Michael A. Paulsen Manatt Health On Friday, Governor Hochul issued a new executive order to establish the New York State Master Plan for Aging. The EO directs the Department of Health, in coordination with the State Office for the Aging, to convene a Master Plan for Aging Council to advise the Governor in developing New York’s Master Plan for Aging. The council will also assemble the “Stakeholder Advisory Committee” to include health care and support services providers, older adults, and labor and community-based organizations, and will include ongoing opportunities for engagement with the public. Initially proposed in the Governor’s 2022 State of the State, the Master Plan for Aging Council is tasked with coordinating existing and new policies and programs to create a blueprint of strategies to ensure that older New Yorkers can live fulfilling lives in good health, with freedom, dignity and independence to age in place for as long as possible. The Stakeholder Advisory Committee is directed to prepare a preliminary report within six months and a final report within 18 months of holding its first meeting; the Master Plan for Aging Council is required to present its recommended Master Plan for Aging to the Governor within two years. Please reach out to a member of the Manatt team should you have any questions.
WATCH LIVE Elon Musk told Twitter staff during an all-hands meeting that they need to return to the office full-time, or "resignation accepted." Elon Musk told Twitter staff during an all-hands meeting Thursday that they need to return to the office full-time, or "resignation accepted," he can be heard saying in audio obtained exclusively by ABC News. "Let me be crystal clear, if people do not return to the office when they are able to return to the office — they cannot remain at the company," Musk is heard in the audio telling an employee who asked about his new plans for a 40-hour workweek at the company during an all-hands company meeting. "End of story." MORE: Twitter's chief information security officer quits amid company turmoil Audio excerpts from the meeting were obtained first by ABC News via a lawyer representing former Twitter employees in a lawsuit against the company. ABC News has verified the authenticity of the audio. "Even if people returned to the office," a Twitter employee can be heard replying to Musk, "the offices are separate offices — we won't be in person anyways." "Yes," Musk responds on the audio. "But you can still maximize the amount of in-person activity." Musk continued throughout the meeting to compare the company to Tesla. "Tesla is not one place either, but you know, it's basically if you can, if you can show up at an office and you do not show up at the office, resignation accepted — end of story," Musk is heard saying. MORE: Twitter briefly rolled out gray 'official' check marks before Elon Musk changed his mind "There are plenty of people at Tesla and SpaceX that do work remotely… but it is on an exception basis for exceptional people — and I totally understand if that doesn't work for some people," Musk is also heard saying. "But that's the new philosophy for Twitter." Twitter began layoffs on Friday that will cut roughly half of its workforce, the company announced in an email, which ABC News reviewed. The lawsuit alleges that Twitter violated federal and California laws by not giving staff proper notice before termination. The lawsuit was amended this week to include Twitter's alleged unfair severance offers. Twitter hasn't responded to the lawsuit. MORE: Here's how Twitter employees are finding out they've been laid off as nearly 50% of workforce cut The attorney representing former Twitter employees in the class-action lawsuit, Shannon Liss-Riordan, said she plans to use Musk's words against him. "The audio makes clear that Musk's elimination of remote work, with no notice, is an effort to claim employees have resigned when, in fact, they have been pushed out, so that the company can try to avoid obligations under the WARN Act and promises regarding severance," Liss-Riordan told ABC News. "This new ridiculous move is just one of the schemes Musk has come up with in an attempt to avoid paying laid off employees what they are owed." Musk has implemented the same back-to-work policy at Tesla and SpaceX. Musk closed a deal to acquire Twitter in late October. Some of Twitter's top executives were fired, including CEO Parag Agrawal, chief financial officer Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde and general counsel Sam Edgett. ABC News has reached out to Twitter. Taylor Swift: Ticketmaster fiasco 'excruciating for me' Frisch concedes CO US House race against Boebert as it goes to recount Illinois reports 1,797 new COVID cases, 10 new deaths
Promoting press freedom in the 21st century This post was originally published as part of our weekly newsletter. For more breaking news and analysis of the state of press freedom in the U.S., subscribe here. An Ohio newspaper editor was charged with felony wiretapping for publishing audio that a source recorded during a high profile murder trial. In other words, he was arrested for practicing journalism. The charges against Derek Myers of the Scioto Valley Guardian ignore the Supreme Court’s recognition over two decades ago that reporters are not to blame for unlawful recordings by sources. In fact, the issue has been settled since the Pentagon Papers. It’s up to judges, not journalists, to enforce courtroom confidentiality rules. The ordeal should alarm all those who value press freedoms. Abuses of state and local law to target journalists are every bit as dangerous as abuses of the Espionage Act at the federal level but they often fly under the radar. Myers’ arrest is even more disturbing considering that the judge presiding over the murder trial, Randy Deering, may have harbored a personal grudge against Myers for successfully challenging his prior ban on filming witnesses. The Guardian’s troubles did not end with Myers’ arrest. Another judge, Anthony Moraleja, approved a search warrant that led to the seizure of the laptop the Guardian had been using to livestream the trial and his cellphone was seized as well. As the Committee to Protect Journalists noted, the seizure — presumably intended to discover the source of the audio recording — ignores Ohio’s shield law and the federal Privacy Protection Act. In addition to violating Myers’ personal rights and preventing the Guardian from continuing its livestream, the warrant and seizure will surely have a chilling effect on sources who may have thought they could rely on the law to keep their identities secret. That Myers could face prison time and property seizures notwithstanding Supreme Court precedent and supposed legal protections goes to show that journalists cannot depend on the law alone. It’s vital that judges and other local officials face a strong public backlash when they harass journalists and ignore press freedoms. Why are prosecutors attempting to throw reporters in jail for documenting protests? It’s blatantly unconstitutional to prosecute reporters for doing their job. There are many side effects to being stonewalled: disbelief, anger, disillusionment, and, of course, repeating yourself. I have experienced them all. Since early 2012, I’ve been trying to access evidence … 49 Flatbush Avenue #1017 Brooklyn NY 11217 This work licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution International License
The American heavy metal band enlists the help of Doomsday director Tristan Holmes and artificial intelligence to produce a dark and visceral music video. Unlock full credits and more with a Source + shots membership. Despite the recent emergence of more user friendly artificial intelligence software, the creative industries are only just beginning to scratch the surface of its possibilities, and it still remains a largely untapped resource in the world of music video production.
