“He was a bear of a director to work with” is an assessment that can now be taken literally in this promo for French movie network Canal+ conceived by BETC Euro RSCG, Paris.
We are thrust into a medieval fight scene which soon centers on a female warrior who is besting her male counterparts. Just as she impales her foe with a spear, we hear the director say, “Cut.”
We then meet the director, who is a bear, quite loquacious about the craft of filmmaking as we see him relate to his actors, give instructions regarding visual effects and pyrotechnics, go on the obligatory tirade, and offer feedback on the art of directing to a film critic/interviewer.
It’s during this interview that we find out how he became a director. He used to be a bear rug laid out on the floor in front of the television, watching a lot of great movies on Canal+ and thought to himself one day, “why not me?”
Matthijs Van Heijningen of production house Soixante Quinze directed the spot which was lensed by DP Joost Van Gelder. Editor was freelancer Jono Griffiths.
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