Director Adria Petty, who’s handled by aWHITELABELproduct in the U.S. and Skinflicks in the U.K., teamed up with longtime collaborator, Stardust creative director Alan Bibby, to co-write and co-direct Coldplay and Rihanna’s music video for “Princess of China.”
Petty, whose credits include videos for Beyonce’s “Sweet Dreams” and “Countdown” plus spots for Target, Hershey’s and Lancome, and Bibby, whose credits include VFX-heavy commercials for Mercedes-Benz, AT&T and Shell, combined their talents for the movie-trailer-style Coldplay/Rihanna video, which recently premiered worldwide.
Blending iconic elements from kung fu films and samurai epics, “Princess of China” is a visual fantasy that pays homage to Petty and Bibby’s favorite films and scenes. The directors embraced Asian influences from multiple countries and eras to round out the video’s visual world. “We love old kung fu movies, the Shaw Brothers, all of that,” Bibby explained. “This began as a love letter to that genre, but we also wanted to make it much broader and just go way over the top with it. The Japanese taiko drums, the Guanyin multi-arm imagery, the Southeast Asian architecture, the hair and modern fashion–it was this mix of visual elements that really created the immersive world for this story.”
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