Mr. Wolf Expands Commercial Team and Opens New Studio

In a move that significantly bolsters its commercial footprint, boutique visual effects and finishing studio Mr. Wolf has announced the addition of two key team members and the opening of a new studio in New York. Michel Waxman joins the company as executive producer of branded content, and Ashley McKim will serve as a strategic and business development driver for the expanded short form initiative.

Mr. Wolf, which opened in 2005 as 1.1 VFX, has deep roots in the commercial and branded content space, as well as long form content. With its new NoHo location, Waxman joins the company at a pivotal time of growth. While based out of Mr. Wolf’s Los Angeles facility, she will play an integral role in the New York operation as well. 

“I’m so inspired by the people, creativity and fast-moving technology at Mr. Wolf, and I can’t wait to team with Ashley and cultivate new relationships and ways of collaborating with our clients and brands,” says Waxman. “The possibilities are pretty badass!”

With over 20 years of experience in advertising and branded entertainment, Waxman has worked as an executive producer for companies including Framestore Pictures, Nonfiction Unlimited, Serial Pictures, Chelsea, and most recently, Great Guns. Having started as a commercial rep at Creative Management Partners, she opened her own company in 2002, MBW Represents. Over the next 13 years, Waxman built relationships with clients including Academy, DNA, Gorgeous, Park Pictures and Rattling Stick.

Following a 10-year stint at Company 3, McKim launched Ashley McKim Consulting earlier this year. "I’m thrilled to be partnering with Mr. Wolf,” she notes. “This collaboration is a natural fit, and I’m excited about the work we’re doing together to build momentum and push creative boundaries for the clients."

“We are so happy to be working with both Michel and Ashley,” says Mike Pryor, partner and executive producer at Mr. Wolf. “Michel has such strong roots in the commercial community, and she brings a wealth of knowledge to our company. And having worked together with Ashley over the years, we know she is one of the best in the business. As Mr. Wolf looks to grow further in the commercial space, we could not have a better team in place than Michel and Ashley.”

Mr. Wolf’s newest studio, located in Manhattan’s NoHo neighborhood, provides visual effects for episodics, features, commercials and other media. The studio has maintained a presence in New York since 2016, and when a new space was needed, the timing was right for the company to grow into a space that aligned with plans to expand its short form division. 

“New York has always been important to Mr. Wolf,” Pryor comments. “We are here, we are investing, and we are continuing to grow on a strong foundation in a thriving market. Our new location provides a very cool and comfortable brick-and-mortar home for our episodic and feature clients in the city, and it will also serve as a key hub for our growing commercial department.”

With VFX at its core, and AI as an integral part of its pre-production, production and post pipeline, Mr. Wolf is committed to artist-based and technology-forward problem-solving for clients. Recent Mr. Wolf short form projects include the Georgia Lottery for BBDO, Amazon Ring, Hyundai, Adobe and Tampa General Hospital. Episodic work includes One Piece, Invasion, The Walking Dead: Dead City, The Last Frontier, 1923 and Euphoria.

In addition to New York and Los Angeles, the company also has locations in Atlanta and Vancouver.