We open on a day marked by sweltering heat as a potted plant tries to survive but seemingly to no avail as it is drying out before our eyes. Still, a vine strains as if an outstretched arm to seek relief, winding its way along a circuitous route to reach a dripping faucet.
You would think the dried out, hardened vine would try to turn the water on to drench and save itself. But instead it does the opposite, turning the faucet off to stop the drip, which in the long run will help ensure survival for plant life–and for that matter, all life.
A parting super reads, “Save Water. Save California.”
This spec PSA was written, directed and animated by Lapo Melzi who earlier this year took a 2010 AICP Show honor in the Student Commercial category for Centric’s “Black Rose,” a :30 he did at the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and TV, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, under the aegis of instructor Laura Belsey (who directs commercials via C-Entertainment, New York). In ’09, Melzi’s student work earned him inclusion in SHOOT‘s New Directors Showcase.
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