Lisa Masseur has joined ONE at Optimus as executive producer. Masseur–who has worked with clients such as Samsung, McDonald’s, Trek, Sears, Hasbro, USPS and BMO Harris Bank–was most recently executive producer/managing director at Radar Studios, where she oversaw all production and postproduction work, as well as sales and marketing efforts. During her more than seven years there, she helped build the company into one of the most competitive production houses in Chicago.
Before that, Masseur spent three years as executive producer at Ebel Productions, where she focused on commercial production. Prior to that, she was a freelance producer in Chicago. She began her career working on TV series and features such as Groundhog Day, Hoffa, A League of Their Own, Sleepless in Seattle, Mighty Ducks 3, and The Untouchables.
At her new roost, Masseur will work closely with Craig Leffel, ONE at Optimus’ director of production. Leffel related, “With our combined experience and understanding of bundled production, there is an incredible strength and positivity in joining forces together. I can’t wait to kick this up another notch.”
Optimus president Tom Duff announced the hiring of Masseur. Optimus is a leading post and production house with offices in Chicago and Santa Monica. A one-stop shop, Optimus offers a full suite of creative services, including production, editing, color correction, visual effects and design, audio mixing and finishing. With ONE, the company’s live-action production arm, Optimus offers all production services, from shoot through post, under one roof.
Masseur cited the roster of talent at Optimus and ONE–directors, editors, designers and finishing artists–as being key in her decision to come aboard. “They are passionate about creating content, and are always coming up with ideas–both for clients and on their own,” she said. “I look forward to harnessing that energy into creative content for our clients and longer form work as we continue to grow ONE and leverage this seamless production model.”
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