Long-time VFX exec Andrew Bell has joined the leadership team of Method Studios’ advertising business in Los Angeles as sr. EP/VP, advertising operations. In this role reporting to Method advertising MD and EVP Stuart Robinson, he will work alongside Method L.A.’s commercials VFX sr. EP/VP Stephanie Gilgar and Digital Studio head Jeff Werner to drive day-to-day operations in the L.A. studio, curate talent, and bring Method’s capabilities to brand, agency and production company clients on the West Coast.
Robinson said, “Andrew brings so much to the business – global operational experience, long industry relationships, years of VFX production oversight, and the ability to grow a talent roster.”
Bell spent nearly two decades with MPC, first as a producer in London and then spearheading its initial foray into Los Angeles and follow-on expansion and relocation as head of production and managing director. There he oversaw all operations, from bidding to building and managing the talent and client rosters, in addition to working with A-level directors producing large-scale VFX projects for Coca Cola, Nike, DIRECTV and other top brands. Bell later served as managing director for Brickyard VFX in Boston, and has consulted on VFX operations for Apple.
Bell said, “The creative output coming from Method is second to none–among the world’s best. It’s always been of the highest standard. I’m looking forward to learning from the amazing creatives and production staff and bringing this great work to clients.”
Method Studios, a Deluxe company, is an award-winning global visual effects company built around an exceptional team of artists and innovators servicing high-end feature, episodic television, advertising and motion graphics clients. Its network of facilities in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, Melbourne, Sydney, Atlanta, and Pune, India, provide a full range of services including conceptual design, pre-vis, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, motion graphics, matte painting, compositing, and finishing.
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