Milk VFX explained

Milk VFX
Industry:	Motion Picture, Film, TV, Animation, Visual Effects
Key People:	Jagjit Mundi - Chairman Marianne Speight - CBDO/Exec Producer Sara Bennett - CCO/VFX Supervisor Jean-Claude Deguara - VFX Exec Supervisor
Location City:	London, England,
Location Country:	United Kingdom
Num Locations:	4

Milk VFX is a British independent visual effects studio. It was founded in London in 2013^[1] and is known for creating complex and innovative sequences for high-end television and feature films.

The company received an Academy Award for Sara Bennett’s work on Ex Machina,^[2] three BAFTA Television Craft Awards for Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode: The Day of The Doctor, Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 1: Deep Breath and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Episode 5: Arabella. In addition, Milk has won a Creative Arts Emmy Awards for Sherlock Special Episode: The Abominable Bride.

Headquartered in Clerkenwell, London, Milk has expanded into Bordeaux,^[3] Dublin^[4] and Barcelona^[5] and acquired independent, BAFTA award-winning VFX studio Lola Post Production. Milk’s parent company Bizet Media has acquired Dublin-based High Wire^[6] post-production to provide broader VFX and production solutions.

History

Milk was founded by a small group of talented VFX artists and producers in 2013^[7] and moved into a new office in Clerkenwell^[8] at the start of 2022.

In October 2022 Milk acquired BAFTA Award winning VFX Studio Lola Post Production.^[9]

European Expansion

In December 2022 Milk announced the launch of a new studio in Bordeaux,^[10] France.  Milk VFX Supervisor Andy Morley leads the studio and creative team as Head of Studio and Creative Director.

In March 2023 Milk announced the soft launch of a studio in Dublin, Ireland.^[11] Overseeing the creative launch of the studio are Milk VFX Supervisors Ciaran Crowley and Donal Nolan.

In July 2023 Milk announced its presence in El Poblenou, Barcelona, Spain.^[12] This follows a long relationship between Milk and the talent in Spain; leading the creative team is Milk 2D Supervisor Jorge Oliva Ruiz de Leon.

Filmography

Feature films

2013-2024

Year	Title	Director(s)	Distributor(s)	Notes
2013	47 Ronin	Carl Rinsch	H2F Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films, Moving Picture Company, DMG Entertainment, Warrior Productions, Stuber Productions, Relativity Media, Universal Pictures
2014	Hercules	Brett Ratner	Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Flynn Picture Company, Radical Studios, Film 44, RatPac Entertainment, Mid Atlantic Films
	Dracula: Untold	Gary Shore	Legendary Entertainment, Michael De Luca Productions, Universal Pictures
	Get Santa	Christopher Smith	Scott Free Films, BFI, Screen Yorkshire, Ingenious, Warner Bros. Pictures
	Ex Machina	Alex Garland	Film4, DNA Films, A24,Universal Pictures International
2015		Robert Schwentke	Red Wagon Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, Mandeville Films, Lionsgate
	Poltergeist	Gil Kenan	Fox 2000 Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, Ghost House Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
	Everest	Baltasar Kormakur	Cross Creek Pictures, Walden Media, RVK Studios, Working Title Films, Universal Pictures
	High Rise	Ben Wheatley	Recorded Picture Company, HanWay Films, Film4, BFI, Northern Ireland Screen, Ingenious Media, Scope Pictures, S Films, StudioCanal
	The Martian	Ridley Scott	Scott Free Productions, Kinberg Genre, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
2016	Free Fire	Ben Wheatley	Film4 Productions, BFI, Rook Films, Protagonist Pictures, StudioCanal
	Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them	David Yates	Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films
2017		Matthew Vaughn	Marv Films, Cloudy Productions, TSG Entertainment, 20th Century Fox
	The Escape (short)	Paul J. Franklin	Pari Passu Films
2018	Annihilation	Alex Garland	Skydance, DNA Films, Scott Rudin Productions, Huahua Media, Paramount Pictures (North America and China), Netflix (International)
	Adrift	Baltasar Kormakur	STXfilms, Lakeshore Entertainment, H. Brothers, Ingenious Media, RVK Studios, STX Entertainment
	Who Will Write Our History	Roberta Grossman	Katahdin Productions, Match Spark, Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej, Maziowiecki Fundusz Filmowy, EC1 Lódz - Miasto Kultury, NDR/Arte, Next Film (Poland), Abramorama (United States), Giant Pictures (International), Midas Filmes (Portugal)
	Fantastic Beasts: Crimes of Gindelwald	David Yates	Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films
2020	Possessor	Brandon Cronenberg
	Four Kids And It	Andy De Emmony	Kindle Entertainment, Deadpan Pictures, Sky Cinema, Altitude Film Distribution
	The Old Guard	Gina Prince-Bythewood	Skydance, Denver and Delilah Productions, Marc Evans Productions, Netflix
	Rebecca	Ben Wheatley	Working Title Films, Big Talk Productions, Netflix
2021	In The Earth	Ben Wheatley
	Everybody's Talking About Jamie	Jonathan Butterell	Regency Enterprises, Film4 Productions, Warp Films, New Regency, Amazon Studios
	The Last Letter From Your Lover	Augustine Frizzell	Blueprint Pictures, The Film Farm, Canal+, Ciné+, StudioCanal
	Earwig	Lucile Hadzihalilovic
2022	Me Time	John Hamburg	Particular Pictures, HartBeat Productions, Netflix
	The Swimmers	Sally El Hosaini	Working Title Films, Netflix
	The Woman King	Gina Prince-Bythewood	TriStar Pictures, Entertainment One, TSG Entertainment II, JuVee Productions, Welle Entertainment, Sony Pictures Releasing
	What's Love got to do With It?	Shekhar Kapur	Working Title Films, Instinct Productions, StudioCanal
	I Used to Be Famous	Eddie Sternberg	Forty Foot Pictures, Filmkowski, Netflix
	Catherine Called Birdy	Lena Dunham	Working Title Films, Good Thing Going, Amazon Studios
	Your Christmas or Mine?	Jim O’Hanlon	Shiny Buttons Productions, Amazon Prime
2023	Kandahar	Ric Roman Waugh	Thunder Road Films, G-BASE, MBC Studios, Capstone Global, Open Road Films
		Ben Wheatley	CMC Pictures, DF Pictures di Bonaventura Pictures, Apelles Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures
	Genie	Sam Boyd	Universal Pictures, Peacock Productions, Working Title Films, Linden Productions, Universal Pictures International

