With last years’ merger of The Mill and MPC complete, Benson’s job will be to lead the business forward with a future-facing approach, building the next legacy for The Mill. He will use The Mill’s ability to explore new forms of creative expression and provide solutions and opportunities for clients and brands that meet the needs of a fast-moving industry, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.
The Mill (VFX) and The Mill+ (creative production, design, experience) activities will now work and report into the regional studios’ respective managing directors, who in turn will report to Benson.
Caroline Parot, chief executive officer of Technicolor Creative Studios, commented, “I am excited to welcome Mark to this position, where he will harness The Mill’s outstanding creative heritage to craft more memorable and provocative work and challenge the status quo. Working with content creators around the world, we’ll continue to enhance and accelerate clients’ needs, realising our vision for crafting boundary-pushing content. I also would like to thank Josh Mandel for his outstanding leadership of The Mill over the last four years, the strategy he has set in place, and for his work in unifying The Mill brand.”
Mark Benson added, “In my new role, I will focus on empowering The Mill’s creative, technology and production talent – creating a new legacy for the future. Mill colleagues will have the opportunity to thrive in varied creative environments thanks to our studios around the world in Amsterdam, Bangalore, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Seoul, and Shanghai. I am very excited about the unlimited potential for The Mill to continue to be a thought leader and trailblazer across the globe.”
Recent work continues to show the opportunities that lie ahead for The Mill in the technological sphere. Building on its heritage of creature and character animation, The Mill+ worked with Mill talent across creative production, design, experience, and VFX to forge HBO’s House of the Dragon DracARys app, which used AR to allow fans to nurture their own sophisticated, responsive, and programmatic virtual dragon. In addition, the VFX team created a series of showstopping 2D and 3D billboards rising over iconic locations including New York’s Times Square, London’s Piccadilly Circus and Melbourne’s Bourke Street Mall.
