Posts with «media» label

Twitter is testing a way to create audio clips in Spaces

Some Twitter Spaces hosts are now able to create clips from recorded discussions as part of a test. A small number of hosts on iOS have access to the feature for now, though some Android and web users will be able to try it in the near future.

ever wish you could capture a moment from a Space? great because we’re testing clipping!

certain Hosts on iOS can now clip 30 seconds of audio from recorded Spaces to share, everyone on iOS can see & listen to clips on the Timeline—coming to Android and web real soon pic.twitter.com/DZcV1dzGaz

— Spaces (@TwitterSpaces) March 18, 2022

Hosts will be able to clip up to 30 seconds of audio. They can, of course, tweet out that snippet. All iOS users can check out the clips.

All hosts have been able to record their Spaces since January. Being able to tweet small snippets of their discussions could let them give other Twitter users some insight into what their Spaces are all about, and perhaps expand their audiences.

Clubhouse has offered its own clipping feature since September. Users of that platform have been able to clip shareable 30-second chunks of audio from public rooms.

Twitter might be missing a trick by only allowing hosts to clip audio from Spaces. All Twitch and YouTube users can clip highlights, meaning that viewers can help draw attention to a creator with snippets of their videos. However, given that Twitter's only testing its clipping tool for now, it could open up the feature to listeners in the future.

'Gran Turismo 7' is back online following botched update

Don't worry about making progress in Gran Turismo 7 this weekend — after more than a day, the lengthy maintenance downtime is over. The racing sim's vital online component is back online after Polyphony Digital resolved issues with the flawed 1.07 update by releasing 1.08 to gamers. As studio chief Kazunori Yamauchi explained, the earlier patch had a "rare" and previously undetected problem that prevented the game from starting properly for some PS4 and PS5 owners. The company decided to halt the 1.07 release to protect players' save data, Yamauchi said.

The 1.08 update also tackles complaints about Gran Turismo 7 microtransactions by adjusting event rewards. While Yamauchi wants in-game car prices to bear some correlation to their real-world counterparts, he also wants players to enjoy the title without microtransactions or grinding some events "over and over again." There will also be more content, events and features to "constructively resolve" gripes about real-money purchases, the executive said, although details aren't yet available.

The return will likely be appreciated by fans who've wanted to dive into Gran Turismo 7's main GT mode, which needs an internet connection whether or not you're playing with others. However, it also comes too late to avoid some damage to the game's reputation. Users have been review-bombing the game throughout the downtime, and it now sits at 3.3 on Metacritic. Like it or not, Polyphony and Sony may have to rebuild the trust of enthusiasts burned by the outage.

Twitter may soon let you add pronouns to your profile

When Twitter reopened its form for verification requests last year, it also teased upcoming changes to its website. Those changes include a space for pronouns in the profile section, along with your other information. It's been almost a year since we first heard about the project, but now reverse engineer Alessandro Paluzzi has found proof that the company is indeed developing the feature and may have started testing it. Paluzzi has discovered a yet-to-be rolled out section when you edit your profile that lets you add whatever pronoun you want to use.

You can add your pronouns to your #Twitter profile in the Edit Profile section 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/aCIflqgXy1

— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) March 18, 2022

It's high time for Twitter to give its users the ability to do so. The social network is late to the party, after all: Facebook users have been able to choose their pronouns for years, though their options are limited to three. Instagram started allowing people to display up to four pronouns next to their name in their profile last year. LinkedIn also introduced a dedicated space for pronouns in profiles in 2021. And, after work-from-home arrangements took off due to the pandemic, Zoom and Slack followed suit. The video conferencing apps gives users the option to show their pronouns next to their names in meetings, while the business messaging platform made the space for pronouns a default feature last year. Previously, companies have had to add the option as a customized field for their workers.

That said, Twitter has yet to announce a launch date for the pronoun field.

'The Quarry' is a teen horror game from the creators of 'Until Dawn'

The producers of Until Dawn are returning to their roots after years of Dark Pictures Anthology games. Supermassive Games and 2K have unveiledThe Quarry, a teen horror title that has you once again deciding the fates of frightened youth. You control nine camp counselors as a night of celebrating the end of summer camp quickly goes sideways — the trailer below hints at a Most Dangerous Game tale where someone appears to be hunting the counselors for sport.

Supermassive is leaning on star power as much as it is familiar narrative-driven game mechanics. The Quarry stars David Arquette (appropriately from Scream), Ariel Winter (Modern Family) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens), not to mention actors from productions like A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dollface and Jurassic World. And yes, any character can die. As with Until Dawn and similar games, you'll have to work hard if you want as many people as possible to survive.

Multiplayer is important, as well. You can have "couch co-op" where people control individual counselors, but you can also have as many as seven people voting on your decisions. While it won't be quite as pressure-filled as having a Twitch audience decide, it will help you share the thrill ride with friends. And don't worry if it's too nerve-wracking. On top of adjustable difficulty levels, there's a "Movie Mode" that removes the gameplay entirely and even lets you choose how the story plays out.

