The Mill (post-production)
Industry | Visual effects |
---|---|
Founded | 1990 |
Headquarters |
11-14 Windmill Street London W1T 2JG United Kingdom |
Number of locations |
Offices: New York City Los Angeles Chicago |
Owner | Technicolor SA |
Website |
www |
The Mill is a VFX & Creative Content studio headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with three offices in the United States. The Mill is respected for high-end visual effects, award-winning moving image, design and digital projects for the advertising, games and music industries. The Mill is usually well represented at the numerous Advertising and Visual Effects awards ceremonies worldwide each year.
History
Founding
In 1990, Robin Shenfield and Pat Joseph opened The Mill in Soho, London. Starting as a visual effects house for the advertising industry, it was the first VFX company in Europe to use exclusively digital methods.[1][2]
Global Operations
2002 saw The Mill open a studio in New York, becoming first the UK visual effects house to do so. The extension of operations to the US was successful, with the company growing to employ over 100 staff by 2009.
Following the success of this studio, The Mill was launched in Los Angeles in 2007 - the first UK visual effects house to open on the West Coast - and once again, the new venture was highly successful.
In 2013 The Mill opened an office in Chicago, sharing its premises with editorial house The Whitehouse in the landmark Courthouse Place building.[3]
Ownership
In 2011 The Mill was acquired by The Carlyle Group, who then sold it to Barclays Private Equity (later rebranded as Equistone Partners Europe).[4] On September 15, 2015, Technicolor SA acquired The Mill for €259 million from Equistone.[5]
Current Operations
Offerings
The Mill is involved in a range of visual effects and design projects in the commercial, gaming and music industries. From the design of simple characters to the complex creation of CGI sports stadiums. The company’s supervisors, producers and artists support all stages of production, from pre-visualisation and conceptual artwork, shoot supervision, 3D, 2D and colour grading through to delivery of the finished project.
Expanded Offerings
Beam.tv was launched in 2002 as an online digital delivery and content management platform.[6] Beam was originally established as an in-house FTP process to allow clients to review and approve visual-effects work being completed by The Mill in London. Beam evolved to store, adapt and deliver content to any media platform or broadcaster globally. AdText.tv is launched in 2008 becoming a market leader for commercial subtitling.[7]
Mill+ launched in 2013 as a creative studio focusing on motion graphics, design and animation. Mill+ leverages The Mill’s design and visual effects capabilities to collaborate on conceptualizing and developing projects and for design and animation direction.[8]
Awards
- Film and Television
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2001 | Academy Awards | Best Visual Effects | Gladiator | Won | [9] |
2004 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Visual Effects | "Walkie Talkie Man" by Steriogram | Nominated | |
2006 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Visual Effects - Digital Effects | Doctor Who (series 2) | Nominated | [10] |
2007 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Doctor Who | Nominated | [11] |
2008 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Doctor Who ("Voyage of the Damned") | Nominated | [12] |
2009 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Doctor Who ("The Fires of Pompeii") | Won | [13][14] |
2009 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Visual Effects - Digital Effects | Doctor Who ("The Next Doctor") | Won | [15] |
2010 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Doctor Who ("The Fires of Pompeii") | Nominated | [16] |
2010 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Merlin | Nominated | [16] |
2010 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Visual Effects - Digital Effects | Merlin ("The Last Dragonlord") | Nominated | [17] |
2011 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Merlin | Won | [18][19] |
2011 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Doctor Who | Nominated | [18] |
2011 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Visual Effects | "Don't Turn the Lights On" by Chromeo | Nominated | |
2011 | Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards | Visual Effects - Digital Effects | Doctor Who ("A Christmas Carol") | Nominated | [20] |
2012 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects | Sinbad ("Pilot") | Nominated | [21] |
2013 | British Academy Television Craft Awards | Visual Effects & Graphic Design | Doctor Who | Nominated | [22] |
- Advertising
In addition to film and television, The Mill has won or been nominated for numerous awards, both national and international, in the advertising industry.
- British Arrows Craft Awards
- Cannes Lions Awards
- Clio Awards
- Creative Circle Awards
- D&AD Awards
- Eurobest European Advertising Festival
- London International Awards
- Visual Effects Society Awards
References
- ↑ http://www.themill.com/about-us/history.aspx
- ↑ The Mill: Europe's First Fully Digital VFX House, Animation World Network, June 5, 2003
- ↑ Goldrich, Robert. "The Mill Opens Chicago Studio Under Aegis of Executive Producer Jared Yeater". ShootOnline. Retrieved 2013-03-01.
- ↑ "Barclays Private Equity acquires The Mill, the market leading visual effects company, from The Carlyle Group for £119m". Equistone Partners Europe. 19 April 2011.
- ↑ "TECHNICOLOR ACQUIRES VISUAL EFFECTS LEADER IN ADVERTISING THE MILL FOR €259 MILLION". Technicolor SA. 15 September 2015.
- ↑ "Beam.TV".
- ↑ "AdText".
- ↑ "Mill+".
- ↑ "Q&A: Oscar-winning digital trickery". BBC. 6 July 2001.
- ↑ "RTS CRAFT AND DESIGN WINNERS 2006". Royal Television Society.
- ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2007". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2008". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ "Bafta craft awards 2009: full list of winners". The Guardian. 18 May 2009.
- ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2009". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ "RTS CRAFT AND DESIGN WINNERS 2009". Royal Television Society.
- 1 2 "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2010". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ "RTS CRAFT AND DESIGN WINNERS 2010". Royal Television Society.
- 1 2 "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2011". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ "Bafta Craft awards: BBC Wales wins five prizes". BBC. 9 May 2011.
- ↑ "RTS ANNOUNCES WINNERS OF CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2011". Royal Television Society.
- ↑ "RTS ANNOUNCES WINNERS FOR CRAFT & DESIGN AWARDS 2012". Royal Television Society.
- ↑ "BAFTA Awards: Television Craft in 2013". British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
- ↑ Awards