“Not ideal.” “Completely unacceptable.” “Shameless.” “Predatory.” “Some bullshit.” “Total bullshit.” This is how musicians, producers, and others in the industry are describing the relentless spread of AI clones. Of course, AI fakes aren’t new, but as the scammers have gotten more brazen, artists are responding with increasing furor. We got a taste back in 2023 […]
Amazon has launched a new AI feature in the Kindle app that gives spoiler-free answers to questions about the book you’re reading and confirmed that authors can’t opt out from the feature. The company calls Ask this Book an “expert reading assistant” in its announcement, and says that it’s capable of answering questions about “plot […]
My introduction to Sudan Archives was the song “Nont for Sale” from her first EP Sink in 2018. I’ve been a die-hard fan ever since. With each album, she finds new ways to sculpt the sound of her violin, contorting it in defiance of expectations. Athena found her in conversation with it, leaving its timbre […]
Absynth is something of a cult classic in the soft synth world. It was originally released in 2000, and quickly found an audience among the growing cadre of people making music on computers. But its last major update, Absynth 5, was released in 2009, and Native Instruments officially discontinued the instrument in 2022, citing a […]
Native Instruments and Ableton have had incredible success with their custom MIDI controllers that integrate with their DAWs (digital audio workstations), Maschine and Live, respectively. Native Instruments’ Maschine (yes, it’s the name of the hardware and the software) and Ableton’s Push are pretty much the gold standard for integration between music-making software and hardware. Serato […]
Sektori is an old-school twin-stick shooter. Created by a former developer at Returnal studio Housemarque, it puts you in the role of a little ship that blasts through swarms of enemies, and you have to weave through them to get upgrades to help you survive. Often, my runs end after less than a couple minutes, […]
The long take, the unbroken tracking shot, “the oner” – whatever you want to call it, filmmakers agree that it’s one of the most difficult technical achievements in cinema. It’s a feat of creativity, but also great coordination and choreography when a single, tiny mistake can ruin a shot. Some famous examples: the casino scene […]
Hollywood director Carl Erik Rinsch was convicted of scamming $11 million from Netflix to spend on luxury items, including five Rolls-Royces and a Ferrari, as reported earlier by Deadline. A New York jury found Rinsch guilty of several charges on Thursday, including fraud and money laundering. Rinsch, who’s known for directing 47 Ronin, was charged […]
When Bryan Fuller set out to make his first feature film, his goal was to make the kind of family-friendly scares that he loved as a kid. Think Gremlins or Ghostbusters. The creator of Hannibal and Pushing Daisies ended up crafting a story called Dust Bunny, about a young girl named Aurora who hires a […]
HBO Max is launching curated channels, a new feature that will allow you to quickly jump into a continuous feed of a popular series or tune into a specific genre. When you select a channel on HBO Max, the streaming service will start you at the beginning of whatever’s playing, while giving you the ability […]