Working with Midjourney, an AI program that creates images from textual descriptions, director Tristan Holmes of Doomsday Entertainment created this intriguing music video for Disturbed’s new track ‘Bad Man’, by entering descriptive prompts to extract more than 10,000 frames of artwork. The software curated an exquisite selection of grotesque and uncannily realistic ‘paintings’ from Holme’s descriptions in a mere matter of days, an immense amount of artwork which would have taken years to produce to this level of detail by hand. With every image carefully crafted and stitched together, the film has a unique, nightmarish style that sits somewhere between heavy metal album art, Francis Bacon-esque existentialism and infernal military oil paintings that perfectly encapsulates the track’s spirit and ideology. Day becomes night and night becomes day for the residents of a sleepy town dictated by the regime of an unruly rooster. Directed by Tom Hooper through SMUGGLER, this heart-warming tale of strangers on a train features a frantic hunt for numbers that will boost both romance and finance. The British supermarket takes us on a moving journey through the changing seasons, celebrating the unsung heroes who work hard year-round to make Christmas happen. Promoting the brand’s AirPods Pro headphones, this cheering spot sees a couple leap, dance and parkour their way around Buenos Aires creating magical bursts of snow as they go. See full credits for all work featured and have instant access to the world’s most powerful and comprehensive advertising database. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, insight and inspiration for the creative community. Access the world’s largest advertising database. With an intuitive toolset that helps you explore, present and collaborate more effectively. Custom-built for the advertising industry, with extensive showreel options and powerful streaming software. Upgrade your showreels today. To access full credit, contact, company and people information, you’ll need a Source membership. Click below to find out how to super-charge your shots experience with the world’s most comprehensive advertising database. shots spotlights the world’s most creative advertising every day. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, insight and inspiration for the global creative community.
An official website of the United States government Here’s how you know Official websites use .gov A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. WASHINGTON — International travel this holiday season is expected to reach pre-pandemic levels this holiday season, making preparation even more important. To make the travel experience easier, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will host a Facebook Live event Monday at 2 p.m. During the event, a panel of experts from CBP’s Office of Field Operations will provide live responses to CBP-related travel questions. Subjects will include travel tips to improve the travel experience, including: 1. Prepare your documents. Before embarking on a trip to the United States or returning from an international trip, travelers have the following: 2. Facial Biometrics. Travelers should be prepared to have their photo taken by a CBP officer during the enhanced inspections process at entry. Known as Simplified Arrival, travelers now have their identity verified through a secure, touchless facial biometrics process that further secures and streamline travel and entry into the United States. The biometric facial comparison process only takes a few seconds and is more than 98 percent accurate while protecting travelers’ privacy. U.S. citizens can voluntarily participate in the facial biometric process, but the process is required for most non-U.S. citizens. More information on CBP’s use of facial biometrics and the opt out process for U.S. citizens can be found here. 3. Research your destination. U.S. citizens planning to travel outside of the United States for the holidays should visit www.state.gov/travelers for international destination information. Each country has its own COVI.D-19 and safety restrictions, so researching this information ahead of time will make the travel experience easier. 4. Mobile applications. Travelers are encouraged to use CBP’s free mobile applications, which will help reduce wait times. U.S. citizens and Canadian B1/B2 visitors can download the Mobile Passport Control to submit their passport and travel information using a mobile device to have their information readily available for future international travel. Additionally, non-U.S. citizens traveling to or seeking entry into the United States can download the CBP One mobile application to apply for an I-94 up to seven days in advance of travel. CBP One can also be used to provide advanced notification if travelers require inspection of agriculture and biological products upon arrival at an airport in the United States. Categories for declaration will include:
· Biological materials that may require permits issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
· Pets, specifically birds and dogs, accompanying travelers in various capacities that carry the potential of introducing foreign animal diseases to the U.S. or other public health concerns
· Cleaning and disinfection of shoes
· Hunting trophies
Both applications can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
5. Prep your ESTA or I-94. Although having an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization is not a requirement to enter the United States through a land border, Visa Waiver Program country citizens and nationals must have an active ESTA to use the CBP One I-94 Apply feature. CBP encourages these travelers to obtain an approved ESTA to take advantage of the time savings offered by using CBP One or the CBP I-94 website. With an ESTA, these travelers can apply for their I-94 in advance of arrival and avoid filling out the Form I-94W at a port of entry.
6. Report your food, cash, and memorabilia. Both U.S. citizens and non-citizens must declare everything they bring into the United States from abroad, even if bought it in a duty-free shop. Some items, such as ivory, tortoiseshell products, and certain foods and plants are prohibited in the United States. Visit the U.S. Department of Agriculture website for more information. Some foods, merchandise and total currency of $10,000 or more can be brought to the United States but must be declared on a U.S. CBP Customs form. Failure to do so can result in stiff financial penalties and loss of your possessions.
7. Avoid counterfeits. Be cautious when buying from street vendors or other illegitimate shops while on vacation. These items often support criminal activity, violate intellectual property rights, and can be unsafe for consumers. More information on intellectual property rights can be found here. Note that CBP officers can inspect you and your belongings without a warrant.
8. Consider duty exemptions. Items brought abroad for personal use or as gifts are eligible for duty exemptions. If you are bringing them back for resale, they are not eligible for duty exemption. More information on duty exemptions can be found here.
9. Consider your medications. Be aware of traveling with medications. Many foreign-made medications are not approved for United States use and are not permitted in the country. When traveling abroad, bring only the medication you will need, and make sure it is in the original container.
