Member Provides The Tech That Keeps Us Entertained
BY CINDY LANDRUM, SPECIAL TO INSIDER
Brian Terrell is in the media and entertainment business. But he’s not a writer, filmmaker, or video-game creator. He’s the founder and CEO of GPL Technologies, a full-service technologies solutions firm that focuses solely on the media and entertainment industry.
Terrell founded GPL Technologies in 2003 to help media and entertainment studios design and implement data infrastructures needed to produce films, visual effects, and video games.
“I found I like working with artists,” Terrell said. “A lot of my friends were creatives and I fell into the vertical. At the time, there were no other companies supporting the media and entertainment industry, specifically.”
Prior to starting GPL, Terrell built and deployed network and security systems for local, state, national and international government agencies, including the United Nations in Vienna, Austria; highway departments; state tax and revenue departments; and the Los Alamos National Laboratories.
Keeping Studios Up to Date
GPL Technologies helps studios large and small bridge the gap between rapid technological changes and the demands of ever-increasing complexity and financial concerns. Studio design is a core competency and allows the company to create a properly scoped design that meets the demands of a client’s current studio workflow and allows room for growth.
GPL Technologies tackles everything from product procurement and licensing to technical support, training, and staff placement.
In addition to working with media and entertainment studios, the company supports Fortune 2000 media departments. GPL Technologies acts like a bridge between creative and corporate IT departments.
“Most decisions are driven by creatives,” Terrell said. “But they don’t know what latency means on a network. We can talk both languages.”
For companies that need equipment on a project basis, Terrell and Jason Blum, GPL Technologies’ Chief Technology Officer, started VFXnow. VFXnow offers “hardware as a service,” providing studios equipment they need for a period of time. After the client ramps down, VFXnow refreshes the equipment so it’s ready to send to the next customer.
Learning From His Peers
GPL Technologies has been a Varnex member for nearly one year.
Terrell said networking opportunities are one of the main advantages of being a Varnex member. “It’s helpful to be able to talk to somebody else who has gone through the same thing you are going through,” he said. “You can ask what management platform they used or how much revenue they generated to help determine whether you’re on the right path.”
Terrell said each sales training session offers some “nuggets.”
“At one of the regional events, we were told if a project doesn’t have a deadline, it’s not a project,” he said. “If you have millions of dollars in opportunities, it’s good to know how to get the non-critical ones out of the way and focus on what’s important.”
Terrell sees more expansion and more offices in GPL Technologies’ future as well as studio as a service offer. “We’re waiting for the technology to catch up.”