As the National Basketball Association playoffs reach the conference finals stage, many of the game’s biggest stars–including NBA MVP Steve Nash whose Phoenix Suns are still in the hunt for this season’s championship title–are featured in a Web-only video on nikebasketball.com. The slightly longer than a minute-and-a-half piece, What’s Your Game About, was produced by Nike Brand for interactive agency R/GA, New York, with design and animation from bicoastal Stardust Studios.
As we see the star athletes strut their stuff–some individually, others in concert with one another–on the court, their moves are accompanied by design and animation custom-tailored to match Nike’s Flight, Force and Uptempo brands. Among the players featured are Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli.
The piece has a pickup game feel yet is kicked up a stylish notch by the design and animation signifying the Nike line, with word elements that convey attitude such as “Change the game,” “Switch lanes” and “Break ankles.” Stardust’s work entailed the artistic use of Maya, Cinema 4D, and Adobe AfterEffects and Creative Suite.
The short was directed by Joseph Cartman and Harshal Sisodia of Nike Brand. Can Misirlioglu of R/GA served as editor/audio mixer. R/GA’s Nate Jenkins also was an audio mixer on the job.
The Stardust ensemble was headed by executive creative director Jake Banks, exec producer Eileen Doherty, senior producer Michael Neithhardt, art director/lead animator Doug Purver, art director Felipe Posada, animator Daniel Garcia and 3D artist Cary Janks.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More