TWC Films has signed multiple Cannes Lion-winning director/cameraman Olivier Staub for representation in the U.S. His body of work includes campaigns for GM, Volkswagen, Molson Beer and Nike.
Staub’s film for Atlantic Group Heaters, “37 Days: The Cube” from Leo Burnett Paris, won four awards at the 2015 Cannes Lions Festival–including two Gold Lions in Film Craft, one for the highly coveted Achievement in Production. “The film was an incredible human experience,” assessed Staub. Shot on top of a glacier at 2,800m with all the weather and location challenges you can imagine; this 9,000 pound glass cube gave birth to a beautiful piece of cinematography. The concept was great, the shooting was memorable, and the end result was very rewarding.”
Staub first discovered an affinity for photography as a teenager, and then made his way to Paris to apprentice for five years of practical instruction to Michel Desmarteaux, patron saint of a generation of commercial photographers. Having done work for most major car manufacturers, Desmarteaux introduced Staub to the craft the old-fashioned way, helping him assimilate the fine art and exacting techniques of photography. Learning about lighting and visual composition gave Staub the freedom to express his own creativity.
Upon returning to North America, Staub worked for Canadian ad agency Cossette. He then made the logical progression to directing and shooting.
Mark Thomas, TWC’s managing director, said of Staub,” He fundamentally responds to and embellishes strong, simple concepts and does so with a visual aesthetic that is all him. He can literally tell a significant story in a single shot, and he does it in a way that features both huge vistas and stunning landscapes, juxtaposed with intimate moments that are real and compelling.”
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