Creative postproduction boutique Uppercut has brought Steve Cokonis on board as VFX supervisor. The addition of Cokonis rounds out the shop’s six-member VFX team, which is led by head of VFX John Geehreng in NYC. Uppercut has a Los Angeles office opening this fall and the hiring of Cokonis underscores expansion and a rapidly growing team on the West Coast. Cokonis began cultivating his love for graphic design and video production in his native Philadelphia before relocating to Los Angeles in 2006 to deepen his craft. Two years later, he landed a job at The Mill as a Flame assistant, working his way up through the ranks to become a lead Flame artist in 2013. In the summer of 2016, Cokonis supervised 300 VFX shots for director Brian Buckley’s feature film Pirates of Somalia, starring Al Pacino, Melanie Griffith, and Evan Peters. Cokonis continued to broaden his postproduction suite of skills, earning a promotion to VFX supervisor in 2017 while at The Mill. After deciding to spread his wings and freelance, Cokonis split his time working with several award-winning studios, including KEVIN, Framestore, Jamm, and The Mill. He recently collaborated with director F Gary Gray on the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show trailer for Pepsi. Over the course of his career, Cokonis has collaborated on notable commercial projects including “Web” for Skittles with director Wayne McClammy, “Jane” for HP with Lance Acord, “Tiempo De Ser Heros” for Nike with Loren Denis, “Two Worlds” for Acura by Mark Jenkinson, “Recycle the Dollar” for IBM by Fredrik Bond, and “Sea Captain” for Old Spice by Tom Kuntz. Cokonis’ work on music videos spans a variety of genres, including collaborations with Pharrell Williams, director Edgar Wright, Bonobo, and Run the Jewels….
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