A man wakes up in bed to find a soccer ball on his forehead. While that might seem an unusual eye opener for most people, he acts nonchalant about it as he gets out of bed to matter of factly start his day, all the while bouncing the ball on his head.
We follow the bouncing ball through the hallway, in the shower stall, as a reflection in the toaster, as he walks to work, at his office cubicle, in the elevator, in the park for lunch, on a bus back home and then finally on the living room couch in front of his television set that evening. He then flicks on the TV remote to get his daily dose of Fox Soccer Channel.
At that point, a message appears on screen which rhetorically asks, “What’s on your mind?” It’s accompanied by the Fox Soccer Channel logo.
“Bouncing Ball” was directed by Shyam Madiraju of Culver City, Calif.-based V3 (a division of bicoastal Anonymous Content). Santa Monica-based Germ, Madiraju’s content company, served as the agency, with a creative team that included creative director/writer Madiraju, writer/art director Erick Vinluan and writer Jesus Levya.
Sylvia Kahn Versace executive produced for V3, with Scott Purroy serving as producer. Jason Black of Blue Cactus, Los Angeles, provided production services. The DP was Joshua Hess.
Editor was Kim Bica of bicoastal Lost Planet. Colorist was the mono-monikered Crash of Riot, Santa Monica. Audio post mixers were Chris Hildrew and John Bolen of Play, Santa Monica. Music is a song titled “Sway,” which was recomposed by Los Angeles shop Sunset24.
Set designer/art director was David King. Principal actor was Mike Enfield, who plays for Major League Soccer team the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Madiraju was included in this year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase. He was unable to attend the Showcase event in New York this past May because he had just embarked on this Fox Soccer project.
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