CBP’s Facebook Live event is open to the public. For more information on CBP’s international travel efforts, follow CBP on Twitter or visit the CBP website.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry. CBP.gov An official website of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
If you're considering starting a podcast, TikTok channel, or YouTube series, check out these creator-focused subscription services that deliver all the audio, photography, and video resources a budding star needs. My career has taken me through an eclectic assortment of fields, and connected me with people from all walks of life. This experience includes construction, professional cooking, podcasting, and, of course, writing. I’ve been typing up geeky takes since 2009, ultimately landing a freelancing position at PCMag. This blossomed into a full-time tech analyst position in 2021, where I lend my personal insight on the matters of web hosting, streaming music, mobile apps, and video games. Content creation may seem simple at first glance, but it contains many potential roadblocks when you’re in the production phase. How do you splice and edit video for your start-up travel blog? Where should you scour photographs for your online newsletter? What’s the best place to find background music for a podcast? Thankfully, there are many subscription services that deliver just what you’re looking for without breaking the bank. Naturally, the subscriptions you need depend entirely on the type of work you’re doing. Some focus on audio libraries, some focus on video, and others focus on editing. That said, a deep resource well only helps your creative endeavors. This is especially true when considering licenses and copyright. Navigating the litigious minefield that is licensing is no easy task, even for seasoned creators. As a result, you want to secure assets from accredited resources (like the ones recommended here) to avoid copyright strikes. There’s another benefit that comes with signing up for a creator-friendly subscription service: price. If, for example, you’re early in your video essayist career, you may not want (or be able to afford) to plop down $299.99 for Apple Final Cut Pro. In that case, Adobe Premiere Pro, which costs $20.99 per month, might be a far more appealing option. Likewise, there are also outstanding, industry-renowned services, such as Getty and Shutterstock, that provide incredible stock footage and photography catalogs at super-premium prices. Unless you’re part of a massive operation, you might want to pass on those services and go with one of our wallet-friendly recommendations. So if you’re creating podcasts, YouTube videos, Substack think pieces, or TikTok clips, consider the following content-creator subscription services as must-have additions to your repertoire. Best for Video Editing Premiere Pro is an industry-standard software package that offers unmatched video editing tools. Adobe continually streamlines and improves the app, with this latest version delivering even better file importing and exporting capabilities, as well as Frame.io integration. It also ties into Adobe’s Creative Cloud suite, which means you can tap After Effects, Audition, and Photoshop for your project. Even without these recent enhancements, Premier Pro would still be a juggernaut that lets you professionally edit high-definition video. Best for Generous Licensing Rules Looking to add professional-quality audio to a project? Check out Artlist, which offers more than 12,000 royalty-free music and sound effects. It has an intuitive and accessible search system that lets you easily filter content by genre, instrument, or mood, so you can quickly find what you need. In addition, you can preview a track’s waveform or explore its many versions (such as a vocal track or instrumental) before signing up. Artlist also has generous licensing rules for its Creator Pro subscription tier, letting you use tracks even after your subscription expires. Unfortunately, Artlist lacks Android and iOS apps, as well as stems (which may be troublesome if you want access to a track’s individual audio components). Still, a basic Artlist license covers using the supplied audio in podcasts, as well as posting the sounds to a single channel on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube. For multiple channels or client work, the Creator Pro and higher tier subscriptions have what you need. Best for Digital Audio Workstation Users Available for Mac and PC, Avid Pro Tools is a robust digital audio workstation (DAW) that offers a highly customizable UI, impressive audio format compatibility, easy importing and exporting, and broad hardware compatibility. When it comes to audio recording, mixing and mastering, you’d be hard pressed to find a better subscription-based DAW. It excels in a professional environment, giving you all the tools you need to manage and move a steady pipeline of audio projects. Best for Royalty-Free Music and Sound FX Epidemic Sound has an expansive audio catalog (more than 35,000 royalty-free music tracks and 90,000 sound effects), but it has a few unique features that make it stand out from its competitors. For example, you can download a track’s stems (the individual vocal and music components) if you want to use a specific element. In addition, Epidemic Sound’s recommendation system lets you highlight specific song sections, so that the service unearths similar-sounding songs. Lastly, Epidemic Sound has Android and iOS apps if you want to create content on the go. A subscription gives you the right to use Epidemic Sound’s audio in podcasts,as well as one channel per social media platform (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube). Best for Stock Photography and Video An expansive collection of photographs, video footage, and sound effects make Motion Array a one-stop shop for all your video post-production needs. You can search for footage based on a theme or feel you need for a project, and filter your searches to find the perfect slideshow, intro, logo, or transition. You can filter by resolution (2K, 4K, and 5K+) and orientation (horizontal, vertical, or square). The service also has a sizeable stock image section packed with animal, fashion, travel, and urban photography. Motion Array isn’t just a massive resource of more than 500,000 assets; it’s an active community where you can make requests, too. Most of the service’s assets are designed for commercial use, with a small number of photography and video files meant exclusively for editorial purposes. Best for Hollywood-Quality Stock Video The company behind Artlist also has an excellent video footage resource. Artgrid’s video quality and production are top-notch offerings that deliver an impressive cinematic touch. Its video library includes drone, close-up, and slow-motion footage. Many Artgrid videos have multiple related camera shots, so you can easily grab a series of similar shots for your project. Higher-tier subscriptions open the door to high-quality RAW/LOG footage. Artgrid’s licenses carry across “all platforms” and support YouTube monetization. The Best Dating Apps The Best Meal-Kit Delivery Services The Best Music Streaming Services The Best Video Streaming Services Advertisement Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.
