A Toyota Prius pulls up to a curb and parks underneath a tree, ostensibly for some shade. But the tree provides far more than just protection from the sun.
Both the car and the tree are in front of an old multi-story hotel. We hear an argument from one of the upper floors of the building and suddenly objects of all kinds, from small to large appliances and the like, come flying out of a high-rise window. Clearly the argument, presumably between a couple, has gotten heated and everything but the kitchen sink is being thrown out the window, causing pedestrians below to scurry away from falling debris and pigeons to fly off.
Yet not a single object touches the Prius, which is in gravity’s direct path of the falling items. A hand power drill comes close to making impact but the tool is caught by a bending tree branch.
Then a huge TV set is hurled out the window and seems destined to hit the Prius–except the tree “re-routes” the TV’s path and it ends up crashing down on a large SUV that’s parked one slot ahead of the Prius.
A voiceover and supered message relate, “Nature protects her own.”
The Prius then pulls away from the space and out of the picture, at which point all the objects caught in the tree fall down upon the now vacant streetside parking space.
This spec spot, titled “Karma,” was directed and conceived by Paul Santana of bicoastal production house Order.
Charles Salice was exec producer for Order with Valerie Thomas serving as producer. The DP was Greg Daniels.
VFX artist was Joe Laffey of Disorder.
Editor was Stewart Shevin of the since-closed Mad River Post. (Shevin has since joined Filmcore Editorial, which maintains shops in New York, Detroit, Chicago, Santa Monica and San Francisco.)
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