Mill Paris | Meet our VFX Producer Stéphanie Mollet
Can you describe your daily work?
Stéphanie :The VFX producer is in charge of the daily follow-up of projects containing 3D. This is a key role in production, which aims to coordinate all the trades involved in a project, while maintaining a daily and lasting relationship with the clients. The tasks are multiple, from the booking of the artists before the project, the management of the budget and the planning, the follow-up of the manufacturing stages and the sending of the wip to the clients, to the management of the various human or technical problems. Teamwork is essential: the vfx producer works in close collaboration with his EP, and in binomial/trinomial with the VFX supervisor and CG supervisor. I also sometimes follow the editing, colour grading and finalisation stages when there is no dedicated post producer on the project.
How did you get into this job ?
Stéphanie : A bit by chance, to be honest! After a BTS in business communication, I continued my studies in communication school and graduated with a master’s degree in communication strategies in 2008. At the time I was attracted to all the communication professions but had no precise idea of the job I wanted to do. I therefore chose to do internships to diversify my experiences. My end-of-study internship lasted 6 months and I joined the agency BDDP & Fils (TBWA Group) as a TV Production assistant. This internship allowed me to meet many people working in the audiovisual industry and more particularly in production. At the end of my internship, I was contacted by former clients, so I did some freelance work at Vidéomage. And then, thanks to word of mouth, I heard that a post-producer position was available at Mikros, I joined their team, in August 2010, 12 years ago already!
What projects are you working on or have you worked on? Do you have a favourite one ?
Stéphanie : The projects are multiple, from Cartier to Chanel, Vittel, Seat or Ubisoft. What I like the most are the full CG films, because everything is possible! My favourite project was for the Samsung brand (Eco Bubble washing machine), for which MPC London was our client. It is the story of a brown bear who gets dirty by greedily eating honey during an ASMR session. He then becomes a white bear, simply by putting his bear skin in the machine, which magically comes out whiter than white !
What are the most challenging aspects of your role?
Stéphanie : I often say that my job is to solve problems: they can be human, technical or organisational, but that’s what I like! There is always great satisfaction when you manage to find the right solutions to the problems encountered. I would also say that this job is a sort of ‘buffer’ between the customer and the creative teams. Part of our role is to absorb stress and filter information from the outside so the creatives teams don’t feel it too much. In periods of rush, fatigue and stress can be intense, but with time and experience, we manage to step back and deal with it much better.
What is the best part in your job ?
Stéphanie : I am convinced that the success of a project depends on teamwork! My role is also, and above all, to create a real synergy. I try to create a good working atmosphere so that people enjoy working, even when the project becomes complicated and sometimes difficult.
What advice can you give to juniors about doing this job?
Stéphanie : In 3 words: anticipation, organisation and communication are the essential qualities for this job. I like to pass on my knowledge and skills, so if you have any questions, my door is always open.
Do you want to add something?
Stéphanie : When I started working in post production, The Mill was to me one of the best and biggest companies so it felt like it was almost unreachable, but I am now part of it, so always believe in your dreams, because everything is possible !
If you are interested in a career at The Mill visit here. You can also get in touch with our VFX team via our contact page.
