The CG department at The Mill in L.A. has staffed up as head of 3D John Leonti and Robert Sethi have added a combined 75 years of industry experience to the team. Coming aboard are VFX lead artist Erik Zimmermann, rigging department supervisor Sean Comer, and VFX artists Gillian George, Jason Monroe and Charles Storniolo.
Zimmermann had most recently served as an VFX artist at Digital Domain. He specializes in effects look development and creative direction. After writing his thesis on “using bleeding edge visual effects techniques in conceptual fine art photography,” Zimmerman kicked off a career taking him to Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues and DreamWorks. He worked on projects such as Tron: Legacy, Speed Racer and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Prior to joining The Mill LA, Comer was at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM). Throughout his career Comer has contributed and developed tools and workflows for creature articulation and simulation, from an anatomical perspective. Comer developed the tissue system for “Richard Parker,” the tiger in Life of Pi for which he won a VES award. While at ILM, Comer redesigned its muscle and tissue system for the most recent version of Hulk in Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron.
George formerly was a sr. matte painter at Image Engine. She started out her VFX career in-house for Warner Brothers on Speed Racer and moved on to work at Digital Domain, MPC, Method Studios and Image Engine, among other studios. She has worked on such films as Tron: Legacy, Elysium and Best VFX Oscar-nominated Real Steel.
Monroe had most recently been a lighter/generalist at Digital Domain. He started off his career in kinesiology, before re-training in computer science where he went on to work for Nova Logic, Electronic Arts, and Trilogy Studios. From there Monroe worked as video game cinematics lead for six years at Zoic Studios, across video game cinematic projects, feature film, episodic television and commercials.
Storniolo was a VFX artist at Mirada before joining The Mill. Early on during his tenure at Mirada, he created an interactive exhibit for IBM, tasked with creating a fluid simulation for display on a 50-foot wall. He worked on commercials for Nike, AT&T and Disney as well as music videos for Katy Perry. Storniolo was also a prime VFX artist on Pacific Rim, a movie heavy on destruction and explosion simulations.
