5 Minutes with… Rochelle Palmer
Rochelle Palmer is one of the co-founders of Untold Studios, and part of the OG team that spearheaded what was a start-up five years ago, to transform into a 200-person creative and producing powerhouse in London and LA, nominated for BAFTA, Emmy and Grammy.
While Rochelle continues to lead the music, production and originals division of the world-class Untold Studio, and remains responsible for working with iconic brands and artists including Beats, Nike, adidas, Adele, Stormzy and more, in June she has also taken on the role of managing director of the studio. She will also be working alongside the award-winning VFX team (one she is extremely excited to be around and you’ll find out why below), keeping a holistic view of Untold’s diverse output.
Describing herself as a ‘relaxed person’ and somebody who encourages compassion and kindness within the teams she works with, Rochelle admits that she is most excited about continuing to grow Untold and being close to its incredible artists, creatives and producers. And while she knows some curveballs are on their way, Rochelle remains certain in the future-facing nature of Untold, going back to what she and the rest of the founders embedded in its DNA at its very creation - a dedication to creativity and a combination of the industry’s moving parts to make a well-oiled machine fueled by “two thirds experience and one third naivety”.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov sat down with Rochelle to find out what her biggest dreams are about how she is going to grow Untold, some exciting projects with Channel 4 coming up and more.
LBB> Tell me about your first steps in the creative industries. Did you always know this would be your line of work or did it come more randomly?
Rochelle> I could possibly retrofit a story because my dad is a photographer and my gran was an artist but the truth is it was more random. I left school at 16, an unexpected life event interrupted any plans I might have had to go to university. I moved to London from Nottingham with no job and had to rely on myself to start getting paid and build a life. I saw a group of young ‘creative’ people walking out of a huge media agency in Soho and I guess an instinct kicked in that I wanted to be part of that tribe. I called the agency, I told them I was a PA who would learn quickly and work hard. Luckily they gave me a chance and I went on to build my career. I felt blessed then to join the creative industry and I still do today.
LBB> When did you found Untold Studios and what was the experience like? What has been something that has always remained in the Untold DNA since the start?
Rochelle> My co-founders and I opened Untold nearly five years ago - we were excited and inspired by what was happening at the intersection of advertising and entertainment and wanted to be part of making that content, the stories people were watching and talking about. We felt the world didn’t need another development indie or another production company or VFX company - but if we put all of those world-class creative people together some true magic would happen. And it did. Nearly five years later with 250 people across the globe we are BAFTA, Emmy and Grammy nominated for our work across originals, music, production and VFX teams.
In terms of Untold’s DNA… A belief in creativity and an optimistic outlook is baked in. Also having “two thirds experience and one third naivety” is a bit of a mantra for us - it’s a good way to view the world and it keeps us unconventional - it’s the naivety that makes us ask questions and try new cool stuff.
LBB> What is your job like in the music, production and originals divisions and what were the biggest challenges of that role?
Rochelle> Leading the music, production and originals teams is a privilege, my job is about building driven and high performing creative teams that love winning and producing world-class work both for clients but also for ourselves.
As well as a shared vision, what is equally important when leading a team is that there is mutual respect, empathy and understanding for each other and I put a lot of my energy into fostering that culture. I believe as a team we are greater than as individuals. We share a common goal; we win and we lose together.
Challenges come often, I am not being coy by saying I have forgotten the biggest. Truthfully running a team or a business has such highs and lows. People can be complicated and our industry is about people - some days it can be tough. You roll with it and move on quickly, I’d say resilience is my superpower and I want to build teams and a business that can weather the storms.
LBB> How will that role now be enriched as you add MD to your title? Congratulations by the way!
Rochelle> My role in its most distilled form is to create the conditions for Untold to do world-class work. I like to think I lead with compassion and kindness. I care deeply about our people and believe passionately that an engaged team, an inclusive culture and a focus on creativity leads to outstanding work. Work that stands for something and makes a difference. Untold has big ambitions.
LBB> Tell me about your work with the VFX team at Untold - how do you make sure the diverse output continues?
Rochelle> They’re insanely talented. I think what impresses me the most is how humble the team is despite consistently producing award-winning work. Our VFX team cares about the stories they are helping to tell. Whether that is literally getting under the skin of complex CG creatures or building CG environments. Recently we have hired an incredible leadership team to respond to the extraordinary demand in film and episodic TV. We are working with Hollywood’s most revered directors and also looking for opportunities to further develop our IP and own shows in VFX and animation. I’m particularly proud that we were involved in ‘The Woman King’ - a very special moment.
LBB> Tell me about your most complex project to date and what made it that? What are the biggest lessons you learned from it?
Rochelle> I guess every project has its own complexity - it's our job to enjoy solving them. I’ve really loved being involved in a show we developed and produced for Channel 4 - it's wild. It airs later this month and addresses the cost of living crisis through satire. Figuring out how to satirise some of the real issues of today is very complex and I genuinely believe our originals team cracked it - we have made something very special and I suspect a show that will be talked about.
LBB> What are your biggest goals in your new role and what is your plan to achieve them?
Rochelle> I just want to continue building the incredible culture we have at Untold. I’m proud to lead a future-facing company in a thoroughly modern way. I believe that putting kindness and compassion at the heart of our decision making is key - sometimes that can mean making tough decisions, and you’re not always liked for it, but it's important we do so and it’s always with genuine empathy. I’m an optimist by nature and I think my friends and colleagues would describe me as pretty relaxed (most of the time) so I’m looking forward to seeing where the future takes us. I have no doubt it’ll be fun with some unexpected curveballs along the way. I’m here for that.
LBB> What are some major changes in the industry that you have witnessed and how do you think Untold needs to change (or has already changed) to align with them?
Rochelle> AI is exciting! I will qualify that the human touch, intuition, and emotional connection are vital in the creative process and AI should be seen as a complementary tool rather than a replacement but I like that we are at the beginning of something that could be seismic. At Untold we are testing tools, pipelines and ways of working that could unlock more creativity and imagination so that AI can enable new possibilities in filmmaking and VFX for us. We’re the world’s first cloud based studio so innovation is also in our DNA.
LBB> And what are some challenges you expect to face, or some challenges that are in the industry currently - how will you overcome them?
Rochelle> I want the creative industry to do better by women and diverse talent - there has been progress but there is so much more to do. Women and diverse talent are still seen as a ‘risk’ particularly when it comes to filmmaking and directing. I want to help educate clients on how choosing the best filmmaker to tell the story (regardless of their previous work) will unlock a whole new level of authenticity in content. We’ve all seen it happen - a script about culture with a young and diverse cast but the director does not reflect the content. It is my view that the risk for a brand is not going with the young diverse filmmakers to make their zeitgeist culture based work.
LBB> What's the most exciting thing on the horizon right now?
Rochelle> I love what I do, my passion for the creative industry is unwavering. To be close to creative people, to art, to music, to filmmakers, to VFX artists and to storytelling. The best thing on the horizon right now is continuing to grow Untold Studios into the most exciting and successful creative company in the world. My dreams are big!
