Oscar-winning creative firm Framestore announced the opening of its L.A. color studio, spearheaded by Beau Leon in his new role as sr. colorist.
Framestore has maintained its VFX/creative studio in L.A. since the summer of 2013. Leon will use his new role to more closely integrate color with VFX and CG. He will also work closely with Framestore’s global grading department, based in London and under the leadership of head of color Steffan Perry.
“Over the past two decades, our grading department has transformed and developed an incredible ability to adapt to ever-changing pipelines,” said Perry. “As more and more interesting projects came into LA, we knew we needed that kind of firepower there as well. Their space is beautiful and equipped for the task, and Beau has just the background to make the most of it.”
James Razzall, sr. EP at Framestore, added, “As our presence in L.A. continues to grow rapidly, offering our clients a full range of services was a natural evolution for us. That’s why we wanted to launch the LA color studio with Beau. Our clients come into Framestore knowing that image quality is always consistent from conception to completion of a project; our VFX pipeline is second to none, and Beau’s talents will only complement it and push the look of our work to new heights.”
Leon’s recent projects include color grading for Selena Gomez’s latest video, “Same Old Love,” Nike’s “American Woman” ad launched during the FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Audi’s “Summer” spot. Leon was also lead colorist on “Wisdom,” an 80-second video marking Dodge’s 100th anniversary. It generated more than 5.7 million views within 24 hours of its posting on April 17 and scored him a nomination for an HPA award in the Outstanding Color Grading–Feature Film category.
Leon launched his career with the iconic R.E.M. music video, “Losing My Religion.” With subsequent work for Jane’s Addiction, Dave Matthews Band, Marilyn Manson, Rihanna, Eminem, and TOOL, Leon has since become one of the most expansive and influential colorists in music video history. He is the first non-director to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the MVPA. Prior to Framestore, Leon served at Company 3 in Los Angeles.
Leon also colors independent and documentary films, including Mark Pellington’s I Melt With You (Sundance Film Festival – 2011), Joseph Kahn’s Detention (SXSW – 2011), and Alma Har’el’s Bombay Beach (winner, Tribeca Film Festival Best Documentary Feature – 2011). Leon’s commercial credits include work for Chrysler, Xbox, Coke Zero, Nike, Chevrolet, Goodyear, Carl’s Jr., Cadillac, Comcast, GMC, Martini & Rossi, and Verizon.
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