Technicolor Creative Studios has announced the incorporation of award-winning VFX studio MPC Advertising into sister brand The Mill to create one global studio network. The new consolidated studio under The Mill moniker will be led by Josh Mandel, previously CEO of The Mill, who will be taking on the new role of president of Advertising at Technicolor Creative Studios. The Mill’s existing studios in London, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Bangalore will combine with MPC Advertising’s studios in London, Amsterdam, Paris, Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles.
As one brand, the expanded studio will focus on three core business offerings within the Advertising & Brand Experience markets: Visual Effects, Creative Production and Brand Experience.
2022 will be a year of international investment and growth for The Mill, with new studios in Seoul and Shanghai as well as expansion of European operations in Paris, Berlin and Amsterdam. By bringing MPC advertising into The Mill and the launch of new studio locations, The Mill will create new jobs and broaden its creative offering, ensuring no talent is lost through the integration of both brands.
The Mill has already scaled for the future, investing heavily in new production, immersive and interactive technologies. As the market develops fast in new areas such as Realtime Production and The Metaverse, combining the two studios will support the sharing of talent, knowledge and the expertise necessary to driving innovation for Mill clients.
Mandel commented, “Our agency and brand clients have consistently asked us to extend our VFX prowess into new areas of premium craft, from design and direction through to immersive experiences. We will now have the might to do all of this at global scale and will continue to serve those ambitious agencies and brands looking to leverage our Virtual Production capabilities and innovation in the use of real-time game engines, XR, Spatial Experience and creating for The Metaverse.”
Mandel will be joining fellow Technicolor Creative Studios brand presidents: Tom Williams, president of MPC VFX; Andrea Miloro, president of Mikros Animation; and Jeaneane Falkner, president of Technicolor Games. Additionally Mark Benson, who was CEO of MPC Advertising, now takes on the role of leading global VFX business as executive VP. He will work closely with Mandel to lead the studio globally.
The structural changes will roll out this month, with MPC Advertising re-branding as The Mill effective immediately.
This is the next phase of Technicolor Creative Studios’ transformation strategy, with additional changes across the business in gaming, animation and feature film. The Mill has been chosen as the flagship brand for Technicolor’s advertising division to enable MPC to focus its offering in the feature film and episodic content markets. Technicolor is streamlining its creative studios business to strengthen its proposition across key industry sectors. There will be four brands, each with a different industry focus:
- The Mill: Advertising (VFX, Creative Production, Experiential)
- MPC: Feature film and Episodic VFX
- Mikros: Animation
- And Technicolor Games: Gaming
