BeachHouse Films, the Santa Monica shop headed by executive producers Patti and David Coulter, has signed director Tony Garcia for U.S. representation in spots and webisodes. At press time, Garcia was about to embark on a client-direct webisode package for EA Games produced via Triton Films, Vancouver, B.C., which reps Garcia primarily for music video work in Canada.
Most recently on the roster at This Is TV, New York, Garcia broke into the business after graduating with a master’s degree in film from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif. His first production house roost was the Latino American division of now defunct Palomar Pictures, which he joined in 2001. He landed at Palomar largely on the strength of a high-profile spec comedy reel, which featured performance/dialogue ads for Consumer Reports, Staples and Nike. The spec commercials for Staples and Consumer Reports garnered two of the three honors in the student category of the ’01 AICP Show. The Staples piece, “Gotcha,” also copped a Bronze Clio in the student category. His Nike spec spot, “Beatboxer,” garnered a Gold Student Clio in ’01.
Following Palomar’s closure, Garcia went onto Motel Films, Hollywood, before coming aboard This Is TV in ’05. He has been active in the U.S. mainstream and Hispanic markets, as well as with assorted jobs in Latin America. His U.S. Hispanic endeavors include Best Buy for la comunidad, Miami, and Texaco for Y&R, Miami. The Texaco spot, “Turn Signal,” also aired in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and went on to win a Bronze FIAP Award in Buenos Aires in ’02. Garcia’s filmography also includes commercials that have played in both mainstream U.S. and Hispanic markets via American agencies for such clients as Budweiser and Time Warner Cable. He additionally helmed a general market ad for The New York Times. And for ad agencies in Mexico, Garcia has turned out spots for Alpura, Clemente Jacques and Enerplex, among others.
Most recently Garcia has branched out into webisodes. He directed three webisodes for gambling giant Bodog.com, out of agency Riptown, Vancouver, and produced by Triton. The campaign came to Garcia as a result of his directing music videos for artists under the Bodog Music Label.
This is BeachHouse’s second recent signing, having earlier added Nir Bashan who just won a Silver Clio for his spec Honda webisode “Brand New” and was recently selected for SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase.
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