We open on a man driving his car, lackadaisically making his daily trek to work as he listens to the radio. As he comes to a stop sign, he makes his sideways glances quickly before advancing, only to incur sudden impact on his front end by an invisible force.
A voiceover relates, “Motorcycles are not invisible,” as the car is smashed to the right, forming dents and cracking the dashboard and windshield. As the driver gets out of the vehicle, the voiceover continues, “But they can seem that way to drivers who aren’t paying close attention.”
The man surveys the damage to his car before taking a wider gaze at the accident, realizing that he has actually come into contact with a motorcycle. The felled cycle now lies on its side with the rider tossed off screen. The voiceover concludes, “Look twice for motorcycles. Seeing them is saving them.” The spot concludes with the super, “Share the Road. Look Twice for Motorcycles,” along with the super, “Save a Life. Texas Department of Transportation.”
Kevin Althans of digital studio Radium/Reel FX , Santa Monica and Dallas, directed the :30 PSA for Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing in Austin, Tex.
While the spot could have taken a significantly CGI route, Althans decided to execute the sheet metal carnage almost entirely in-camera so the reactions and feelings were genuine. He worked with local car expert Jeff Milburn on this practical concept. Althans noted, “I came up with an ambitious idea for a rig that internally collapsed sections of the car using steel cables and a tow vehicle.” Althans used a Phantom Flex and RED MX to shoot the hero stunt cars on location, resulting in an in-camera visual that is almost entirely practical.
For editorial and postproduction, Radium/Reel FX editor Quan Tran worked closely with Althans to hone the message of the spot. Althans remained creative lead through post, entrusting the visual effects to VFX supervisor Dan Dixon. The clean-up and rig-removal was done in Inferno and Dixon’s team re-created the breaking glass windshield in CGI.
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