Makers At Heart | Senior Line Producer Roshni Kakad on enjoying the creative process & the project that defines her career

We are Makers At Heart. We create the extraordinary.

As the creative engine room of the world’s biggest brands we are driven by one purpose: to solve our client’s toughest briefs beautifully. Our Makers believe in the power of cooperation and partnership to deliver ambitious ideas to that break new ground and deliver awe-inspiring creative work.

Everything we do as a team makes great ideas come to life. We are thinkers, designers, artists, directors, producers, developers, colourists, coders, technicians, editors, animators, writers, doers and makers.

In our Makers At Heart series, we introduce the people behind the projects to hear more about their inspirations, motivations and creative insights. We spoke to Senior Line Producer Roshni Kakad about enjoying the creative process and what project would define her career.

If you had to choose a project that defines your career, what would it be and why?

There was a point of time back when I was an animation student, engrossed for weeks in developing a story for my final year film. I was so absorbed I even wrote drafts on paper napkins during cafeteria breaks. Thought if my concept doesn’t hold up in writing, no grade A animation was going to be able to embellish it! Sure, the output ultimately did look like a student film. But the positive responses it gained earned itself a humble nomination in the 24 FPS Awards ‘student team film’ category. I knew then, I wanted to contribute to honest storytelling.

Choosing any project from The Mill would mean, picking among the gold class of thought-provoking and visually gratifying films.

‘The Most Vicious Cycle’ was one narrative that struck a chord. The ‘March For Our Lives’ music video cleverly implemented a one-shot cinematic technique using the Rube Goldberg machine to metaphorically depict the never-ending cycle of gun violence in schools. Thereby, encouraging people to vote mindfully for gun control change. It’s amazing how the film skillfully demonstrates harmonizing complex live-action elements with CG.

Another one of my favourites is the Superbowl 2018 spot, Kia ‘Feel Something Again’. It was my first Superbowl project at The Mill. I was really stoked on watching Steven Tyler in the rough edit for the first time and excited by the concept of reverse aging him to the 1970s. The precision behind reconstructing Steven’s youthful face entirely in CG is undeniably seamless. I love how the anticipation builds up in this spot by drum rolling all the way to the big reveal in the end. It uses elements of recall value that strongly connect us with the hero character – from Steven’s actual black and white archive photo inside the trailer to the nostalgic background score of ‘Dream On’.

What career advice would you give to your younger self?.

When you accomplish a task, don’t forget to ask yourself if you enjoyed the process that got you there.

What is your favourite Mill BTS and why?

It would be the Nike ‘Mercurial Launch Installation’. This was a highlight project that shows The Mill knows no bounds when it comes to anything cutting edge: in this case it was the interactive time trial event that utilized CG Mo-Cap, live-action and other technology at one’s disposal.

Check out more Makers At Heart features here and get in touch with our VFX team regarding any upcoming projects here. You can also follow Roshni on Instagram @adrenalin.rosh.