Celebrating Diversity in VFX + The Way Forward – The Mill

VFX Online March 9, 2019, 9:45 am 1.1k Views

Celebrating Diversity in VFX + The Way Forward – The Mill

March 8th, 2019 – Mill Film sets forth a commitment towards diversity & inclusion in its second year of operation.

At its core, Diversity and Inclusion is about how different people help us challenge our viewpoints and push us out of our comfort zones – that’s a big thing here at Mill Film – we think our differences make us stronger. People with different views, different backgrounds, different experiences – working towards a common goal while still being themselves. It might sound utopian – great in theory – but as we looked closer at how we could build the next great studio, we were able to see some things we could do today. We know it will not be simple – it will involve lots of effort, lots of learning from each other and lots of opened conversations about difficult and sensitive subjects. And how we plan on building out our culture of diversity and inclusion – is one of those topics.

Diversity is critical to our success as a company. People from all backgrounds consume our clients’ award-winning content, and as a partner of that content we believe we can better serve both consumers and our clients’ needs with a more diverse creative workforce. Since our relaunch in February of 2018, we’ve made a few commitments to increase the number of people from traditionally underrepresented groups in visual effects – and we are excited to both celebrate those milestones, and set a few more for the 2019 calendar year.

Today, Mill Film publishes the first steps in our commitment to a culture of diversity and inclusion. While we know our ambitions may be great, we believe that sharing this with the overall VFX community will help keep things more measurable, more accountable, and ultimately prove successful with the changes we wish to make for both ourselves and the community we belong to.

Lauren McCallum, Global Managing Director, Mill Film

Maintain a 40% female creative workforce by the end of 2019

Within film, Women and Minorities are still struggling to be recognized beyond categories outside of acting, directing, and writing. Nominations for artists and technicians who work behind the scenes, such as editors, cinematographers, and VFX artists are less-covered in their mediatic attention but that shouldn’t carry with it any lesser weight within the creative process.

At the end of 2018, Mill Film surpassed its goal of 30% female creative talent, and at over 300 employees worldwide we are happy to say we now hold a 42% overall female workforce. Having said that, we know sustaining that percentage will become a challenge as we scale and take on bigger projects.

Foster pathways for a more diverse workforce, and breakthrough otherwise familial environments for hiring.

Inequality is often a symptom of opportunity inequality. For those with connections into the industry – their journeys are easier, and they can afford to take more risks. As such, 2019 will see Mill Film hire 50% of our entry-level positions from low-socio-economic backgrounds, because we know that relying on the same pathways-in to our industry, can actually shutout a broader creative workforce. We will also seek to create 3 new hiring programs that encourage people from under-represented backgrounds to join the world of VFX.

Help increase the VFX industry’s awareness around D&I

Mill Film will continue to shepherd Diversity & Inclusion by sponsoring 6 events in 2019 that seek to raise awareness both locally and globally around issues such as [but not exclusive to] diversity, LGBTQ2+ issues, and representation within the overall VFX industry. We will also foster grassroots learning programs that encourage our own employees to share their viewpoints on leadership, diversity, and balance. And finally, as we seek to uncover our unconscious biases, we will develop feedback loops focused around improving our internal culture of diversity and inclusion.

For information on applying to Mill Film, visit our recruitment partners at The Focus.

For all other inquiries, you can reach us at .

About The Mill

The Mill is a world-leading visual effects and content creation studio, collaborating on projects for the advertising, gaming and music industries. We pride ourselves on building partnerships based on creative excellence and cutting-edge technologies, with the world’s best agencies, groundbreaking directors, creative firms and visionary brands.