After Technicolor Group began shuttering its storied production and visual effects (VFX) studios MPC and The Mill, sending shockwaves through the advertising and creative industries, The Mill’s U.S. leaders announced a new venture in partnership with Dream Machine FX.
The creative leadership from The Mill U.S. has formed Arc Creative, a business under the Dream Machine FX group. Dream Machine FX is a holding company that includes VFX studios Important Looking Pirates (which worked on FX series Shōgun), Fin, Mavericks VFX, and Zero.
Arc Creative will be led by The Mill’s former U.S. executive creative directors Robert Sethi and Gavin Wellsman and managing directors Angela Lupo and Anastasia von Rahl. Seven of The Mill’s former creative directors, nine executive producers, 10 heads of departments, six VFX supervisors, and most of its creative staff will also join Arc.
With locations in New York and Los Angeles, Arc will initially focus on short-form work such as advertising, trailers, and game cinematics.
In a statement first published by Variety and then posted on LinkedIn, Arc’s leaders said that while Technicolor’s Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings “may pose challenges… we will do everything in our power to protect the talent and trust that have defined us for decades.”
“We have always held The Mill in the highest regard and the shutting of its doors is a sad day for the entire industry. The Mill US has always stood as both a force of creativity and a bastion for some of the most creative minds in our industry,” David Li, chairman of Dream Machine, added in a statement. “We are humbled that Robert, Gavin, Anastasia, and Angela came to us to start this next chapter and we are excited to support all of the talented individuals who are working together to continue The Mill’s legacy and build Arc Creative.”
Technicolor notified U.S. employees on Friday that it would be “required to cease our U.S. operations,” including studios The Mill, MPC, Mikros Animation, and Technicolor Games, as early as Monday due to “severe financial challenges.” Its U.K. branch, Technicolor Creative Studios, filed for administration and made the majority of its 440 employees redundant, while its outposts in France are set to undergo receivership proceedings.
