Visual effects house CafeFX and its parent ComputerCafe have officially closed, ending a 17-year run. The shuttering of the Santa Maria-headquartered company comes after CafeFX/Computer Cafe honored its financial obligations to industry creditors and has seen nearly all of its staffers find other employment, according to executive producer/co-founder Jeff Barnes.
In a joint statement released today (12/23), Barnes and co-founder David Ebner explained that “the current economic climate and global marketplace have made it unrealistic for us to continue to deliver the highest quality visual effects work, which has been our hallmark, at a competitive price and a sustaining profit.”
They affirmed that the business closes with its collective “heads held high,” citing a body of work spanning some 80 feature films and hundreds of commercials, music videos, game trailers, ride projects and broadcast opens. In 2008, CafeFX’s ensemble of artists won an Emmy Award for their effects work on the acclaimed HBO miniseries John Adams directed by Tom Hooper (who recently joined Smuggler for U.S. spot representation, and is currently a Golden Globe best director nominee for the feature film The King’s Speech). CafeFX’s other notable credits over the years include effects work on such features as Pan’s Labyrinth, The Departed, Sin City, The Aviator, Iron Man and Spider-Man 3. CafeFX/ComputerCafe also turned out effects work on spots for Burger King, Doritos and Microsoft, among assorted other clients.
Barnes and Ebner additionally expressed thanks in their joint statement to their many clients as well as “our competitors, who always kept us on our toes by pushing the envelope…our families and advisors who have stood by us and have given their patience and understanding on how to stay sane and viable through these turbulent times in our industry.”
Both Barnes and Ebner offered a special thanks to “our staff and all the incredibly talented people that have come through our doors. You are CafeFX. Your hard work, dedication and passion are what made us such a great studio. Because of you we were able to accomplish the impossible over and over again. Words cannot truly express how much we appreciate all that you have done to keep us successful for so many years. We will especially never forget our core staff, who helped to make CafeFX a unique and magical place, and who have now become life-long friends and colleagues.”
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