Houdini as an Idea Machine | The Mill | FMX HIVE 2023

Despite a wealth of tools available to artists, digital design and image making seems to be caught in a feedback loop, where more and more work is starting to feel the same. Throw in the advent of text to image AI systems and the problem just gets worse. Breaking out of this cycle requires artists to experiment, take risks and look for new ways to bring various software tools together. In this talk, Will MacNeil, Design Director in The Mill’s Experience Team, will take you through his approach to finding innovative design techniques. He’ll show how jumping into the lesser known parts of Houdini can yield new discoveries. And how incorporating external elements such as data sources can open up whole new approaches to design. Will’s talk will feature Mill projects such as the Winter Olympics closing ceremony, EE Hope United Shirt design and the title sequence to Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosity as well as several of his personal experiments. Will MacNeil is a Design Director in the Experience team at The Mill. Will makes moving images for a big range of projects from linear filmmaking and motion graphics to interactive installations, set design, textile design and generative art. Occasionally Will is asked to rethink whole formats such as news shows or live experiences based around innovative storytelling through digital imagery. Will regularly speaks at events such as Houdini Hive, FMX and OFFF.