The Wood Brothers are preparing for another busy year in 2023. On Wednesday, the celebrated roots trio featuring Oliver Wood, Chris Wood, and Jano Rix announced 20 new tour dates and revealed the title of their latest studio album, due out in the spring. The newly announced stretch of tour dates will take The Wood Brothers through the Midwest, upstate New York, the Southeast, and Colorado. Highlights of the tour itinerary include performances at the Lexington Opera House in Lexington, KY (March 1st), Town Ballroom in Buffalo, NY (3/3), The Walker Theatre in Chattanooga, TN (3/11), and Mission Ballroom in Denver, CO (4/15). Ahead of the new crop of shows, the band will remain busy with previously announced shows throughout the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023 Related: Oliver Wood Talks Logic Vs. Inspiration, The Virtue Of Openness, & Why He’s Always Smilin’ [Interview] “As a young man touring felt like an indulgent adventure: seeing new places, eating local foods, enjoying the applause and joining the party,” said Oliver Wood in a statement. “As I get older, however, it’s become more of a mission to connect with people and make them happy. We’re so grateful that our songs have found a special place in people’s lives. For all of us, band and audience, to share in a heartfelt human experience together is much needed in these times.” In addition to announcing the new dates, The Wood Brothers have revealed that their next studio album will be titled Heart Is The Hero. The album, due in the spring of 2023, will mark the first from the trio since 2020’s Kingdom In My Mind. An announcement from the band noted that Heart Is The Hero‘s first single and an official release date will be revealed in February 2023. A ticket pre-sale for the new Wood Brothers 2023 tour dates begins Thursday, November 17th at 10:00 a.m. local venue time. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Friday, November 18th. Click below for a complete list of upcoming Wood Brothers tour dates. For ticketing details, head to the band’s website. The Wood Brothers 2022–2023 Tour Dates 11/30 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s ^ 12/1 – Huntsville, AL – Mars Music Hall ^ 12/2 – Pensacola, FL – Vinyl Music Hall ^ 12/3 – Lake Wales, FL – Orange Blossom Revue 12/4 – Key West, FL – Key West Theater ^ 12/6 – Ponte Vedra Beach, FL – Ponte Vedra Concert Hall ^ 12/7 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Culture Room ^ 12/8-11 – Puerto Morelos, MX – Strings & Sol 1/31 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern ^^ 2/1 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern ^^ 2/2 – Ventura, CA – Ventura Music Hall ^^ 2/3 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater ^^ 2/4 – Stateline, NV – Bally’s Lake Tahoe Casino Resort ^^ 2/6 – Santa Cruz, CA – Rio Theatre ^^ 2/8 – Bend, OR – Midtown Ballroom ^^ 2/9 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre ^^ 2/10 – Portland, OR – Revolution Hall ^^ 2/24 – North Little Rock, AR – Simmons Bank Arena * 3/1 – Lexington, KY – Lexington Opera House 3/2 – Detroit, MI – Majestic Theatre 3/3 – Buffalo, NY – Town Ballroom 3/4 – Ithaca, NY – State Theatre 3/6 – Westerly, RI – The United Theatre 3/8 – Harrisburg, PA – XL Live 3/9 – Rocky Mount, VA – Harvester Performance Center 3/10 – Winston-Salem, NC – The Ramkat 3/11 – Chattanooga, TN – Walker Theatre 4/11- Scottsdale, AZ – Virginia G. Piper Theater – Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts 4/12 – Flagstaff, AZ – Orpheum Theater 4/14 – Beaver Creek, CO – Vilar Performing Arts Center 4/15 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom 4/17- Salina, KS – The Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts 4/18 – Fayetteville, AK – JJ’s Live 4/20 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom 4/21- Tilmon, TX – Old Settler’s Music Festival 4/22 – Houston, TX – The Heights Theater 5/11 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed ** ^ w/ Rainbow Girls ^^ w/ Taylor Ashton * w/ The Avett Brothers & Turnpike Troubadours ** w/ Shovels & Rope
Get the best experience and stay connected to your community with our Spectrum News app. Learn More Continue in Browser Get hyperlocal forecasts, radar and weather alerts. Please enter a valid zipcode. Save Demand for studio and one-bedroom apartments across the five boroughs is outpacing that of apartments with two or more bedrooms, despite asking prices for the smaller apartments rising faster, data from a new report by StreetEasy shows. In October, studio and one-bedroom listings received 100% more rental inquiries — a proxy for renter demand — on average than January 2021, and received 1.5 times more inquiries than listings with two or more bedrooms, the real estate company’s analysis shows. Asking rent for studio and one bedrooms is up over 18% compared year over year to an average of just over $3,000, data from StreetEasy shows. By comparison, rents for apartments with two or more bedrooms units rose 17% year-over-year to $3,668. The report notes that the trend is somewhat unexpected: Demand for listings with two or more bedrooms has cooled more quickly since the summer, though is still up 62% from January 2021. Experts say many are willing to forego savings usually accompanied with bunking up with extra roommates in order to prioritize health, privacy, and having their own workspace as work-from-home trends continue, according to the report. “One of the main issues for roommates in today’s market is finding enough personal space which allows them to work comfortably from home,” says James Finelli, an NYC real estate agent with Compass and StreetEasy Expert. “As many renters are still working or studying remotely in a larger capacity than prior to COVID, it has become a necessity to fit a desk and have more privacy in their bedroom. And as most shared apartments can be very space prohibitive, many renters have opted to find their own studio or one bedroom that does not pose the same challenges.” Low inventory of studio and one-bedroom apartments may also be adding more pressure on rents. According to the StreetEasy market report, renters looking for studio and one-bedroom listings currently have less than half as many listings to choose from compared to January 2021 — and that may not change any time soon. Inventory of studio apartments dropped by 61% since January of 2021, and 56% in the same time period for one-bedroom apartments, the report says. “The continued strong rent growth among studio and one-bedroom homes suggests that these segments of the rental market will take longer to cool down, despite less overall affordability,” StreetEasy economist Kenny Lee says. Of course, in New York City, it’s a lot cheaper to live with a roommate. People choosing to pair up in a two bedroom are typically saving $15,000 a year, according to StreetEasy’s report.
