Mirror Films, a Hollywood shop headed by executive producer Eric Barrett, has added director Kevin Kerslake and head of production Ali Hileman. Kerslake has been active in spots, music videos, TV and documentaries during his career.
Over the past several years, he has focused primarily on screenwriting (with screenplays sold to Warner Bros and Sony), while helming client-direct work for action sports clients such as Burton, Quiksilver and DC Shoes through his own company, Gigantic. His music clip work spans bands like The Rolling Stones, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Green Day, REM, and most recently Velvet Revolver and The Used.
Kerslake’s ad credits encompass such clients as AT&T, Sony PlayStation, Reebok, Sprint, Kohler, Compaq, Sprite, Nike and Puma. His production house affiliations over the years have included Merge (a division of Crossroads, bicoastal and Chicago), A Band Apart, Los Angeles, bicoastal/international MJZ, and now defunct houses Satellite and The End.
Kerslake joins a Mirror spot directorial lineup that includes Chris Woods, Ondi Timoner, Branson Veal and Bobby Montero. Mirror also reps international helming talent stateside, such as Louis-Pascal Couvelaire, Jean-Pierre Roux, Alan Friel and Tim Gibbs.
Hileman returns to the spot arena after a stint in the feature world as the director of creative affairs for actor/director Forest Whitaker’s production company Spiritdance Entertainment. Previously she was with Atlas Pictures, a since-closed commercial production house.
Mirror’s sales force consists of independent reps Lisa Schreiber of Boardalicious who handles the West Coast, Kristina Kovacevic at KK Reps in the Midwest, Michael Eha on the East Coast, and Ann Asprodites in the South.
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