Editing network The Whitehouse and London visual effects powerhouse The Mill have both opened New York operations, breathing much-needed life into the local post-production scene.

The Whitehouse already had offices in London, Santa Monica and Chicago, while the Gotham digs for The Mill represent its first physical transatlantic presence (The Mill had been delivering work in North America via it's Beam.tv set-up). In both cases, these companies have come to New York to position themselves more closely with the agencies producing so much of their work. Despite the similar timing of the openings, the two companies are not in cahoots.

Whitehouse NYC was launched with editor Stephen Jess and managing director Roe Bressan at the helm; Jess joins from New York's Lost Planet while Bressan has worked as MD of both Red Car and Spontaneous Combustion, both of New York. The company's 5,000-square-foot, five-bay facility should be finished and fully underway by May 2002. Prior to the official opening, Rick Lawley traveled to New York to cut the latest Enda McCallion-directed Thermasilk spot for JWT, New York and David Brixton hit New York to cut Washington Post out of Arnold Worldwide.

The Mill set up shop on the back of Cliff Freeman & Partners' latest campaign for Mike's Hard Lemonade (see Spotopsy, pg. 18). Prior to moving into its custom space mid-May, the Mill's initial two flame suites and 3D gear was housed in a 1,500-square-foot space provided by Outpost Digital. Staff for the Mill will be recruited from the US and UK. All told the satellite office signals an investment of $1 million US by The Mill.

Mill CEO Robin Shenfield succintly summed up the decision to invest in New York: "It's not about market conditions [in the US economy], it's about demand for our product and a need to interface with our clients. If we are here they will do even more business with us."

The Mill opening coincided with a soirée hosted by the UK Effects Group in the city to showcase UK post and effects talent to Madison Avenue agencies (see Bulletin Board, pg. 71).

With files from Sandy Brown

Webfiles:
The Whitehouse> http://www.whitehousepost.com
The Mill> www.mill.co.uk