Nexus Studios has signed directing duo Sojiro & Eri, consisting of Sojiro Kamatani and Eri Sawatari, for commercials, branded content and music video worldwide, except for Japan and France. In the latter market, the directorial team is repped by Paris production house Bandits. Nexus adds Sojiro & Eri to its roster as directors spanning moving image, digital, print and interactive projects, VR, 360 storytelling and installations. The duo specializes in crafting surreal and visually rich parallel universes, infusing spots for brands such as PlayStation, Honda and Facebook with bold and imaginative concepts often paired with epic visual effects. Before their names became synonymous with their commercial work, Kamatani worked in video production in Kyoto and Sawatari studied film at the University of the Arts in London. They met at Qotori Film Inc. in Tokyo, joined forces and quickly established themselves as ones to watch on an international scale. The duo is behind a beautiful film for Japanese music group Wednesday Campanella, “Yaku No Jitsugetsubushi,” and the brilliantly bizarre spot for Dentsu Tokyo and Marukome miso soup, “Marukome.” Other highlights include the multi award-winning, time warping masterpiece for Mori Building, “Designing Tokyo,” and an eccentric satirical short for Japanese cable TV program, Family Theatre….
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