The Mill has made senior appointments within its color team globally as the company continues to invest in and expand that operation, branching out into more long-form and episodic opportunities in additon to its award-winning commercialmaking endeavors.
Paul Yacono Joins The Mill in Los Angeles as head of color. Previously Yacono was at a52, where he built the color department from the ground up, specializing in commercials, features films, docs-series, episodics, short films and music videos. He has a number of high-profile commercial clients in addition to many notable long-form grades under his belt, including Ava-Duvernay’s Academy Award Nominated 13th and David Fincher’s House of Cards.
The L.A. color department will further be bolstered by the promotion of Fawn Fletcher to executive producer for color. Fletcher has over a decade of experience working with some of the world’s most influential brands on the East and West Coast. She has led projects for clients such as NFL, Capital One and Toyota. Among her colleagues and clients, Fletcher is known for her big-picture perspective and collaborative working style, allowing her to navigate complex production challenges.
Multi-award-winning colorist James Bamford has been named head of color at The Mill in London. Known for his cinematic style, Bamford combines a wealth of industry experience with exceptional technical skill.
Bamford’s new role is supported by the promotion of Charlie Morris to London’s executive producer for color. Morris has worked tirelessly to support the team through the challenge of COVID-19 and beyond, and has also been responsible for driving much of the success that The Mill’s color team has celebrated over the past few years. His promotion to EP will see him working closely alongside Bamford and the rest of the color team to help build and grow the success of the department in Europe.
Oisín O’Driscoll has been appointed head of color in Chicago. O’Driscoll’s career has spanned both London and Chicago. He has collaborated with the likes of Sephora, Orbit, Michelob Ultra, and Rocket Mortgage to name a few. He recently graded the BAFTA award-winning Home, a powerful 20-minute short film to address the Syrian refugee crisis.
The three new heads of color join existing head of color and veteran colorist in New York Fergus McCall, who will continue to lead The Mill’s East Coast team.
Across the globe, The Mill now has 11 colorists, all of whom are made available to creative partners worldwide via the company’s remote grading setup.
Eleanor Adds Director Candice Vernon To Its Roster For Spots and Branded Content
Director Candice Vernon has joined production house Eleanor for U.S. representation spanning commercials and branded content. She has already wrapped several jobs at Eleanor, which waited to announce her until they had a body of work together.
Via Eleanor, Vernon made history as the first Black director on a Febreze commercial. The “Small Spaces” campaign marks a major departure from Febreze’s typical blue-and-white world. The home of the “Revolving Door” commercial is a beautiful array of bold sunset hues, African prints, and African art.
Vernon said, “I asked myself, what feels right to me? What feels new? I wanted to bring an essence of not just Black Americans but the full diaspora. I wanted to make a statement that we’re not a monolith.”
Following the success of the “Small Spaces” campaign, Febreze brought Vernon back for a comedy-infused trifecta exploring the hilarious situations that call for an air freshening hero.
Febreze Brand VP Angelica Matthews said, “About two years ago, we realized the consumers that were the most loyal to Febreze were the African American consumers. And the more we learned, the more we realized the richness that we were really missing. So we said we have to go beyond just Black casting, we need to get Black directors that truly understand the culture that truly understand how to bring authentic performances out on screen. We really looked around the industry and noticed there’s actually a shortage of African American directors who have experience doing commercials. When we all saw Candice’s reel, we could all tell the passion for the craft, passion for really trying to help us from where we are to where we’re trying to go.”
Vernon brings a unique lens to... Read More