Television

2013-2024

Year	Title	Distributor(s)
2013	Ice Age Giants	BBC Studios, Discovery Channel, Terra Mater Factual Studios, France Télévisions
2013-2017	Doctor Who	BBC Wales
2014	David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive 3D	Sky One
		Imagine Television, Real Time Productions, Teakwood Lane Productions, 20th Century Fox Television
2014-2017	Sherlock	Hartswood Films, BBC Wales, WGBH
2015	Thunderbirds: Are Go	ITV Studios, Pukeko Pictures, Weta Workshop
	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell	Cuba Pictures, Feel Films, BBC America, Screen Yorkshire, Space, Far Moor
	Lady Chatterley’s Lover	BBC Studios
	The Bastard Executioner	Sutter Ink, Imagine Television, FX Productions, Fox 21 Television Studios
	Harry Price: Ghost Hunter	Bentley Productions, ITV 1, Dazzler Media
2016	Class	BBC Studios, BBC Cymru Wales, BBC America, BBC Worldwide
	The Last Dragonslayer
		BBC Northern Ireland
2017	The Worst Witch	CBBC Productions ZDF
	Decline and Fall	Cave Bear Productions, Tiger Aspect Productions, BBC
	Electric Dreams	Anonymous Content, Channel 4, Amazon Studios, Electric Shepherd Productions, Moon Shot Entertainment, Left Bank Pictures, Rooney McP Productions, Tall Ship Productions
2018	The Alienist	Paramount Television, Studio T, Anonymous Content, Vanessa Productions Ltd., TNT
	Altered Carbon	Virago Productions, Mythology Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures, Skydance Television, Netflix
	Origin	CiTVC, Midnight Radio, Sony Pictures Television, Left Bank Pictures, YouTube Premium
2019	The Accident
2019-2023	Good Omens
2020	Dracula	Hartswood Films, BBC One, Netflix
	Cursed	Arcanum, Frank Miller Ink, Netflix
2021	Intergalactic
		Archery Pictures, Young Blood Productions, Rainbow S.p.A., ViacomCBS, Netflix
2022	Suspicion	Keshet UK, Apple TV+
	The Fear Index	FILLSCRN, Left Bank Pictures, Vidoeassist.hu, Sky
	Three Pines	Amazon Studios, Left Bank Pictures
2023	Citadel	Gozie AGBO, Midnight Radio, PKM, Picrow, Amazon Studios
	Bodies	Moonage Pictures, Netflix

Other

Video Games

• Mass Effect 3 - Teaser Trailer (2012)^[13]

VR Experiences

• Tree (2017)^[14]

Experiences

• Dinosaurs in the Wild (2017)^[15]

