Director Omri Cohen has joined Anonymous Content for commercial representation. Cohen earned a slot in SHOOT‘s 2011 New Directors Showcase in part on the strength of his Nike “Yards” spot for the World Cup of Cricket. At the time he was with Green Dot Films, his roost prior to signing with Anonymous.
Cohen’s break into directing came in 2007 with his contest-winning music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ song “Charlie.” He then brought his style of intimate, emotion-driven storytelling to the commercial world with such work as “Yards.” He quickly gained momentum as a commercial filmmaker, directing more campaigns for Nike, as well as ads for Google, Microsoft, McDonald’s, Norwegian Cruise Line and Amazon, among others.
His work is marked by a prime motivation–to uncover the unpredictable beauty of human nature. In his “Los Fearless” campaign for Nike, Cohen documents the routines of star athletes, while his framing suggests the broader influence of their neighborhood cultures on their successes. For Amazon, he captures this raw realism with portrait-like glimpses of people using their Kindles. It’s his intimate study of others that creates a sense of the familiar for the viewer—like a vivid memory—no matter what the situation.
Jeff Baron, sr. executive producer of Anonymous Content, said of Cohen, “He possesses his own original vision and drive, and instinctively understands what best reflects the idea for each particular project–be it documentary, lifestyle vignettes or narrative storytelling.”
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