VFX, motion graphics and animation giant Technicolor Creative Studios has been operating in India with its head office in Bengaluru. As per a report in Economic Times, owing to a big expansion move, the global company has taken up an office over 100,000 square feet on lease in Mumbai’s business district of Lower Parel.
The report mentioned that this Technicolor office will be spread across two floors in Blackstone Group entity Nucleus Office Parks’ commercial complex One International Center.
The report further mentioned that this major move is the largest single office transaction concluded in the micro market of Lower Parel after several years. In addition to this space, the French company also holds a hard option to expand the office by 50,000 square feet and this option can be exercised in six months at a pre-agreed rental.
However, when Animation Xpress reached out to some Technicolor officials, they declined to disclose any information related to this big development as they are currently in a “quiet period” and cannot give any information till 9 March.
The studio known for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, HBO’s House of the Dragon and several other global blockbusters, had earlier shared with Animation Xpress that amongst their key priorities in India, they are focusing on augmenting their end-to-end capabilities, continuously diversifying their offerings, and leveraging their industry-leading technology to bring their client’s content to life – safely, securely and expeditiously.
Founded in 1915, Technicolor led the film industry with the world’s first exploration of full colour and sound Motion pictures, developing a series of innovative colour film processes in the early 20th century. The creative technology brand later acquired leading VFX studios MPC, The Mill and Mikros Animation in addition to establishing Technicolor Games. These four studios now operate under the new brand name, Technicolor Creative Studios, to focus on growth in the entertainment and advertising markets.
Impact of Technicolor’s upcoming Mumbai office
Currently, Technicolor Creative Studios has almost 6,000 to 8,000 employees working for them. With a 100,000 square feet workspace, the company will create immense job opportunities. In 2022, they hired new employees extensively across their studios.
With the latest Bollywood project Bhediya, Technicolor has shown that VFX-heavy projects like this can be done within the Indian industry. Their Mumbai arrival hints that there will be more such projects taken up by the global giant.
Other global players marking their presence in Mumbai
In 2022, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) opened its new office in Mumbai. UK-based Cinesite group also acquired a majority stake in Assemblage Entertainment.
FOLKS, a Fuse Group visual effects company, launched its 35,000+ square foot facility in the finance capital of India. UK-based visual effects organisation Outpost VFX also arrived last year. The studio has itself grown from an initial strength of 55 to over 250 and they foresee this growth to continue into 2023.
Even Framestore that opened the doors to its state-of-the-art facility, (90,000 square-feet) purpose-built studio located at the heart of Mumbai in November 2021, is gradually finishing its build out. Heading towards its goal of establishing a full service studio, the multiple award-winning creative studios will start the build out of the third phase this year.
Job opportunities creating a demand for trained human resources
Framestore had launched its renowned global accelerator programme, LaunchPad Pro, in India. They plan to expand it further giving a platform to more VFX aspirants to help them come into the industry. Technicolor also provides training in various skills at its Academy in Bengaluru.
It would be interesting to watch if other top players too foray into the training or other such programs for students and job aspirants dreaming to make it big in the AVGC sector.
