Director Jack Cole has signed with Chelsea for spot representation stateside, continuing a relationship that began when Chelsea maintained a strategic relationship with London-based integrated content production company Pulse. Per that arrangement entered into last year (SHOOTonline, 7/6/10), Chelsea handled the U.S. for Pulse’s directors, including Cole, under the banner Pulse @ Chelsea. However the affiliation between the two shops ended a couple of months ago. Cole, who is still on the Pulse roster in the U.K., ultimately decided he also wanted to stay with Chelsea in the U.S.
Via Chelsea, Cole recently made his U.S. spot directorial debut with comedy fare for Stride Gum out of JWT New York. “I had a great experience working with Chelsea shooting the last Stride spot,” said Cole. “When the offer to sign up to the ranks officially came along, it was a no-brainer. I’m really looking forward to working more in the States and hope I can offer something a little different by bringing this particular Englishman’s eye to the table.”
Tom Christmann, executive creative director at JWT, worked with Cole on Stride. “Jack can direct ostriches to run through walls. He can direct nineteen-year-old girls to wrestle rams. And yet he still hasn’t let those talents go to his head and is a pleasure to work with,” said Christmann.
Coming from a background in still photography, Cole began his directing career as one half of the duo Liff in which he was teamed with Stian Smestad who now also works as a solo director. Smestad is based in Norway. Liff’s work was nominated for the Newcomer Award at the Soho Rushes Shorts Festival, screened at the onedotzero Film Festival, and short-listed for the Nike Young Directors Award. Liff’s short films received international acclaim, most notably “Practice Makes Perfect”, nominated for the TCM Classic Shorts Award at the London Film Festival. Liff, which was repped by Independent, London, disbanded about two-and-a-half years ago. The duo’s European spot credits spanned such clients as Subaru, Converse, Europark, and Panasonic.
Cole, whose solo helming endeavors also include a European job for Reebok.com, was described by Chelsea co-owner Lisa Mehling as a rare filmmaking breed. “Visualist comedy directors are few and far between. Add in Jack’s still background and you have a very potent director.”
Cole joins a Chelsea directorial roster that includes Alex Gibney, Borgato & Berte, Bruce Hunt, Charles Mehling, Christopher Quinn, Colin O’Toole, David Gordon Green, Johan Kramer, Kevin Macdonald, Lauren Greenfield, Liz Von Hoene, Michael Muller, Nadav Kander, Neil Abramson, Nicholas Barker, Rick LeMoine, and Robb Bindler. Chelsea is owned and operated by Mehling and Allison Amon.
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