To commemorate the 10-year anniversary of 9/11, feature filmmaker Spike Lee directed “Never Forgotten,” a :90 (with a :60 lift) for State Farm in which some 150 school children, ages 8 to 11, from the NYC area visited four firehouses and thanked the firefighters through song–specifically a special version of “Empire State of Mind.”
The download proceeds of “Empire State of Mind (Part II)” benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.
Lee helmed the project via Pony Show Entertainment for a DDB Chicago ensemble that included chairman Bob Scarpelli, chief creative officer Ewan Paterson, sr. VP/group creative director Barry Burdiak, VPs/creative directors John Hayes and Geoff McCartney, sr. VP/director of integrated production Diane Jackson, executive producer Scott Kemper, music producer and integration exec Eric David Johnson (a.k.a. DJ Bunny Ears), music production manager Linda Bres, and broadcast talent manager Rubye Hardy.
Susan Kirson and Jeffrey Frankel exec produced for Pony Show with Fern Martin serving as producer. Ellen Kuras was the DP.
Editor was Hank Corwin of Lost Planet.
Liquid‘s post contingent included colorist Clark Muller, lead VFX artist James Bohn, and VFX artists Justin Blaustein and Eric Schrecongost.
As for music, writers of “Empire State of Mind (Part II)” were Alicia Augello-Cook, Shawn Carter, Jane’t Sewell, Angela Hunte, Al Shuckburgh, Bert Keyes and Sylvia Robinson. Music director and conductor was James Davis Jr. Vocal producer was Buryl Red. Audio engineer was Jonathan Duckett. Recording facilities were Manhattan Center Studios/The Grand, Jungle City Studios and Avatar Studios.
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