Filmmaker Paul Cummings, who works in commercials, music videos and shorts--with a specialty in stop motion--has signed with Los Angeles creative studio DUCK....
Filmmaker Paul Cummings, who works in commercials, music videos and shorts–with a specialty in stop motion–has signed with Los Angeles creative studio DUCK….New York-based Sonic Union has formed an alliance with veteran voice casting director Maria Pappalardo, who’ll be screening talent for television, film, web and radio, working out of the popular Union Square studios. Pappalardo opens the independent casting service, Pappalardo Casting, following 15 years as BBDO N.Y.’s head of voiceover casting where she cast thousands of large-scale campaigns for the likes of Visa, GE, Pepsi and Gillette…..Peepshow Post Productions, London and N.Y., has brought editor Dean Gonzalez, formerly of Final Cut, aboard its roster. Gonzalez is experienced in spots, music videos and is currently working on a documentary feature, The History of Canadian Humor (If It’s Not Too Much Trouble), produced by The Sibs and directed by Rob Cohen who has written for such shows as Saturday Night Live, The Simpsons and Mr. Show….
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 — 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