Aron Baxter has come full circle, returning to New York-based post/visual effects house Nice Shoes, this time as its creative director. He comes over from Guava, which was Nice Shoes’ sister VFX studio. But with the recent merger of Nice Shoes and Guava, Baxter is once again at parent company Nice Shoes, the shop he left his native London for in 2003, originally coming aboard as a senior VFX artist.
“Nice Shoes is well respected for its strong technical abilities and service. With Guava’s merger and the addition of some new staff, we’re dialing up the creative side of Nice Shoes,” said Baxter. “It’s a sea of change, a new way forward for us. I’ll be making sure there’s a harmonious balance of technical and creative services and know-how for our current and future clients.”
Baxter made his first major industry mark at The Moving Picture Company (MPC), London, starting as a Quantel Henry, Hal and Harry artist and later becoming a Flame artist. Baxter created visual effects for a slate of features, among them the James Bond film GoldenEye, the motion picture version of Les Miserables, and the classic children’s tale The Borrowers. Previously Baxter contributed to Tim Burton’s 1988 Batman where he worked with Academy Award-winning production designer Anton Furst.
Baxter spent most of his MPC tenure working on commercials, spanning campaigns for such clients as Nike, Castrol, Fiat, BBC and Volvo.
From MPC Baxter went to the London office of Netherlands-based Condor in 1998, remaining there for the next five years. “It was a smaller company so I got the opportunity to spread my wings working in post, very high-end motion graphics and shooting commercials, broadcast IDs and music videos,” he related. “It was a chance to keep the production side running alongside postproduction.”
Baxter’s production background makes him an asset on set, now supervising VFX heavy projects, as well as overseeing the VFX team at Nice Shoes.
During his time at Nice Shoes and Guava he has worked on high-profile commercials for Goodyear, Ameritrade, Mastercard, American Express, Calvin Klein, IBM, Sprite, Smirnoff and Cartoon Network Fusion Fall.
In the last six years Baxter has seen Nice Shoes evolve. “That evolution has gathered pace recently,” he said, citing new executive appointments, additional hiring of VFX, 3D artists and designers, and the beginning of a complete re-decoration to the interior of the physical space. “We have always been known for our excellence in telecine and now–with the combination of the VFX artists from both Nice Shoes and Guava–Nice Shoes has the VFX department to match,” assessed Baxter.
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