Principal/CEO
charlieuniformtango
4) I think one trend that continues to influence content creation is the almost indistinguishable line between commercial work and film work. In many cases, the talent and crews are the same, and ads are no longer a :30 or even a :15 necessarily – we are seeing clients gravitate toward short films in the form of brand identity pieces, anthem pieces and the like. Several brands have taken a movie trailer format to showcase their products, (like Taco Bell’s recent “Web of Fries” and movies continue to align with product partners on incredibly elaborate promotional campaigns and spots with the sell or reveal kept until the very last moments. Why? Because the caliber of filmmaking and commercial work is expected to be the same, from top directors, DPs and actors to VFX houses that handle Oscar winning films, and top spots. Traditionally “commercial” post houses are doing more and more top film work: we had a film in Sundance, SXSW and are working on post on another doc with an Academy Award-nominated editor working out of our Austin studio. It’s great to grow our chops on longer format work and learn as one discipline informs the other.
6) “Many might not know that charlieuniformtango is a woman- and minority-owned business. I was born in Sudan to Egyptian parents and immigrated to the U.S. as a young child. Here at charlieuniformtango, we’re always looking to add the best and brightest humans to our team – no matter how they identify or where they come from. I’m so excited to see that more than ever before, women, (especially women of color) are rising to great heights in an industry that’s been a “boys club” for too long. We have a long history of developing and nurturing female talent, including several editors, motion designers, audio engineers and FX artists, and right now one of our incredible assistants is making her way toward a full-time flame artist role. Some of our most recent hires – two assistant editors and a 3D artist–are women. And, through one of our top local universities, we’ve just connected with another incredibly talented minority female filmmaker (director/DP) who has already accomplished so much (before she has even graduated). Her work is beyond inspiring. Our next step will be to bring her in on shoots and projects so she can learn the working side of the industry. She has such potential. Hopefully she’ll join us once she completes her education.
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