Musical Chairs
Sound designer/composer Jeff Kinder has been named director of the newly formed audio department at production/editorial/design/CG studio services house Magick Lantern, Atlanta. He comes over from his own studio, KinderWorks, Atlanta, where he scored projects for Larry King Live, performed sound design for TNT, mixed documentaries and TV shows for Turner Classic Movies and NFL Films, and worked weekly on a NASCAR reality TV series. His endeavors also encompassed such ad clients as L’eggs Sheer Energy. Most recently, he completed audio work for Coca-Cola’s Project Greenlight: Refreshing Filmmakers Award, creating a 5.1 surround mix for theatrical release to more than 23,000 U.S. cinemas….Crescendo! Studios, San Francisco, has been active on the spot front. The shop’s senior engineer Dave Baker wrapped TV mixes for the Saturn ION, VUE and Relay vehicles. Michael Damiani produced the commercials for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco–Baker also worked with GSD&M, Austin, and producer Steve Shaw to mix TV commercials for SBC–Ogilvy & Mather, New York, selected Crescendo! senior mixer/technical director Craig Heimholz to record and mix TV spots for Hershey’s Peanut Butter Kisses. Alicia Zuluaga produced for Ogilvy with Carl’s Fine Films, San Francisco, producing the animation….Young & Rubicam, Chicago, enlisted bicoastal Elias Arts to help choose and license music for Sears’ fall campaign. The assignment also entailed some original sound design by Elias’ Jay Nierenberg. Among the tracks selected were Stephen Malkmus’ “Phantasies,” Pernice Brothers’ “There Goes The Sun,” The Spinto Band’s “Oh Mandy,” Mosquitoes’ “Boombox,” and Komeda’s “Check It Out.” The TV spots were directed by Matthew Badger of bicoastal Epoch Films. Audio post mixer was Shawn Ballman of Sound Slave, Chicago….Minneapolis music/sound design house BWN has wrapped a four-spot package for Citibank via Fallon, Minneapolis. The campaign features a singing hand that croons about the advantages of the Citi mtvU credit card designed specifically for college students. Composer/performer was BWN’s Ken Brahmstedt. Carl White served as audio post mixer for BWN. The commercials are running on mtvU, a network that airs at U.S. colleges and universities…..Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More