In the film version of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” the character Boromir comments that one does not simply walk into Mordor. Nor does one simply pay thousands of dollars for fan-made online videos of a game titled “Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor” without disclosing it. Yet that is exactly what Warner Bros. Home Entertainment did in 2014 when it released the console game, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The Burbank company and the FTC announced on July 11 a settlement connected to misrepresentations made by Warner Bros. and its Provo, Utah-based advertising agency Plaid Social Labs LLC of the videos that were posted on YouTube and promoted through Twitter and Facebook. The settlement required Warner Bros. to be upfront about paying for such sponsored videos and not act as though they were from independent video game enthusiasts. “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment always strives to be transparent with our customers and fans when working with social influencers, and we are committed to complying with the related FTC guidelines,” the company said in an emailed statement. According to the four-page complaint, the FTC alleged that Warner Bros., through Plaid Social Labs, made payments and provided free copies of “Mordor” to game players who then made up to 30 gameplay videos that were viewed 5.5 million times over a period of a year. Among those making videos was PewDiePie, a Swedish YouTube star whose “Mordor” video was viewed more than 3 million times. While the players were required to disclose in their videos they were paid to make them, Warner Bros. did not make it known that the disclosure needed to be clear and conspicuous in the video itself or be visible without a viewer having to scroll down or find it by clicking on a link. “Consumers have the right to know if reviewers are providing their own opinions or paid sales pitches,” said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a prepared statement. “Companies like Warner Bros. need to be straight with consumers in their online ad campaigns.” Startup Academy Startup companies taking part in the third class of the Disney Accelerator program were announced this month, giving them the opportunity to be mentored and advised by professionals in the entertainment industry. The early ventures represent a swath of the nexus of entertainment and technology, including virtual reality, a mobile ticketing app, human-like robots, a live streaming community for chefs and food enthusiasts and an e-commerce platform for buying toys. Changes to the program this year include the participation of one internal Walt Disney Co. startup, no longer having Techstars, a Boulder, Colo. accelerator as a partner and negotiating with each startup on Disney’s stake rather than a one-size-fits-all deal that had been previously offered. “This year’s Disney Accelerator program is designed to advance a broader spectrum of the strategic investments we make in innovation across all of our businesses,” said Michael Abrams, senior vice president of innovation at the Burbank company. Startups from previous classes include Sphero, in Boulder, Colo., which created the BB-8 droid toy, the best-selling Star Wars toy in 2015; Sidelines, a San Francisco content marketing platform; Smart Toy, a customizable toy developer in Los Angeles that was later acquired by Cartwheel Kids in Culver City; and Naritiv, a Santa Monica marketing and analytics platform. Coloring ‘Kong’ Post-production house FotoKem has hired David Cole as a senior colorist in the creative services division. Cole joins a team of other colorists at the Burbank company that have worked on recent films “Independence Day: Resurgence,” “The Conjuring 2” and “Central Intelligence.” Among Cole’s first projects will be the upcoming “Kong: Skull Island,” produced by Legendary Entertainment in Burbank. Cole said he was impressed by FotoKem’s dedicated team of artists and legacy of experience. “Being able to supplement an existing group with such a tremendous background is a very exciting prospect,” Cole said in a statement. A native of Australia, Cole worked with director Peter Jackson on “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” in 2001 and “King Kong” in 2004. He moved to Los Angeles in 2006 where he worked as a colorist at LaserPacific Media and later at Modern VideoFilm. Cole was supervising colorist on “The Book of Life,” “An Ordinary Man” and “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip.” Dual Assignment Studio City-based film and television director John Putch has been chosen to direct episodes of two television series. Putch will shoot “No Tomorrow” for CW Network in Vancouver, while Fox series “APB” will shoot in Chicago and reteam the San Fernando Valley resident with Trey Callaway with whom he worked on the series “Rush Hour.” Putch will begin work on both shows following the July 22 premiere of his latest film, “The Father and the Bear” at the Stony Brook Film Festival in New York. Among his other credits are the series “Scrubs,” “Cougar Town” and “Blackish” and the independent films “Mojave Phone Booth” and “The Route 30” trilogy, which Putch filmed in his native Pennsylvania. Staff Reporter Mark R. Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or [email protected].