Prospa is an English electronic music duo taking the world by storm with their ’80s-infused disco anthems. The pair have received continued support from the likes of BBC Radio 1, 1Xtra, Mixmag, DJ Mag, Annie Mac, and others and performed at events such as Parklife, Field Day, Lovebox, Snowbombing, and more. During IMS, Prospa joined Point Blank for an exclusive production masterclass showcasing many of their tracks and the techniques behind them. The International Music Summit in Ibiza (IMS Ibiza) is one of the most significant events in the global dance music calendar. Set in the spiritual epicenter of clubland, leading figures and inspirational artists fly in from around the world to give lectures and host panels on the most important industry events. It’s a fantastic way to keep up with the latest developments and make sure that, whatever your involvement in music, you stay at the cutting edge of what’s going on. When you register with Point Blank, you access an array of free sounds, plugins, online course samples and much more! Register below and visit our Free Stuff page to get your hands on a range of exclusive music-making tools and tutorials from the Point Blank team. Fill your boots!
Everyone needs a hobby, right? And chances are you know at least one person on your holiday shopping list who fancies themselves a musician. Whether they’re a casual guitarist, a former piano prodigy or a bedroom producer of electronic music we’ve got some recommendations. Some of these even make a great gift for music lovers who haven’t quite made the jump yet. Perhaps getting a synthesizer tinker toy will inspire your loved one to go from a consumer to a maker. If you know someone who believes there’s music all around, if you can just train yourself to listen for it, I have the perfect gift for them. The is sort of like a microphone. But not one that you sing into. Instead, it picks up electromagnetic interference and radiation from across the entire spectrum from Hertz to Gigahertz. Soma likes to refer to it as an anti-radio since it doesn’t tune into one frequency, it tunes into all the frequencies. With the Ether your sound-loving giftee can eavesdrop on neon signs and sample the silent whine of an AC adapter. It’s literally a gateway to an invisible world of electromagnetic waves. And the particularly adventurous can even wield it as a live instrument. Buy Ether at Soma – $160 Modular synthesis has been enjoying a revival over the past few years. But getting into Eurorack can be intimidating and very expensive. So a number of companies have been working to lower the barrier to entry. If there’s someone on your list that has been itching to dip their toes in, the West Pest and East Beast from Cre8audio are an excellent starting point. They’re self-contained semi-modular synths, so they don’t need any extra gear to start experimenting. But they’re Eurorack compatible, and can be removed from their cases and mounted in a larger system if they wind up going deeper down that rabbit hole. We like the West Pest in particular because, in addition to being perhaps the most affordable Eurorack compatible semi-modular synth out there, it explores the more experimental world of west coast synthesis. As the music gear experts at Reverb note “the combination of Wavefolding with the Dynamics Controller (a take on the low-pass gate) gives the synth its bold, unique and adventurous sound.” Buy West Pest at Amazon – $250 Every music lover and music maker needs a good pair of headphones. There are so many amazing sets out there to choose from, but I remain a dedicated fan of Sony’s affordable workhorse the MDR-7506. They’ve been a studio mainstay for decades for good reason. They’re natural sounding, light and comfortable enough to wear for hours, and reasonably priced. The MDR-7506s are equally at home monitoring a podcast, mixing a club banger or just listening to some vinyl. In short, they’re a great practical gift even if you’re operating under a tight budget. Buy Sony MDR-7506 at Amazon – $100 The original Orba is a phenomenal fidget toy and an interesting MIDI controller. The Orba 2 is both those things and a sampler. Adding sampling to this little musical grapefruit greatly expands its flexibility. If you know someone who’s constantly tapping out rhythms or humming little melodies to themselves, they’ll probably love an Orba. Buy Orba 2 at Artiphon – $150 Cheap and portable synths are a dime a dozen these days. Korg really kicked off something of revolution with its Volca line. But one thing we’d yet to see until Roland launched its Aira Compact line, was a portable and affordable box dedicated to vocal effects. The E-4 Voice Tweaker combines pitch correction, a harmonizer, a vocoder, plus pitch and formant shifting, and a looper. There’s also delay, reverb and chorus effects, not to mention Roland’s signature Scatter, which it turns out is much better on vocals than drums. If there’s anyone on your list who’s been trying to turn themselves into the next Bon Iver or late ‘70s Herbie Hancock, this will at least get them part of the way there. Buy E-4 Voice Tweaker at Amazon – $200 Where to begin with the Habit? It’s a delay pedal – which almost every musician can use. But it’s so much more. It’s a looper, sort of. Chase Bliss calls it a musical sketchpad, and that can be true too. It does all of those things, plus it has a selection of unique modifiers that can chop up sounds in rhythmic ways, mimic the warble of a tape machine, or spit out what can only be described as unicorn sparkles. In short, there’s almost nothing else like it out there. If there’s a guitarist or a synth player on your list with a taste for the esoteric (and you don’t mind splurging), they’ll probably love the strange collection of sounds that Habit puts at their feet. Buy Chase Bliss Habit at Reverb – $399 The 1010Music Nanoboxes are probably the smallest full-featured hardware synths out there. But the Lemon Drop also has the distinction of being one of the only dedicated granular synths on the market. If your giftee is into ambient music or oddball textures they will almost certainly love the Lemon Drop. It has a robust granular sound engine (meaning it chops up sound files into tiny bits and spits them back out) with up to 16 granulators per voice and four voice polyphony. Plus it doubles as an effects processor for live audio with an expressive X/Y pad mode for changing parameters. And it can easily fit in a jacket pocket. Buy Lemon Drop at 1010 Music – $399 The Mavis is the cheapest way to give someone the gift of a real-deal Moog synthesizer. It’s a $350, pseudo-DIY, semi-modular, monophonic synth and, in a rarity for the company, it’s fully Eurorack compatible. It’s capable of getting that classic Moog sound with thick square and saw waves shaped by resonant lowpass filter. Its 24-point patchbay is an impressive collection of utility and sound-shaping tools that is not only great for learning the art of synthesis but also expanding the potential of a larger modular setup. Lastly, the Mavis is the first time Moog has dipped its toes into the rival world of West Coast synthesis by including a wavefolder. It’s a great gift whether it’s someone’s first synth of fiftieth. Buy