Tuesday, February 25th, 2025Posted by Jim ThackerTechnicolor Group begins to shut down operationshtml PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"Technicolor Group, the owner of Oscar-winning visual effects companies MPC and The Mill, and feature animation company Mikros Animation, has begun to shut down operations, threatening the jobs of thousands of artists worldwide.In a memo sent to employees at the weekend, Technicolor Group CEO Caroline Parot wrote that due to inability to find new investors for the full Group, it had filed for Court recovery procedure before the French Court of Justice.Its UK business went into administration on Monday, with the majority of its roughly 440 employees reported to have been made redundant.Technicolor Group is also reported to have sent US employees the WARN Act notice required by law for large companies ahead of planned closures and mass layoffs.One of the largest shake-ups of VFX industry jobs in a decadeWe dont usually cover studio closures on CG Channel, but this is potentially one of the most significant since the bankruptcy of Rhythm & Hues, over a decade ago.The companies owned by Technicolor Group include some of the worlds best-known VFX studios, including MPC, a three-time Academy Award-winner for its work on Life of Pi, The Jungle Book and 1917, and The Mill, which, although now mainly a commercials specialist, also won an Oscar for its work on Gladiator.The Group also owns Mikros Animation, the veteran production company whose recent credits include animated feature Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, and games services business Technicolor Games.Industry consultant Joseph Bell, former Los Angeles General Manager at The Mill, estimates Technicolor Groups current global workforce at 4,500.As well as the UK, US and France, that includes artists in Canada and India, whose current status is less clear: you can see a map of how the jobs are distributed globally in this LinkedIn post.Attributed to fallout from COVID and the 2023 Writers Guild of America strikeIn a memo sent to staff, the text of which has been shared on Reddit, Technicolor Group CEO Caroline Parot attributed the Groups financial problems to a difficult operational situation resulting from post-covid recovery, [and] a costly and complex separation from the previous group followed by the writers strike leading to a slowdown in customer orders.Comments on Reddit, including those from artists who say they recently worked at Technicolor Group companies, also cite the Groups management culture and job bidding practices.Tributes pouring in on social mediaFormer staff are also now sharing their tributes to the companies affected on social media.In one representative post on LinkedIn, DNEG co-founder and double Oscar-winner Paul Franklin commented that, like so many others in the industry, MPC is where I got my start and that it was hard to imagine the last 30+ years without that.More details on movie business news sitesFor more details, check out the ongoing coverage on Cartoon Brew and Variety.Variety also reports that some of Technicolor Groups artists have already moved on, with practically the entire creative staff of The Mill US launching a new venture, Arc Creative.Arc Creative, which will specialize in short-form work, is a joint venture with Dream Machine FX, the holding company for Important Looking Pirates, Fin, Zero VFX, and Mavericks VFX.Visit the Technicolor Group websiteHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Latest NewsTechnicolor Group begins to shut down operationsFinancial problems of the owner of Mikros Animation and VFX Oscar-winners MPC and The Mill threaten thousands of artists' jobs worldwide.Tuesday, February 25th, 2025Download four free VDB clouds from VFX AssetsGet free volumetric 3D clouds for previs, motion graphics and VFX in CG apps and game engines like Blender, Maya and Unreal Engine.Tuesday, February 25th, 2025Artlist discontinues the FXhome apps: HitFilm and Imerge deadVideo editing, compositing and VFX app and still image editor had over 6 million users prior to buyout and switch to subscription pricing.Monday, February 24th, 2025Free tool: Mesh Cleaner for BlenderVFX artist Rob Dickinson's handy add-on fixes artefacts in 3D scans and models in one click, to prepare them for animation or rendering.Sunday, February 23rd, 2025Tutorial: Introduction to Lighting & Compositing for CinematicsMaster workflows used in cinematics and animation production with The Gnomon Workshop's improvers' guide.Saturday, February 22nd, 2025Adobe to raise the price of Substance 3D subscriptionsCost of Substance 3D Texturing, Collection and Teams subscriptions to rise from 9-25% in March 2025. 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