The teaser trailer starts with an aggressively contemporary drone shot of a city. Gotham City? The Batman / Joker origin story trailer propels us into a violent little world of classic cinema references.
And then, the tide turns, and we see gritty, dirty streets and an isolated protagonist writing his thoughts alone; we are in his thoughts, alone. The trailer creeps into Scorsese-like grime with the power of Taxi Driver’s lonely and dramatic tone. The world beats him down.
The music picks up and a version of “Smile” plays (a song that is based on the theme from Modern Times, a Charlie Chaplin movie). Again, we are channeled into another Scorsese movie, the black comedy “The King Of Comedy”. We see comedy clubs, Joker laughs in the audience, a late night host… Was that Robert Deniro? (The star of both Taxi Driver, and The King Of Comedy).
“I used to think my life was a tragedy… but now I realize: It’s a comedy.”
The Joker
Photo / Warner Brothers
The trailer ends with The Joker (Joaquin Phoenix) revealing that he “used to think his life was a tragedy… But now I realize: It’s a comedy.” In Theaters October 4, 2019.
Performance Upgrades Galore Released Ahead of Streaming TV Launch
Updated AirPods are out – AirPods 2 is the catchy name for this iteration. They’re now powered by an Apple designed H1 chip. This chip was designed specifically for the new AirPods. The H1 is built to deliver higher performance, faster connect times, and more talk time. And, the new AirPods will be available with a wireless charging case (which also works with older AirPod models).
Shortly after the AirPod 2s were announced, new versions of the iMac All-in-one desktop computer also hit the street. As shown in the graphic below, 5 new variants, two 21.5 inch and three 27 inch Macs, each with slightly different feature upgrades are now available. The computers also have a new set of chips that will deliver twice the graphical and computational power.
All five models have intel processors and AMD Radeon Pro GPU’s. Users can expect to see up to 50 percent improved performance working with Photoshop projects, or the ability to create up to two times the amount of virtual instruments in Logic Pro X, or view up to 16 simultaneous multi-cam streams compared to the previous seven in Final Cut Pro X.
The lower end models keep their 4K Retina display. The bigger models feature the usual 5K screen. The computers range from $1300-$5000+ depending on size, specs and optional upgrades.
Apple hasn’t changed the iMac‘s iconic aluminum chassis or glass screen. They’ll have the same screen sizes and resolution, same brightness and wide (P3) color gamut, and same ports (two Thunderbolt USB-C, four USB 3, SDXC, Gigabit Ethernet, and headphone jack).
iPad Air is back and iPad mini too, with pencil. Both with a spec bump. Although the items are not “financially important” in terms of Apple’s overall bottom line, they serve as introductory Apple products. Popular gift items that can acclimate new users into Apple culture.
These new versions of established products are welcome news as the specs and value have improved.
Hardcore aficionados however, will be anticipating major upgrade news, such as the refreshed Mac Pro (not upgraded since 2013!) or iPhone 11, possibly in June and October, respectively.
Convention Center Project gets green light for first phase
Photo / The Boring Company
It looks as if Elon Musk is inching closer to realizing his express tunnel transit system. Projects are already at various stages of development in Los Angeles and Chicago with Musks’ Boring Company. But, it looks like Las Vegas is all-in on a Musk tunnel transit proposal. It received initial approval Tuesday after the board directors for the LVCVA voted in favor of the project.
The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority have been long looking for an alternative way to transport convention visitors. LVCVA CEO Steve Hill thinks that underground is the way to go. He also called it “innovative” and “an attraction in and of itself”.
The tunnel will initially be approximately one mile long, with a focus on moving convention goers to and from the convention halls. The visitors will be rocketed at an estimated 150 mph in Musk’s Model X, Model 3, and a new “High-occupancy AEV” that will use a modified Tesla Model X chassis and will carry up to 16 passengers, with both standing and sitting options. A 15 minute walk will be replaced by a 1 minute ride.
The transport system will be free to convention visitors. If approved by city officials the project should be ready in time for the CES 2021 Technology Show, the largest trade show of the year which attracted over 180,000 visitors in 2019.
Graphic / The Boring Company
Three Design Options are being considered, which will offer convenient access from five potential station locations placed in close proximity to key LVCC destinations and nearby transportation connections.
-The Boring Company
Projected additional destinations are also indicated by The Boring Company:
“Future expansions to augment LVCC Loop can include service extensions to McCarran International Airport, hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, downtown Las Vegas, Las Vegas Stadium, and, in the long term, Los Angeles”
Musk approached Los Angeles with a similar opportunity last year, showcasing its “Hawthorne Tunnel” test. Plans for The Boring Company’s “Dugout Loop” project is still in the works. This project would connect passengers from Dodger Stadium to parts of Hollywood.
A similar project in Chicago (connecting parts of the city to O’Hare Airport) appears to have stalled indefinitely.
