Martin de Thurah of Academy Films, London, has directed a hauntingly beautiful film for Swiss air rescue company Rega.
Created by advertising agency Walker Zurich, “Heaven Can Wait” sees a young girl appearing to float up to the heavens following a tragic car accident, only for us to discover she is in fact being rescued and taken to life-saving treatment by the Rega air ambulance helicopter.
Shot over two days in Bucharest with Romanian service company Domino, the 16-year-old star of the film, in her first experience on camera, found herself balanced precariously 60 feet up, on a thin wooden tongue extending from a specially constructed crane platform.
Above her on the platform were the director, the DP, and a handful of technicians, lighting her, and with carefully angled hair-dryers attempting to create a flowing wind effect that would also keep her warm in the freezing conditions.
All the cast were sourced in Romania, except for the helicopter paramedic who was in fact the Rega client.
Simon Cooper, Academy producer, related, “We went to Romania expecting to use a lot of green screen for the flying shots, but in the end we were able to do it all in camera through a combination of our brilliant DOP, a very resourceful and inventive grip department, and a general willingness to make things happen on the part of the Romanian facilitating company. Our thanks to [Bucharest-based production services company] Domino [Productions] for responding positively to our constant demands with a very challenging budget, and also of course to Walker who were an absolute pleasure to work with for the first time. It was such a strong script that Martin jumped at the chance to collaborate with them, and they were really supportive of his ideas right from the start.”
The creative ensemble from Walker included creative director Pius Walker, copywriters Roger Beckett and Benn Callis, and art directors Andrew Smart and Justin Barnes.
The DP was Kasper Tuxen, Line producer was Ileana Anghel.
Editor was Russell Icke of The Whitehouse, London.
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