1) It could be wishful thinking, but I think the pendulum has swung back towards creativity, from always-on, everything mobile and digital, to making things that are engaging and impactful. Work that people seek out rather than ignore, especially as ‘ignoring’ is easily accomplished these days. When we talk about the work that excites us at The Mill, it’s about the work that has the ability to cut through the noise and make a connection.
From where we stand, we, of course, have an admiration for brave ideas that are beautifully crafted, and creativity that leans on new forms of technology like real-time VFX. An example of this is Lady Gaga’s tour visuals for her Las Vegas Residency, wherein we were able to produce huge animated large-scale CGI Avatars of Gaga in a ridiculously short period of time. This is an area of technology we are excited by and see making a real impact on the industry. Real-time VFX through the use of Game Engine technology allows us to expand into new areas of interactivity and production; we’ll definitely see much more of that in the coming months.
Related to all of this, and it comes across strongly in all the award shows, is work that has a point of view, sometimes quite a political one. Colin Kaepernick and the entire Nike “Dream Crazy” campaign stands-out, as does The New York Times “Truth” campaign. Brands that express an opinion about social issues, race, equality, the environment; that’s something that is echoing through the whole industry.