Moog Mavis at Amazon – $349 Part of the fun of holiday shopping is finding fun weird things that you know someone would appreciate, but are so impractical they’d never buy it themselves. That’s basically the Rainger FX Minibar in a nutshell. It’s a distortion pedal, and also an endless supply of different distortion pedals. See, on its own it doesn’t do anything. The “Liquid Analyzer” part of the name comes from the fact that there’s a tiny container on top that you need to fill to complete the circuit. And, the sound will change based on what you put in there. Water will have an obviously different effect than say, beer, or soda, or – if you’re metal enough – blood. The folks at Reverb love it because “the Minibar is easy to incorporate into musicians’ small pedalboards… meaning folks can experiment without too much of a space commitment.” Buy Rainger FX Minibar at Reverb – $149 I firmly believe that every guitarist should have an amp sim in their arsenal. They’re handy for quietly practicing late at night, recording direct to a DAW, or building a lightweight live rig that connects to a venue’s PA. Universal Audio’s are among the best amp sims I’ve ever used. They’re not cheap at $400, but if there’s a person on your list you want to splurge on, these are a worthy consideration. While all three of the models are excellent, and my personal favorite seems to change from week to week, it’s probably the that has spent the most time on my board. The Ruby is an emulation of the classic Vox AC30 which has been used by everyone from the Beatles, to U2, to REM, to Queen. Reverb’s experts love that it “delivers choirboy cleans, complex overdrive, and classic vibrato to mimic a classic British tube amp.” Plus you can tweak the Ruby’s sound by turning on popular mods or switching in different speaker emulations. Buy Ruby at Reverb – $399 The Century Collection is another splurge, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving. For $400 your giftee will receive every sample pack, virtual instrument and effect plugin that Puremagnetik makes for the next 100 years. On day one they’ll get access to around 100 sample packs covering everything from vintage synth pads, to circuit bent toys, to early digital drum machines. But perhaps even more interesting are the 39 VST plugins that range from lo-fi keys to absolutely out of this world effects. The creative delays and strange micro loopers are highlights and perfect for the person who’s into more ambient and experimental music. Then there’s , an “advanced sound design workstation” that’s updated on a monthly basis with new features and effects. Even if someone manages to outlive the length of their Century Collection membership, they’ll probably never be able to fully explore it all. Buy Century Collection at Puremagnetik – $399 Anyone who practices some sort of creative art – be it music, painting or writing – hits a block at some point. There’s tons of advice out there on how to overcome these hurdles, but one of the most famous is easily the Oblique Strategies deck. Developed by Peter Schmidt and Brian Eno in 1975, each card contains an action or a way of thinking designed to shake up your approach to a thorny creative problem. “Use an unacceptable colour,” “Make a sudden, destructive unpredictable action; incorporate” and “Emphasize the flaws,” are the sorts of vague instructions you can expect. And how someone interprets the prompts will produce different results for each person. If you’re shopping for anyone with a creative streak, they’ll find a use for this deck. Buy Oblique Strategies at Eno Shop – $60 If you’re gift shopping for a music producer I can almost guarantee you they’re fans of J Dilla. He was a singular force in hip-hop, and has even had his MPC displayed at the Smithsonian. Dilla Time by Dan Charnas chronicles not just the life of Dilla (James DeWitt Yancey), but his legacy and the history of rhythm in America. In addition, there are graphics that help illustrate the concepts behind Dilla’s unique beats and what made him so special. It’s part biography, part history lesson and part practical music production guide. Buy Dilla Time at Amazon – $22 If there’s an aspiring songwriter on your list, consider picking them up a copy of How to Write One Song. Written by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, this tome breaks down the process from beginning to end and encourages readers to start small; don’t try to become a “songwriter” just try to write a song. But this isn’t a rote how-to book, that sort of thing is only so helpful when it comes to mastering an artistic craft. It’s about building creativity into your everyday life. And just like any other skill, being creative requires practice. Buy How to Write One Song at Amazon – $19 A turntable is almost a necessity for any music lover or music maker. For one, it’s a way to listen to the artists they love. Whether that’s for pure enjoyment or for inspiration. And while there are plenty who think that vinyl just “sounds better,” I think the real reason it beats out streaming from Spotify: It’s tangible. There’s nothing quite like physically holding a piece of music, placing the needle in a groove and looking at the large cover art, or reading the liner notes. It connects a person to the art more and forces them to be a more active participant in its consumption. Now, the AT-LP120XUSB is not the highest-end turntable in the world. And it might not even be the best bang for your gift-giving dollar. But it is excellent sounding and reasonably priced. And the USB port makes it easy for any aspiring music producers to sample straight to their DAW. Maybe, just maybe, it will inspire a life-long love of crate digging. Buy AT-LP120XUSB turntable at Amazon – $349 A US federal court has sentenced a Chinese national to 20 years in prison after he was convicted last year of plotting to steal trade secrets from several US aviation and aerospace companies.Xu Yanjun, the first Chinese spy extradited to the United States for trial, was convicted in November 2021 by a federal jury on counts of conspiring and attempting to commit economic espionage and trade secret theft. The white man accused of killing 10 black people in a racially motivated shooting spree at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket intends to plead guilty to murder and other charges next week, a lawyer for families of some of the victims says.Peyton Gendron plans to accept responsibility for all 25 counts contained in a state criminal indictment at a hearing on Monday in Erie County Court in Buffalo, according to Terrence Connors, a lawyer for relatives of seven of the dead and two surviving victims. Chilling footage has captured the last moments of two of the university students found stabbed to death in a home on Sunday.The haunting video from a Twitch livestream shows Madison Mogen, 21, and Kaylee Goncalves, 21, chatting as they grab a late night snack from a food truck just hours before they were murdered alongside Ethan Chapin, 20, and Xana Kernodle, 20. Leaders gathering for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Thailand should "rise above differences", the host says, after a series of summits in the region were dominated