SUPERLATIVE–the production company headed by EP Pia Clemente, managing director David Kwan and creative manager Stefan Dezil–has signed director Petr Simon, whose work includes spots and digital campaigns for global brands such as LEGO, Skoda, Jaegermeister and Zapier. Simon was formerly represented by Stink for music videos and spots in both the European and U.S. markets.
Dezil said, “We were really impressed with Petr’s campaign for Zapier. He brought a tech spot to life by applying graphic design, an awe-inducing use of motion, minute detail capturing, and character nuance. Petr expertly pairs elements of mixed media, innovative camera movement and elements of sound design to tell holistic stories.”
Simon’s path to filmmaking began as a photographer of the Czech underground, a movement that began in his native Prague. “It was about resistance to conformity or any convention,” said Simon. “I started as a photographer and graphic designer. Simon then realized the limitations of still photography as a medium. “I had my graphic design, my montages, my photos, but I was missing movement,” he says. Directing music videos for rapper Rytmus, hip-hop artist Milion+, along with rappers Sam Wise and Viktor Sheen soon turned Simon into a filmmaker.
Coming from music videos, the self-taught storyteller has brought the best of what he learned over to directing spots. “I love pairing sound with visuals, and graphic design through movement to create interesting compositions,” says Simon. “Each frame tells its own story. The next step for me is to apply more of my POV to advertising and brand-building.”
One recent example is Simon’s recent spot for LEGO titled, “Find Your Flow.” In the campaign, a frazzled young woman comes home from work. Sitting down at her kitchen table, she thinks of a way to decompress from a hard day at work. Enter her box of LEGOS. As she clicks pieces together, a chill soundtrack propels a group of dancers to highlight all the possibilities of the interconnecting LEGO pieces. Now de-stressed, the woman gets on with her evening. The spot ends with the LEGO logo and the tagline, “Adults Welcome.”
“I was really taken by SUPERLATIVE’S interest in my work,” said Simon. “They want to mentor me and focus on growing with me. I have a distinct, urban style that flows seamlessly from one vignette to another.”
Dezil added, “Petr’s storytelling skills are propelling SUPERLATIVE into a whole new realm of modernism in filmmaking. He’s a young auteur who loves to apply his personal influence and artistic control to branding.”
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads โ essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More