2017 is a historic year for The Mill in Los Angeles, marking 10 years of business for the California-based studio. That’s a decade of visual effects, design, content creation and emerging technology. Behind the scenes, it represents much more: talent growth from 12 to 250, a cross-town move, a major expansion, and the rapid rise of technology which has subsequently led to a position at the frontier of industry trends.
This year The Mill will host multiple 'LA 10' themed celebrations in the studio, starting with Bright Nights Presents, a series of exhibitions each featuring 10 pieces of artwork from friends and collaborators of The Mill. The inaugural gallery will feature pieces by renowned director of photography Sebastian Pfaffenbichler, whose long-standing relationship with the studio includes collaborations for brands such as Lincoln, Adidas and Pepsi.
Pfaffenbichler discovered an early love for photography as a boy growing up in Vienna, Austria. He recalls, “My father gave me my first real camera at age 12. As a teenager, riding around on Vespas and going to nightclubs, photography gave me an opportunity to document the subcultures around me.”
Sebastian Pfaffenbichler
Despite his studies and natural interest in photography, Pfaffenbichler found a successful and exciting profession in filmmaking before recently reinvigorating his passion. He continues, “The majority of my career has taken place in the commercial world, sometimes shooting two to three projects a week. The creative demand was high! It was three years ago that I moved to America, and at that point my passion for photography came back to life: I found myself with the time, locations and desire to apply myself properly. The change of environment filled me with the enthusiasm to capture my new surroundings, and the result of this is what makes up Around.”
Bright Nights Presents: Around will be Pfaffenbichler’s first U.S. exhibition, on display at The Mill Los Angeles from Thursday, February 23rd - Thursday, March 9th.