Creative multimedia studio Duck has taken on stateside representation for U.K. motion shop Mainframe, which sports a collective of producers, designers and 2D and 3D animators in London and Manchester. Mainframe specializes in animation, VFX and motion graphics for commercials, promos, titles and branded creative content.
Mainframe’s portfolio includes work with such U.K. agencies as McCann Erickson, Mother, Publicis and TBWA for broadcast, cinema, online and mobile media companies, including Animal Planet; BBC; BBC–Radio 1, — Radio 2 and –1Xtra; Channel 4; Five; IDEO; Karmarama; MTV; Nickelodeon; Sci-Fi; Sony Computer Entertainment Europe; VH1; and Virgin Media Television, among others.
“We’ve recently found that the commercials world has reacted very positively to our work, so the next logical step was seeing how the U.S. would take to us,” noted Mainframe owner/managing director Adam Jenns. “After a fair bit of searching we found Duck Studios. They’ve got an extremely talented roster and it felt like the right fit. We’re confident they’ll open new doors for us.”
While Mainframe originally worked primarily for broadcasters, they have expanded into commercial work and recently signed to London-based Independent’s new animation/VFX arm A Very Special Place. Joining Duck and establishing an international presence marks the next phase in the company’s development.
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