Ntropic, a visual effects house led by founder/creative director Nathan Robinson, has hired executive producer Jim Riche. Based in Ntropic’s Santa Monica studio, Riche comes over from Digital Domain’s commercial division where he served as an exec producer.
Meanwhile on another expansive front, Ntropic has opened an office in New York to complement its shops in Santa Monica and San Francisco. Ntropic producer Kara Holstrom has moved from San Francisco to handle day-to-day management of the New York operation. All three Ntropic offices are digitally connected, with New York offering Flame, color grading on Lustre, as well as resources in 3D and design. Ntropic will be naming a new creative director/VFX supervisor for the New York office soon. Exec producer Sharon Lew has joined the company to handle business development/sales on the East Coast.
“New York City has an incredibly vibrant artistic community,” noted Robinson. “For us as artists, having an office there really opens us up to new influences and a diversity of projects.” Ntropic is currently in the midst of its inaugural commercial project for ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi/NY. Ntropic is also working on national commercials for Bank of New York and Dodge Ram.
“The fact that we can run a job concurrently through San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York makes this studio a very appealing option and an exciting place to work,” added Riche who added that he was drawn to the opportunity to collaborate with Ntropic’s ensemble of talent, including such artisans as Robinson, Andrew Sinagra, Simon Mowbray, MB Emigh and Marshall Plante.
Riche began his career as a DP and moved into motion control, then producing and directing. He was one of the first Harry operators in the U.S., and has managed staffs of up to 200 people for the production of “PeeWee’s Playhouse,” as well as in his most recent position as EP at Digital Domain. Riche brings more than 25 years experience in commercials, TV and feature films to Ntropic.
Ntropics’ body of work spans commercials, TV and features. TV endeavors include American Idol and Ford, as well as Hawaii Five-O. Ntropic has also made major creative contributions to a global advertising campaign for Franklin Templeton, as well as commercials for HP and Cricket. The company is currently working on VFX for the 2012 release of Total Recall.
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