Spanish Lottery’s “Deportes”–directed by Yuval and Merav Nathan via Acme Filmworks, Hollywood, Calif., for agency Branding, Miami and Madrid–has won the Annie Award in the commercials category during a gala ceremony held earlier this month (2/6) at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles.
Now in its 37th year, the Annie Awards competition annually recognizes outstanding achievement in animation. The Annies are presented by the Burbank, Calif.-headquartered International Animated Film Society (ASIFA-Hollywood).
Contributing to the stop motion Spanish Lotto spot was a team that included Acme executive producer Ron Diamond, co-exec producer Gwynn Adik, producer Donna Waxstein, DP Rick Thomas, animators Yuval Nathan, Guy Ben-Shitrit and Pete Levin, production designer Merav Nathan, art director Tricia O’Connell and postproduction supervisor George Khair.
Similarly themed stop motion from Yuval and Merav Nathan also graced their “Her Morning Elegance” music video with singer Oren Lavie (which earned Lavie and the Nathans inclusion in the 2009 Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase) and a Comcast commercial “Anthem” for Long Beach, Calif.-based agency Grupo Gallegos (a SHOOT Top Spot, 8/14/09).
Spanish Lotto’s “Deportes” topped a field of Annie nominees that consisted of: another Acme-produced spot, Idaho Lottery’s “Twiceland” directed by Dave Wasson for Boise agency Drake Cooper; Goldfish crackers’ “In The Dark” from Blur Studio, Venice, Calif., with Lee Santos serving as director/animation supervisor for Young & Rubicam, New York; McDonald’s “Nutty Trade” from Blue Sky Studios, Greenwich, CT; and Kellogg’s “The Spooning” for Leo Burnett Chicago, with Henrik Sundgren directing for Acne U.S., Venice, Calif., and Chris Finnegan serving as animation director via Screen Novelties, Los Angeles. (The Screen Novelties collective is now handled via Los Angeles studio DUCK.)
The Annie Awards competition honors outstanding animation achievement in theatrical feature films, TV programs, commercials, home entertainment, video games and short subjects/special projects.
Pixar Animation Studio’s Up won such honors as best animated feature and best director, Pete Docter. Walt Disney Animation Studios earned six Annies overall–three for its feature The Princess and the Frog and three for its television production Prep and Landing. DreamWorks Animation won five Annies including best TV production for children, and directing/TV for The Penguins of Madagascar, and storyboarding/feature for Monsters vs. Aliens. Coraline from animation studio Laika copped a pair of Annies.
For a full list of winners, log onto www.annieawards.org.
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