by geopolitical tension over the war in Ukraine.Thailand's Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai said the meeting of the 21-member bloc, which starts on Friday, "takes place at a pivotal juncture" with the world facing multiple risks. Travel plans could be thrown into chaos this Christmas with aviation firefighters threatening to walk off the job. Find out more. The Queensland man has warned locals and tourists to stay 'vigilant' before deciding to take a dip. Find out what happened. A free trade deal between the UK and Australia has taken a leap forward with a parliamentary committee giving it the green light.The parliament's treaties committee released a report on Thursday recommending that "binding treaty action be taken". The Dutch government says it has summoned the Russian ambassador in the Netherlands over what it called the country's "utterly despicable" response to the verdict in the trial over the 2014 downing of Flight MH17.Russia said on Thursday the Dutch court's decision to convict two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader for shooting down the Malaysian airliner "neglected impartiality". Victoria has recorded three new confirmed cases of measles in returned overseas travellers.The cases are all within one family, with two people infectious during a return flight from Singapore to Melbourne. South Australia has successfully managed an oversupply of electricity after being disconnected from the national energy grid, with the state government describing fears of possible blackouts as a bit of "hysteria".With SA unable to export excess solar and wind power across the border to Victoria, generation from some commercial, industrial and residential solar systems was curtailed on Thursday to minimise the risk of disturbances across the network. Graphic media coverage of domestic violence has been linked to copycat behaviour and used as a chilling threat against terrified partners, research has found.Explicit reports on the deaths of Hannah Clarke and her three children in Brisbane and Kelly Wilkinson on the Gold Coast prompted a surge in cases of similar violence, according to the University of Queensland study. Ukraine may get the access it has demanded to the site in the border area of southeastern Poland where a missile killed two people on Tuesday, Polish officials say.Warsaw and its Western allies say evidence from the scene points to the explosion being caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile that went astray in pursuit of a Russian missile. A man with a rare degenerative condition that resulted in half his brain being surgically removed was told by Australia's disability agency his funding had been slashed because "patients get better".Ruth Den Brinker, the mother and full-time carer of a 44-year-old man with disabilities, presented her submission to a Senate committee examining the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) on Thursday. The federal government will host a National Early Years Summit in February as it builds its "whole-of-government approach" for Australia's children.The government's early years strategy, to be unveiled on Friday, will co-ordinate programs and funding directed at children and ensure accountability isn't lost through efforts being scattered across various departments. The X-rated act was captured by his slightly amused passenger. Find out what happened. The Canadian prime minister was 'threatened' by the Chinese leader in a tense moment caught on camera at the G20 leaders' summit. Watch the video here. Sydney Metro passengers could suffocate and die if a fire breaks out in a tunnel because exits would be too far to reach, NSW Labor says.The Australian standard ensures maximum cross-passage spacing of 240 metres but Sydney Metro insists its projects will employ the 500m European standard. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern expects to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the meeting of the Asia-Pacific trade group APEC, a New Zealand government spokesperson says.The meeting on Friday evening is "currently confirmed", the spokesperson said in a message. It could soon be easier for survivors of sexual assault to give evidence in the event of a retrial in Canberra, with the ACT government looking at legal changes.ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury is considering allowing recorded evidence from a first trial to be used in a subsequent trial in a bid to stop someone being required to give in-person evidence a second time. John RaouxNASA has just launched its first rocket in the Artemis program, which will, among other things, take scientific experiments to produce metal on the Moon. In recent years, a number of businesses and organisations have ramped up efforts to establish technologies on the Moon. But doing work in space is expensive. Sending just one kilogram of material to the Moon can cost US$1.2 million (A$1.89 million). What if we could save money by using the resources that are already there? This proces
Boris FX Sapphire 2023 delivers fast, easy-to-use, high-production value to streaming, broadcast, and commercial projects. The updated Emmy Award-winning plugin suite is now available with host support for Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Autodesk Flame, Blackmagic Resolve, Foundry Nuke, and VEGAS Pro. “Sapphire 2023 builds upon the popular Stylize category, which includes in-demand effects such as glitches, pixel sort, analog TV looks, and more,” says Boris Yamnitsky, president and founder of Boris FX. “The new S_PrismLens effect lends a heavenly, trippy style to music videos, travelogues, and social media projects, while S_UltraGrain is an invisible workhorse that helps compositors accurately match film stocks and modern camera noise to produce seamless results between different footage formats and CG elements.” What’s New Pricing Sapphire is available as a collection of plugins with annual/monthly subscriptions, upgrade & support plans, and permanent licenses. Multi-Host Option (Adobe, Avid, OFX) Individual Host Options Adobe/OFX Avid Customers on current subscription or upgrade & support plans receive Sapphire 2023 as a free update. Learn more about Sapphire. Download the Sapphire 2023 branding toolkit. Produced by Boris FX Produced by Boris FX Produced by Boris FX Continuum 2023 meets the fast-paced project demands of video editors, VFX artists, and content creators. Boris FX’s original flagship… The award-winning team at Boris FX delivers Hollywood-ready effects to Final Cut Pro users with three new low-cost Continuum FCP Units. The … The world’s top film and visual effects studios rely on Boris FX Silhouette to create stunning imagery, behind-the-scenes matte… Boris FX Continuum FCP 2022 gives content creators a powerful new editing and visual effects workflow inside Final Cut Pro… Boris FX, the storied post-production developer, brings a powerful creative photo editing and manipulation plugin to Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom workflows. … The Trusted Source For News, Information, Industry Trends, New ScreenWork, and The People Behind the Work in Film, TV, Commercial, Entertainment Production & Post Since 1960.
