Bicoastal production house aWHITELABELproduct has signed director Olivier Gondry for global representation. Known for his visual effects where he plays with time slice technology and stop motion animation, Gondry has a body of work spanning commercials and music videos.
Formerly repped by Partizan, Gondry has helmed notable campaigns for McDonald’s, LG Electronics, Audi, Fiat and HP, and music videos for OK Go, The Vines, and the French Group Hermaentaire. For the latter, Gondry directed the clip “Chewing-Homme,” which won best animation honors at the Protoclip Music Video Festival in Paris last fall.
Gondry started his career as a visual effects artisan, working at BUF in Paris and then Method stateside. He gained prominence as he added breakthrough VFX to his brother Michel Gondry’s music videos for iconic artists Daft Punk, Björk, Radiohead and the White Stripes, and spots for BMW and Levis. Eventually he and Michel co-directed videos such as Chemical Brothers’ “Star Guitar” and Kylie Minogue’s “Come Into My World.” After those efforts, Michel encouraged him to direct his own videos; Olivier Gondry did just that with clips for Noir Desir’s “a l’envers a l’endroit” and Lacquer’s “Behind.” From there, his directorial career blossomed in both videos and commercials.
Olivier Gondry now joins aWHITELABELproduct directors’ roster that includes Arni & Kinski, Mikael Jansson, Aneil Karia, Darius Khondji, Peter Lindbergh, Carlos Manga Jr., David Michalek, Paul Middleditch, Panoptic, James Pilkington, Eugenio Recuenco, Tim Richardson, Nick Robertston, Stephane Sednaoui, Benjamin Seroussi, Carter Smith, Tell No One, and Mathieu Wothke.
Ellen Jacobson-Clarke and Annique De Caestaecker are partners/exec producers at aWHITELABELproduct.
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