Directing collective Special Problems has joined The Sweet Shop for commercial and branded content work worldwide. Led by Campbell Hooper and Joel Kefali, Special Problems made a major splash in the advertising world for the animated visuals behind the Cannes Lions-winning work for Yellow Chocolate.
Special Problems, whose work combines live-action, motion graphics and animation, first started working in the commercial realm with established brands and agencies on projects such as HP with Alicia Keys, Vodafone, Burger King and Yellow Chocolate.
Kefali and Hooper’s aesthetic style evolved from a fine arts background where they developed their signature elements of graphic design, filmmaking and music, melding them into freshly innovative visuals.
“Moving into client work was very organic for us,” Kefali explained. “When HP did a spot with Alicia Keys it was natural to use a director who had high standards aesthetically and had done music videos.”
Hooper describes their working process as unconventional for a directing collective: “We don’t necessarily split up the work; we tend to work in segments and meet in the middle. Sometimes Joel will tackle the ending of a project, and I’ll start at the beginning. That way of working has always made sense for us; it fits our style.”
The Sweet Shop becomes the first commercial production company roost for Special Problems. The collective had done some music videos through Pulse Films. For their spotmaking endeavors, Special Problems maintains their own studio in New Zealand, through which they collaborate with agencies and now work via The Sweet Shop.
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