Awards

2013-2024

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2014	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Episode: The Day of The Doctor	Won
	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	David Attenborough's Natural History Museum Alive 3D^[16]	Nominated
2015	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Doctor Who Series 8 Episode 1: Deep Breath^[17]	Won
		Effects - Digital	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell^[18]	Nominated
2016	Academy Awards	Best Visual Effects	Ex Machina^[19]	Won
	Creative Arts Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Special and Visual Effects in a Supporting Role	Sherlock Special Episode: The Abominable Bride^[20]	Won
		Best Special Visual Effects	Ex Machina^[21]	Nominated
	Visual Effects Society Awards	Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell: Arabella^[22]	Nominated
	Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards	Effects - Digital	Beowulf: Return to the Shieldlands^[23]	Nominated
	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell Episode 5^[24]	Won
	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Doctor Who Series 9^[25]	Nominated
2017	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	The Last Dragonslayer^[26]	Nominated
	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Sherlock Special Episode: The Abominable Bride^[27]	Nominated
2019	Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards	Best VFX Project	Good Omens^[28]	Nominated
2020	BAFTA - Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Good Omens^[29]	Nominated
	Broadcast Tech Innovation Award	Best VFX Project	Cursed^[30]	Nominated
2021	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Cursed^[31]	Nominated
	Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards	Best VFX Project	Intergalactic ^[32]	Nominated
2022	British Academy Television Craft Awards	Special, Visual & Graphic Effects	Intergalactic^[33]	Nominated
2014	UK Screen Alliance	Outstanding Contribution to VFX	Jean-Claude Deguara – VFX Supervisor + Sara Bennett – CCO/VFX Supervisor Milk VFX^[34]	Nominated

Notes and References

1. Web site: Warburton . Liz . 2018-04-25 . How to fast track your business: Milk Visual Effects . 2024-02-07 . BGF.
2. Web site: Giardina . Carolyn . 2016-02-28 . Oscars: 'Ex Machina' Wins for Visual Effects . 2024-02-07 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
3. Web site: Miller . Max . 2022-12-13 . Milk to open France office . 2024-02-07 . Broadcast . en.
4. Web site: Milk to open VFX studio in Ireland . 2024-02-07 . UK Screen Alliance . en-GB.
5. Web site: Milk Launches Barcelona VFX Studio . 2024-02-07 . Animation World Network . en.
6. Web site: Bickerton . Jake . 2023-06-08 . Milk VFX owner acquires Dublin's High Wire . 2024-02-07 . Broadcast . en.
7. Web site: Giardina . Carolyn . 2014-06-30 . London-VFX House Milk Celebrates First Anniversary with '24: Live Another Day' . 2024-02-07 . The Hollywood Reporter . en-US.
8. Web site: televisual.com . Considine . Pippa . 2022-09-27 . Milk VFX moves into new premises, makes key hires . 2024-02-07 . Televisual.
9. Web site: VFX studio Milk announces that it has acquired Lola Post Production . 2024-02-07 . UK Screen Alliance . en-GB.
10. Web site: Milk opens VFX studio in France . 2024-02-07 . Animation UK . en-GB.
11. Web site: Milk to open VFX studio in Ireland The Irish Film & Television Network . 2024-02-07 . www.iftn.ie.
12. Web site: Milk opens VFX studio in Barcelona . 2024-02-07 . UK Screen Alliance . en-GB.
13. Web site: Milk VFX (Creator) . 2024-02-08 . TV Tropes.
14. Web site: Tree Official . 2024-02-08 . en-US.
15. Web site: Naish . Darren . Dinosaurs in the Wild: An Inside View . 2024-02-08 . Scientific American Blog Network . en.
16. Web site: 2014 Television Craft Special, Visual & Graphic Effects BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
17. Web site: 2015 Television Craft Special, Visual & Graphic Effects BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
18. Web site: 2015-08-14 . Craft & Design Awards 2015 . 2024-02-12 . Royal Television Society . en.
19. Web site: 2016 Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . 2024-02-12 . www.oscars.org . 16 February 2017 . en.
20. Web site: Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Supporting Role Nominees / Winners 2016 . 2024-02-12 . Television Academy . en.
21. Web site: Film in 2016 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
22. Web site: ves-admin . 14th Annual VES Awards . 2024-02-12 . Visual Effects Society . 11 March 2019 . en-US.
23. Web site: 2016-06-21 . Craft & Design Awards 2016 . 2024-02-12 . Royal Television Society . en.
24. Web site: 2016 Television Craft Special, Visual & Graphic Effects BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
25. Web site: Television Craft in 2016 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
26. Web site: Television Craft in 2017 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
27. Web site: Television Craft in 2017 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
28. Web site: Broadcast Tech Innovation awards 2019 shortlist announced . 2024-02-12 . UK Screen Alliance . en-GB.
29. Web site: Television Craft in 2020 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
30. Web site: Bickerton . Jake . 2020-10-29 . Shortlist revealed for Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards 2020 . 2024-02-12 . Broadcast .
31. Web site: Television Craft in 2021 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
32. Web site: Bickerton . Jake . 2021-10-14 . Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards 2021 - shortlist revealed . 2024-02-12 . Broadcast .
33. Web site: Television Craft in 2022 BAFTA Awards . 2024-02-12 . awards.bafta.org.
34. Web site: UK Screen Alliance and Animation UK unveil Outstanding Contributions shortlist . 2024-02-12 . UK Screen Alliance . en-GB.