ Shared Storage System has enabled Dancing Aardvarks to revolutionize the way in which they work. Nick Wiseman, Partner at Dancing Aardvarks, explains, ‘‘We have put over 1000 commercials through Clearcast and a lot of them are iterated from the same assets, so having all the assets online and accessible from multiple seats made a lot of sense to us.’’

When deciding between Facilis and other vendors’ products, TerraBlock was chosen due to its competitive price and consistently good user reviews. TerraBlock is now being used by Dancing Aardvarks for all filming projects, which recently included a five camera multi-cam shoot for an advertising competition.

‘‘Having all our footage online and available for multiple users saves a lot of time for us when we require maximum throughput,’’ explains Wiseman. ‘‘It gives us uninterrupted turnaround speed, as the editor can be onto the next job whilst the graphic operator is finishing up with either grading or captioning.”

About TerraBlock
TerraBlock offers advanced SSD and Hybrid server products along with dynamic sharing methods for both block and file-level data access with connection over Fibre Channel and Ethernet, and a custom protocol that avoids the overhead and latencies of network storage systems. Client workstations can connect directly to the TerraBlock or through cost-effective network and fabric switches. TerraBlock is the first and only shared file system available over fibre channel and Ethernet without per-seat licensing. Connect up to 250 Ethernet and Fibre Channel clients at no additional cost and no 3rd party fees.

With TerraBlock, volumes can be made of any size, and the size can be increased or reduced on the fly, as the project requires. Project-based volumes offer low-level media management, ease of permissions allocation and security, and a familiar workflow. Also with TerraBlock, it is easy to synchronize users with Active Directory groups within specific organizational units. It is straightforward to add multiple volume permissions to entire groups in a single step, and manage all user account creation and deletion from a single location.

About Facilis Technology
Facilis Technology was founded in 2003 with the idea of bringing advanced storage technology to the Media and Entertainment industry at a reasonable cost. Its production-proven solutions are fast and intuitive, making it easier for creative professional 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-sized or large – and have been installed in more than 3000 facilities worldwide.

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