One week to go before Cannes Lions 2024! Let’s dive into some of The Mill’s remarkable work that has been entered at this year’s festival. Explore the details of our latest advertising projects, from behind-the-scenes footage to notes from our talented artists. With three nominations for this year’s festival, we look forward to the full shortlist reveal on June 16th!
Knockout Chaos ‘Anthony Joshua VS Francis Ngannou‘
The renowned boxers Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou faced off on March 8th in a highly anticipated 10-round bout in Riyadh. To showcase this global event, director Romain Chassaing enlisted the VFX team at The Mill Paris to create an epic 2-minute teaser seamlessly blending the real world with visual effects. The two boxers alternate between filmed sequences and 3D doubles, adopting a Pixel Art graphic style inspired by 90s video games.
In the original film, the two champions find themselves amidst an exuberant crowd, real-life footage transforms into pixels, catapulting them into an epic battle. With numerous twists and turns, the teaser boldly heralds the eagerly anticipated fight worldwide.
“In terms of artistic direction, we drew inspiration primarily from the graphic style of 90s video games, as per the director’s vision. This involved recruiting specialists in Pixel Art, a niche discipline practiced by few but often associated with the gaming industry. Led by Vincent Venchiarutti, our Head of Motion Design, we actively scouted for talent and we selected the right internal motion leads for the project. With such a substantial team in place, we designated discipline leads to streamline collaboration and workload distribution.”
– Alexis Baillia, VFX Supervisor
Art Fund ‘National Art Pass’
This world-first project from Art Fund and The Mill highlights how people’s brains are stimulated when they experience art in museums and galleries. This incredible technology takes us one step further in understanding the fundamental value of art. In collaboration with artist Seph Li, we created a system that interprets electric signals coming from the brain and transforms them into three-dimensional visualisations. Whilst this has been seen before in a two-dimensional form, we are extremely proud to taking the tech a step further.
“This is a fantastic way to encourage people, young and old, to immerse themselves into art and culture and The Mill is honoured to have been involved and we really hope this inspires more people to head to museums and galleries and truly experience art.”
– Creative Director, Will MacNeil
Elders Scrolls Online ‘Gold Road’
The Gold Road game cinematic takes the viewer on an adventure through four environments with the three original Elder Scrolls Online heroes. This quest involves two opposing sides searching for the imprisoned Daedric Prince, Ithelia. While there is no big battle, the film focuses on the adventurous journey through beautifully crafted environments with the world’s fate at stake.
From direction to storyboarding, VFX, color, and editorial, we did it all for this film. Building this world involved focusing on even the smallest details, from world-building and character performance to their clothing and hair, which were perfected strand by strand.
As always, it was a fantastic collaboration with our partners at Zenimax and Ayzenberg.
Budweiser ‘Old School Delivery’
“Budweiser has been synonymous with the Super Bowl for decades and the broadcast continues to be a very special moment for our brand and a core pillar of our advertising strategy. This year, we’re thrilled to bring our fans a piece of the traditional Super Bowl entertainment that they know and love from Budweiser: the iconic Clydesdales. We knew there was no better way to show Budweiser’s continued commitment to delivering for its fans than with our biggest celebrities.”
– Kristina Punwani, Head of Marketing at Budweiser USA
Montefiore Einstein ‘Solo’s Journey: There’s Magic in All of Us’
In this short film, Solo, a young boy with a neurological condition, and his able-bodied brother Henry navigate the challenges posed by Solo’s disability. When Henry inquires about Solo’s aspirations of becoming a pilot, Solo feels discouraged due to the limitations of his condition.
Shortly after, Solo sees a man and his dachshund out of his bedroom window that are both using mobility aids. This inspires Solo, and he creates an adorable drawing of the dog using advanced eye-tracking technology. In a dream sequence, the dachshund transforms into a Macy’s Day style balloon, that takes Solo and Henry on a ride through New York City as pilot and co-pilot. The film celebrates themes of resilience, imagination, and finding enchantment in everyday moments.
PopCorners ‘Speakeasy’
During Super Bowl LVII, PopCorners introduced the concept of the snack being contraband with a commercial featuring Breaking Bad actors. This year, the marketing campaign continues with the theme of “Get Caught With Something Good,” placing PopCorners in unconventional situations like a hidden speakeasy from the Prohibition era.
“We wanted to take viewers on a trip back in time, but with a modern twist. To achieve this unique blend of eras, the color palette leaned on warm tones, mimicking the soft glow of practical lamps used in the speakeasy setting. This instantly transported viewers to the Prohibition era, creating a sense of intimacy and intrigue. To avoid a purely vintage look, we added a touch of vibrancy by adding some snap to the image resulting in a sharper contrast, particularly around the key lights illuminating Don Cheadle’s face.”
– Los Angeles Head of Colour, Paul Yacono
Find out more about The Mill and its latest advertising projects or contact us for support in your next film.
