Rep Report
Washington Square Films, New York, has linked up with Spank Films, Toronto, for Canadian representation on behalf of directors Peter Sillen, Jeff Feuerzeig, Randy Hackett and Bob Balaban….
Harold Moss, creative director of New York-based animation and design house FlickerLab, is now repped for commercials in Europe via the animation division of commercial production house BUS, Madrid. At press time, Moss was in Madrid serving as visual effects supervisor for animation and design on a FlickerLab spot for Ford, produced by BUS….Production designer Michael Broaddus is now repped by Radiant Artists, Los Angeles, for commercials and music videos….Wardrobe stylist Ernesto Martinez has signed with Montana Artists Agency, Los Angeles, for exclusive representation in all areas. He recently wrapped the Jeff Bridges feature Moguls and is again available for commercials….Michael Pepper, who represents DPs for Sesler & Company, is slated to transfer from the agency’s Toronto quarters to head its Los Angeles office. He will be working with Sesler’s existing U.S. client base as well as establishing new opportunities for the roster of DPs….Quantel has appointed Julian Ramm as regional sales manager for post in Santa Monica, West Hollywood and West Los Angeles. Ramm joins Quantel from Sony where he was responsible for sales of HD systems to key post, broadcast and film studio accounts in Los Angeles, and most recently sales of editing systems throughout the western U.S…..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