Psyop veteran and art-meets-science guru Todd Akita takes his considerable skills west to Broadway, joining The Mill crew as senior technical director. [Watch]
Mill+ co-directors Ben Smith and Bryce Wymer hit themes of greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue and rivalry in the title sequence for the new Netflix original “Marco Polo” written by John Fusco and produced by The Weinstein Group.
“Bryce developed a technique to capture the images being ‘invisibly painted’ using an overhead projector and meticulously hand-painting the images onto a dense paper stock that allowed the water to sit on the surface of the paper.
“Sumi ink (ink formulated for sumi painting and calligraphy) was then dripped onto the invisible water paintings, spreading beautifully throughout the entire image. This was captured through high-speed photography to create an elegant, monotone image, confined to the waters edges.”
Compare and contrast: Here’s a smaller scale ink-in-water treatment from 2011 called “Dirty Water” from hush.fr director/illustrator Clément Beauvais For BDDP Unlimited:
Grab a look at the labor behind the 90 VFX shots The Mill created for the recent BBC Music launch spot from Riff Raff director Francois Rousselet and Red Bee Media featuring 26 music stars joining Brian Wilson for a grand version of The Beach Boys’ classic “God Only Knows.” [Watch]
It took Riff Raff director Francois Rousselet and the Red Bee Media team a full year to shoot the 26 music stars who join Brian Wilson for a grand version of The Beach Boys’ classic “God Only Knows” in this spot to launch BBC Music. The supporting VFX work from The Mill includes the crystal particle system around [Watch]
IN 2013 The Mill created “98% Human” for PETA featuring a startlingly emotional performance by an all-CG chimp.
Although far more upbeat and ambitious in scope, this new spot helmed by Academy director Frederic Planchon for Scottish power company SSE, retains the intimate character subtleties, masterful rendering and perfect live action integration required to ensure 98% of humans who watch it will believe the orangutang is real. [Watch]
Tom Bussell, who joined The Mill in 2003 as a 3D artist, trades in his position as head of 3D in London for the role of CD at the company’s New York office. [Watch]