Jacqueline Zhuang made her debut as a TikTok live-shopping host from a studio in Guangzhou, promoting the sequined red dress she was wearing, in front of a rack of glittery clothes. “If you wear it to your bestie’s wedding, I’m sure the men stare at you, and the girls envy you,” Zhuang declared passionately in English. Encouraging voices cheered her on from off camera. “For the friends who pick it, I will have an extra surprise for you,” she added. Only a week earlier, 30-year-old Zhuang had quit her decade-long career as a newspaper journalist and television anchor for what she believes is a career of the future — hosting live streams on TikTok to sell things to shoppers in the West. To set herself up for success, Zhuang joined a bootcamp, a two-day crash course in sales tactics and English-language internet slang to entice Western shoppers. Promoters of the course promised to show Zhuang and the other attendees — factory owners, teachers and a former flight attendant — everything they needed to know to sell Chinese products to English-speaking consumers on the world’s most popular social media platform. In just a few years, buying products at a discount during a livestream has become one of the most popular ways to shop in China. On platforms like Taobao Live and TikTok’s sister app Douyin, livestream hosts sell everything, from drain cleaner to lipstick, with the chatty intimacy of the home shopping network, drawing millions of viewers to their fleeting discounts. As livestreaming has ballooned into a $400 billion industry in China, its success has convinced Chinese entrepreneurs — and TikTok itself — that it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world begins to shop this way. Chinese suppliers, livestreamers, and talent agents have become the earliest proponents of TikTok live shopping for Western audiences, hoping sales tactics honed on Douyin and affordable goods will help them get consumers around the world hooked on China’s favorite way to shop online. “There’s no offline store that can sell millions of a single product through a single storefront in one day,” Bian Shiqi, who attended the bootcamp in Guangzhou, told Rest of World. After working in international trade for a few years, the 35-year-old investor said she became convinced that TikTok could be the future of cross border e-commerce while watching a prolific seller on Douyin. Despite its global popularity, TikTok has yet to transform into a shopping destination. TikTok has tested a function called TikTok Shop — where shoppers can buy directly in the app — in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and the U.K., but in most other places, shoppers have to undertake an additional step and navigate to the streamer’s website to actually purchase something they saw on TikTok. Although shoppers aren’t tuning into TikTok livestreams by the millions the way they are on Douyin, livestreamers and talent agents believe live shopping can become as popular as TikTok itself. “In the U.S., it’s going to work first,” Cecilia Velazquez Traut, who works with influencers in Latin America, told Rest of World. “Because people [there] consume a lot, they buy and buy — they just need someone to advise about buying.” The bootcamp Zhuang and Bian, along with six other students, had signed up for was led by Yan Guanghua, a former English teacher from Chongqing. The eight attendees were gathered inside a conference room within a building in a sprawling industrial zone on the outskirts of Guangzhou. Yan, who says she makes up to $11,000 from a single livestream session (crystals are a hit with shoppers in the West) promises to share her secrets with attendees during a 20-hour workshop packed into two days. She charges students $970 for the class, walking them through the finer points of cultivating a TikTok account that could sell millions of dollars in clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, or other products to viewers from Los Angeles to London. Yan wanted to follow in the footsteps of China’s top e-commerce influencers — “livestreaming queen” Viya and “lipstick king” Austin Li — but felt Douyin’s saturated market was too competitive. To capitalize on her English-speaking skills, she tried TikTok instead, initially hawking yoga clothes, headphone cases, and lighters for an export company in Shenzhen. These days she goes live for three to four hours a day, selling handbags and beauty products to shoppers mainly in the U.S. When Rest of World visited her boot camp in September, she was planning an elaborate Halloween-themed backdrop to catch Western viewers’ attention as they scrolled through TikTok. Analysts have predicted for years that Chinese-style e-commerce would take the West by storm, only for efforts by Pinduoduo and Alibaba to fall flat. But Yan believes that she and other livestream hosts have a chance to make it stick on TikTok, thanks to their grasp of the sales tactics that got Chinese shoppers hooked on Douyin and powered hundreds of billions of dollars of livestream sales in China. “The customer needs to feel a sense of resonance,” said Yan. She said hosts must cultivate an “infectious personality” by “keeping up a rapid rhythm of an item’s selling points.” Yan developed her playbook by studying China’s star livestreamers and learned how they created imaginative scenarios to entice consumers. “‘This coat is so warm, it’s like your boyfriend is hugging you’ — I sold so many coats with this line,” Yan told Rest of World. “Some people commented they didn’t have boyfriends, but I said, it’s better to have no boyfriend — just wear the coat and experience the feeling of having a boyfriend.” According to Yan, it doesn’t matter how good a host’s English is or how pretty they are — what matters is mastering consumer psychology. “It’s not about emphasizing what’s good about the product but why you need it, in which scenarios you need it, and what kind of compliments you will receive after you buy it,” said Yan. For Bian, the thing that makes livestream e-commerce different from shopping on a platform like Taobao or Amazon is that it’s also entertainment. “Taobao is ‘search e-commerce,’ where you search for what you need to buy,” she said. “But Douyin is ‘interest e-commerce,’ where, while you’re having fun, you discover this thing that you need.” $3 billion The amount of goods sold on Douyin in the first half of 2022 Despite her dedication, what Yan makes from TikTok pales in comparison to what Chinese hosts earn on Douyin. With 600 million daily active users, goods worth more than $3 billion were reportedly sold on Douyin in the first half of 2022. On TikTok, with more than 1 billion monthly active users, more than $1 billion of products were sold in the first half of 2022, according to Chinese publication Late Post. A large chunk of the sales came from Indonesia, where, in 2021, TikTok rolled out its earliest pilot of TikTok Shop. The company is planning to roll out livestream shopping in North America ahead of the holiday season, under a partnership with TalkShopLive. It also plans to introduce TikTok Shop in Brazil next year. At the livestream sales boot camp, for the final session, each trainee had to write a script for the party dress they were asked to wear. At about 8:30 p.m., they took turns appearing in one of Yan’s live accounts, promoting the dresses to an imaginary audience. Zhuang made a pitch for the red sequin dress and offered a pair of earrings as gifts — giving freebies is one strategy Yan taught in her class. “Five, four, three, two, one,” she practiced counting down in English, just like livestreamers in China do to encourage millions to place their orders at the same time. In the future, Zhuang said, she plans to use the skills she learned to sell the agarwood incense produced by her family’s factory. All of her attendees are banking on TikTok for their success, Yan said, and these Chinese pioneers would hopefully make TikTok profitable enough for foreign businesses to join in a few years. “If the platform succeeds, we will succeed over the next two or three years,” she said. “If it doesn’t take off in two or three years, we will have nothing left.”
