MILK VFX opens new studio in Cardiff
Some very exciting news for the flourishing Welsh VFX industry. BAFTA award-winning London VFX house Milk is opening a second studio in Cardiff, Wales to support its expanding roster of TV and feature film projects. Milk joins the emerging infrastructure for the creative industries in Cardiff supported by the Welsh Government.
Milk created the VFX for the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who episode
Milk will begin production this month on ITV’s thirteen-part warrior drama Beowulf, Fox TV’s The Bastard Executioner, BBC’s Doctor Who series nine and feature film Poltergeist (20th Century Fox, MGM).
The Milk team is currently working on ITV’s Thunderbirds are Go, Hartswood/BBC’s Sherlock and feature film High-Rise (Recorded Picture Company) and has just completed work on forthcoming BBC drama Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and feature film The Divergent Series: Insurgent (Summit Entertainment).
Milk’s new studio is located at the GloWorks building in Cardiff Bay – the Welsh Government’s flagship centre for creative industries. Milk will open at the end of April with 20 artist seats and will begin work immediately on projects including the forthcoming ninth series of the BBC’s Doctor Who and Hartswood/BBC’s Sherlock Christmas Special 2015 episode. The new studio will share seamless communications and workflow with Milk’s London office via Sohonet.
GloWorks is the Welsh Government’s flagship centre for creative industries, a 32,000 sq ft development directly opposite Roath Lock Studios, the BBC’s 170,000 sq ft drama production studio complex in Porth Teigr and just a few miles from Pinewood Studio Wales. It offers space for creative businesses and start-ups to work more closely together and create new job opportunities for new talent in Wales. They will be joining Welsh Post-Production companies Gorilla and Bait Studio as well as Cloth Cat Animation as tenants at GloWorks.
Milk has appointed experienced VFX Supervisor Sue Land to manage the new studio. Sue will report to Will Cohen, Milk’s CEO and Executive Producer. Milk has already recruited a number of key crew locally and will work closely with the Welsh Government and Creative Skillset to maximise opportunities to hire and train local talent as the studio grows.
Milk has received the support off the Welsh Government as part of its programme to foster the creative industries in Wales. Will Cohen said,
“A Cardiff hub for Milk is perfect to support our growing roster of work, build on our long-term relationship with BBC Wales and allow new clients to collaborate with Milk. The timing is right with connectivity now provided by Sohonet, the opening of Pinewood and the new opportunities presented by the Welsh Government. We’re excited to be able to join in with the emerging infrastructure for creative business in Wales.“
Welsh Economy Minister, Edwina Hart said,
“I am delighted to welcome Milk VFX to GloWorks. Their arrival now means the building is fully let and their decision to open their second studio in Cardiff is testimony to Wales’ growing reputation as a great location for the film and television industry.
GloWorks is designed to support the sustainable growth of the Creative Industries sector by providing a collaborative environment for a thriving cluster of creative companies. It is therefore very pleasing to see the building full to capacity with firms that are employing local people and making an important contribution to the sector and the wider Welsh economy.”
In only eighteen months, the Milk team has created a range of innovative and complex sequences for high end TV and feature films. These include Doctor Who (BBC), 24: Live Another Day (Fox), Sherlock (Hartswood Films) and David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive 3D (Sky/Atlantic) and Brett Ratner’s Hercules (Paramount/MGM), Les Miserables (Universal), Dredd 3D (Entertainment Films), 47 Ronin (Universal), Universal’s Dracula Untold, Get Santa (Scott Free) and Alex Garland/DNA Film’s Ex-Machina.
They won a BAFTA Television Craft Award 2014 for outstanding visual effects on the BBC’s Doctor Who 50th anniversary special: Day of the Doctor. Read our article here. Milk has received a BAFTA Television Craft Award 2015 nomination for its work on Doctor Who: Deep Breath featuring the sinister Half-Face man character. Read our article here.
You can learn more about Milk at; www.milk-vfx.com