Director Marc Wilkins, who’s repped in the U.S. by bicoastal Rabbit, captures a slice of Kiev nightlife frozen in time in the sultry and atmospheric new 2:20 “Shake,” for the Ukrainian alcoholic beverage of the same name, produced direct-to-client by Radioaktive Films, Kiev.
“Shake” brings the same ‘time-slice’ film technique used in the now-famed Philips “Carousel” to a swinging night out on the town.
Said Wilkins, “The solution is actually a “fake time-slice,” where people pretend to freeze–standing still on set–and the camera moves through frozen time. As a fan of unusual storytelling, I was excited to experiment with this approach myself.”
The spot consists of a single shot, opening on a statuesque model frozen in a pose on a city street. As the camera pulls back, we see the scene around her: a crowd of club-goers and a doorman opening the velvet ropes for her, all frozen completely still. The camera continues to move inside the nightclub as techno music throbs, passing more motionless beautiful people, picking up the same model again later on in the evening, locked in mid-stride away from the bar carrying a bottle of Shake.
Continuing to move through the club, where drinks are frozen mid-pour and revelers’ hair is suspended mid-dance, the camera picks up the model again. On the dance floor, we see a well-dressed, handsome man in the midst of reaching out to her. The camera continues to push past her, once again maneuvering through the clubscape of statue-like partiers. The camera’s serpentine movement through the club continues to pick up the model and her new boyfriend at intervals throughout the night: taking over the DJ booth, spraying champagne and, finally, locked in a steamy embrace. The two minute-plus camera move continues across the floor before picking up the couple one last time–this time, she is frozen in mid-motion again as she leads the handsome stranger by the hand towards the exit, where the dawning sunlight pours through the open door. In her boyfriend’s hand are two bottles of Shake.
To create the seamless camera move, Wilkins used six different Steadicam shots, shooting at 50fps with the ARRI Alexa. “Shooting at 50fps helped the actors maintain their frozen pose, but also forced us to move the Steadicam even faster. In post, we didn’t have the time or budget for a lot of VFX, so we had to do as much as possible in-camera. This adds a level of realism that I’m really proud of,” said Wilkins.
“Shake” is currently airing in the Ukraine.
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