shots Awards 2011: Post Production Co. of the Year

“We really don’t see ourselves as a post house,” states Graham Bird, global MD for advertising at MPC. The recently practiced line of “congratulations, you’ve won the shots Post Production Company of the Year award!” seems, now, a little out of place, and the party poppers and silly string is definitely staying in the bag. Bird and global managing director Mark Benson certainly don’t rebuff the accolade, but they are understandably keen to point out that post production is now a bit of
a misnomer.

“We see ourselves as a visual effects studio,” Bird continues, “and that’s because we’re involved in many different areas of the business. It’s not just about finishing. Now we’re collaborating with artists to do installations and to do projection events. What we often do is right at the very heart of a project rather than simply the bit at the end. Our core business is still about achieving groundbreaking visual effects, but I think the term post house puts us at the end of the process and, certainly when you’re working on complex visual effects, you’re involved right from the very beginning.”

Range of work

MPC London has indeed been at the heart of some fantastic work over the previous 12 months. They have put the mean into Skoda’s Mean Green, the thumbs into Cravendale’s Cats with Thumbs and the Bondian elegance into Virgin’s Your Airline’s Either Got It Or It Hasn’t. They have seen off competition from other supremely talented post houses – or, indeed, visual effects studios – including their sister office in Los Angeles, to top the list in this category. Talking to Bird and Benson and understanding their passion for the business and the artistry it involves, it’s easy to see why.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to work with some great directors and some great agencies that have given us a chance to do some really outstanding work,” says Bird. “But I think the thing we’re probably most proud of is the consistent quality and the range of work [we have done], from creature work through to photo-real environments. I think we’ve delivered a consistently high quality across many different creative disciplines.”

To deliver that consistency, and at such a high level, is what it is all about as far as the two men are concerned. They are aware that the company is only as good as its last job and always strive to keep that thought in their heads.  They are also keenly aware that it is the company as a whole that is receiving this award and that’s because MPC London’s success is down to everyone employed there.  “We all know that our business is driven by a combination of techniques that incorporates animation, artists and creative input,” says Benson, “but also the input of the scientists, the mathematicians and the physicists who create the code which enables the work to be delivered to the standard that it is.”

Talent pool

They are rightly proud of the teams of people they have working in the office, and equally proud of the fact that those “gifted people” who currently work there are also the  ones who help keep the constant flow of talent coming through the door. “You can’t ever say there’s one particular way of sourcing great talent,” explains Bird, “but it’s a combination of having gifted people within MPC who can spot unique, unusual talent in places that people might not normally look, and then being able to develop them and allow them to flourish.  We also get approached by a lot of artists and talent because they associate MPC with a certain quality of work and a certain strong, creative culture, and it’s always very flattering when people want to join up and be a part of that.”

Bird, Benson and the MPC team have managed to harness both the creative and technical skills of their team to make sure that the work coming out of the company is of the highest calibre. Tough work, but not always as tough, says Bird, as managing expectations. “It’s not necessarily the hardest thing [we have to do],” Bird says, “but you always have to be very honest and upfront with your clients on projects. If you don’t believe something is achievable it’s then about looking at how you can find solutions at the very beginning of the process to try to deliver something that looks incredible and which meets expectations but within what are often challenging timescales.”

When asked what they think separates them from other, similar shops and what they think made the judges choose the work of MPC London over its fellow shortlisted companies, Bird and Benton pause for a few seconds, thinking before answering. When they do respond it’s in unison and with the same word: culture. “Companies are able to define [their own] culture and those cultures end up being, I believe, different from one company to another,” says Benson. “That engages [people] and tends to work as a catalyst for very healthy competition, and that healthy competition is good for the marketplace because it gives people choices, and we’re all trying to deliver the best work we possibly can because that’s what the market is looking for.”  And MPC London has a good culture?  “I think the diverse nature of what we offer as a visual effects studio is exciting for creative talent,” replies Bird.  “People know that they are going to come in and they are going to be exposed to the full range of creative opportunities; from design through to the pure visual effects, through to very high-end creative programming, to pure art projects that are harnessing creative technology. I think if you’re an artist and you want to really see everything that’s on offer and be creatively challenged in lots of different ways, then MPC’s a pretty exciting place to be.”

Post House of the Year Shortlist

The Mill London

MPC London

MPC Los Angeles

Method Studios Los Angeles

The Mill New York

Post Production Company of the Year Judging Panel

Russ Lidstone, CEO, Euro RSCG London

William Gelner, ECD, 180 Los Angeles

John Foley, CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney

Paul Prince, MD, The Sweet Shop

Tim Marshall, Manager Partner, Another Film Company London

Julien Chavepayre, EP, Les Telecreateurs Paris