City officials throughout the United States have shown skepticism and opposition towards companies and corporations making promises to revitalize decaying parts of major cities. These endeavors are normally determinative with tax breaks for the corporations, and tax payers paying the bill. Musk’s The Boring Company plans to build the Las Vegas tunnel without a taxpayer contribution. Estimated costs are 35-55 million dollars.
3 new Apple Memoji videos hit the street today, and, like previous Animoji clips are basically Karaoke Music Videos. Timed to coincide with the 2019 Grammy Awards, today’s batch feature heads crafted to look like the original artists themselves, as a way to emphasize the “me” in Memoji.
In previous “Animoji” video clips Apple used anonymous people that were carefully chosen to match pre-set characters, such as the Cat or Unicorn. Generally, the entire Animoji project appears to be a fringe benefit from the face ID security system, and as a gift from the Steve Jobs Pixar legacy. Ok, true or not, in any case, they look like Toy Story style characters.
It’s a mystery why the talking heads always sway from side to side. Perhaps this is meant to show off the head tracking response, for example, but by now one would think that’s a given.
Although extremely cute and more responsive and adaptable all the time, it looks like third-party apps will have to fill the void, if virtual actors with more range are to emerge.
It would be great to see a talking avatar that has more realism or at least a personality that goes beyond “cute” and “super cute”.
When this concept finally goes beyond fun, games and Karaoke, a wide variety of potential uses could become possible. Just ask Max Headroom.
All the angst over AI taking over service and manufacturing jobs notwithstanding, by now you’d think someone would have created an automated Megyn Kelly. The 69 million pay-out she received when she was fired could have recouped any prior outlay for research and development. And, hey, at least the animated anchor would have stayed on script.
In November of last year the world’s first AI news anchor started working in China. The Chinese-English speaking bot “…can read texts as naturally as a professional news anchor”, the state-run Xinhua news agency that created the bot, claimed in a statement. Judge for yourself:
If you know of any third party apps trying to graduate from cute when it comes to Memoji recording, please contact our video department. Here at Lynxotic News we could definitely use a few new spokes-bots.
Above you can also see the “Behind The Scenes” clip, released along side the video above, which shows in some detail all that’s involved in setting up a “Bullet-Time” rig, other than acquiring 32 iPhones !
High quality aerial photography produced using unmanned, remote-controlled Drones is becoming more commonplace. With this proliferation, and with a simultaneous massive improvement in camera quality, a new wave of spectacular visual renderings of the world’s most beautiful cities are appearing online.
Some of these also use special effect techniques such as time-lapse and “hyper-lapse”. Similar to time-lapse, hyper-lapse adds movement while maintaining a stable image throughout. Once only possible through laborious software processing, the effects can now be produced “in-camera”, through the use of gyroscopic stabilizers rendering an effect that adds an otherworldly dimension to the “trip”, creating a true feast for the eye.
Using these effects, adding music and a bit of editing, the stunning aerial views created can evoke an experience as if mind-altering substances had been ingested!
Here are a few of the best examples we found on YouTube:
Hong Kong
Hong Kong has possibly the world’s most beautiful skyline, especially at night. This video, titled “Escape” by Francis So takes the Hyper-lapse genre to the next level with an integrated story and a great variety of locations in and around HK
Frank H. – New Entertainment Pictures has put together a breathtakingly detailed day in the life of this beloved metropolis. Traversing a typically cloudy, almost “sleepy London-Town” on a journey from Dawn to Dusk, practically all the most amazing landmarks can be seen as if from the view of a floating spirit guide.
ITALY!
In many ways the most amazing of our clip selections, this is an incredible look at some of Italy’s most photogenic landmarks, all from the perspective of a mind-altered space alien. The rich highly saturated photography heightens the effects and creates a sensual tableau that, truly, must be seen to be appreciated.
Producer / Director Adam Shomsky Included the following location notes:
Berlin
With a musical accompaniment that evokes “Falco’s Amadeus meets Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (spring)” creating an eerily fitting aural backdrop, TimeLapseWorlds has created an impressive visual mix of some of Berlin’s classic locations, including;
“The Memory Church” (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ). Famous for being bombed in 1943, the church was rebuilt between 1959-1963 but the original spire was retained and serves as a reminder of the horrors of war.
The “Friedensengel”(peace angel) known also as The Berlin Victory Column) which appeared in the 1987 Wim Wenders‘ Wings of Desire (1987) Portrayed as a meeting place for angels.
TheBrandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor). This iconic landmark split the east and west sectors during the cold war and remains at the heart of Berlin, in body and spirit.
Perhaps, after such a mind blowing “trip” a calmer look from a drone at peace with the world is a fitting final journey:
Frank H / New Entertainment Pictures has produced a soothing, dreamy portrait of the Berlin. Using various slow-motion effects and a confident, calm approach, this view from a drone is portrays the city in a decidedly different light, but the result is no less satisfying.
The clips in this preview are but a tiny foretaste of what may soon be possible in creative photography and visual special effects. Stay Tuned.
