It’s not everyday Fluid’s executive producer/partner David Shapiro sees the company’s work played on the Reuters Jumbo-Tron in Times Square or that he gets to rub elbows with George Clooney, which is why having both things happen during work on a recent project is so exciting.
New York-based Fluid recently completed production, music and design work on the new WB film Michael Clayton, which opened nationally last week. The film stars George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack and Tom Wilkinson. Clooney plays the title character, a burnt-out attorney who is unwittingly drawn into a scandal involving a corrupt, agribusiness company named U/North.
Fluid was asked to design a corporate logo to be used throughout the film, and produce a TV spot promoting the fictitious U/North. Tony Gilroy, the film’s writer/director, needed the spot to feel real and wanted to avoid using the typical Hollywood outlets.
This is the first movie directed and written by Gilroy, who is the screenwriter of the Bourne films. He knew what Fluid was capable of because he and Shapiro are longtime friends. They played in a rock and roll band together in the 80s.
“We were able to basically do the entire thing in house soup to nuts,” said Shapiro. “Tony was looking for a Sunday morning stockholder feel-good type of spot, not really selling anything, just making a statement that the company is benevolent.”
The commercial features panoramic shots of fields interspersed with images of children planting seeds.
The spot was created from a combination of elements. The panoramic shots were stock footage, which Fluid’s Flame artist Alex Frowein stylized to create the final effect. The additional shots of the kids were shot by DP Robert Elswit with Gilroy and Frowein working together. Music, edits and design were also done by Fluid based on Gilroy’s needs for the film. Victor Melton designed the logo with Kevin Thompson, production designer on the film. Fluid’s Andrew Sherman worked on the music for the film.
Shapiro pointed out that the spot had to be produced prior to shooting the movie because the filmmakers needed to play it on the Reuters Jumbo-Tron during a pivotal scene in the film. Gilroy did not want to Flame it in later.
“It was awesome,” Shapiro said of the two hours of shooting in Times Square. “They had cleared out the triangle in Times Square in front of the Jumbo-Tron. In the scene Tom Wilkinson kind of lost it and is wandering around Times Square. Part of his insanity is caused because he is the lead defender for this company in this lawsuit and he is realizing what a horrible thing it is. The chemicals manufactured by U/North have ruined peoples’ lives. He looks up and there’s this commercial right in his face.”
Shapiro continued, “It was neat to see our work in one of the pivotal scenes in the movie. It’s a major motion picture. We got a lot of compliments from people involved in the making of the film. When we went to the wrap party they were very impressed by the work we had done. It was nice to hear that. I don’t know if it will create other opportunities for us, but it certainly got our name out there.”
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