The Quarry arrives June 10th for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Windows PCs. The gameplay and premise will be more than a little familiar (how many horror movies have summer camps?), but that may be part of the appeal. It's giving you a chance to "fix" well-worn genre tropes, if just by keeping everyone alive.

Netflix’s live-action ‘Resident Evil’ series premieres July 14th

Fans of Resident Evil and the zombie apocalypse genre writ large can look forward to Netflix’s live-action reboot this summer. The streamer announced that the series — which takes place 14 years after a virus causes the apocalypse — will premiere on July 14th. The new show is not to be confused with Resident Evil:Infinite Darkness, an anime adaptation of the survival horror video game that debuted on the platform last summer. 

The live-action series will star Lance Reddick (The Wire, Lost) as Albert Wesker, who fans will remember as the police captain who turns out to be a villain set to destroy humanity. Oh, and he’s a family man! Ella Balinska (Charlie’s Angels) has also been cast in the series, as well as Tamara Smart (The Worst Witch, Artemis Fowl). Also starring in the show is Siena Agudong (No Good Nick), Adeline Rudolph (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Riverdale) and Paola Nuñez (Bad Boys for Life).

evil has evolved. RESIDENT EVIL is coming to Netflix July 14. pic.twitter.com/6uvDsSdRw2

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) March 17, 2022

We still don’t know many details about the plot, but here’s what Deadline has gathered so far. The show takes place in 2036, nearly 14 years after a virus has turned most of the world into blood-sucking zombies. Jade Wesker, the show’s protagonist, has yet to find out her dad is an evil genius who works for the Umbrella Corporation, the Big Pharma company from the video game that develops bioweapons for militaries around the world. 

The show is set in New Racoon City, the new city built over Raccoon City, which was nuked due to a T-virus outbreak. T-virus (also known as Tyrant Virus) is the highly infectious virus that turns humans into blood-thirsty zombies and is featured in promo stills for the live-action series. The show follows the Wesker daughter as she pieces together the awful truth behind what her father actually does for a living. We’ll likely find out even more about what’s in store for New Racoon City once Netflix releases a teaser trailer.

Amazon completes its $8.45 billion takeover of MGM

The James Bond, Rocky and RoboCop movies now all belong to Amazon. The company has closed its $8.45 billion takeover of storied movie and TV studio MGM.

European Union antitrust regulators unconditionally approved the deal this week. They determined there wasn't a great deal of overlap between the two companies, and that "MGM's content cannot be considered as must-have" compared with other studios. 

Amazon had reportedly given the Federal Trade Commission, which was said to have been reviewing the buyout, a deadline of mid-March to challenge or approve the acquisition. If the agency didn't file a legal challenge by then, Amazon would have been free to move forward with the purchase.

MGM "will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers," Amazon said in a press release. The studio has more than 4,000 films and 17,000 episodes of TV to its name, along with 180 Oscars and 100 Emmy Awards. MGM movies include classics such as Thelma & Louise, The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, The Magnificent Seven and Raging Bull.

Amazon will still release James Bond movies in theaters instead of hanging onto them as Prime Video exclusives (though it wouldn't be surprising to see Bond reading by the pool with a Kindle in his next outing). It's likely that the vast majority of MGM movies and TV shows will wind up on Prime Video following theatrical runs and after agreements with other streaming platforms expire.

'Discovery' fully clicks into the philosophy of Star Trek with its fourth season finale

The following contains minor spoilers for season four, episode 14 of 'Star Trek: Discovery.'

Season four has been an interesting one for Star Trek: Discovery. The show finally embraced a more episodic format, only to slide back into an ongoing storyline in the back half of the season. But today’s finale once again promises a return to the things that make Star Trek, well, Star Trek. And, while Discovery also made those promises at the end of last season, there’s more reason to believe that this time the changes will stick.

It starts with the fact that while the major threat this season began as a spatial anomaly (known as the Dark Matter Anomaly, or “DMA”), it was discovered to be merely a harvesting tool used by a previously unknown species, one the Federation calls the 10C. It may have seemed harmless to the 10C in its role as farmers, but the Federation found itself in the role of a rabbit in front of a plow. The DMA destroyed Kwejian; both Ni’Var (née Vulcan) and Earth were next.

CBS

In previous seasons this would have shifted Starfleet into action hero mode, and some characters did advocate for a more assertive and violent approach. But instead of merely jumping into the fray we got lots of… arguing. This may not sound exciting, but it’s always been one of the things Star Trek does best: people discussing conflicting ideas. Some advocated for a peaceful solution and that was ultimately the course decided upon, since it was closest to the Federation ethos of peace and exploration. In other series this might seem like a terrible idea, but Trek is supposed to be, in theory, a utopia. This kind of thinking is one of the cornerstones of the franchise.

There are those who disagree, spearheaded by Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka. But while their actions turn them into antagonists, they don’t become villains. We’ve seen this in previous shows like The Next Generation and Voyager, where terrorists like the Maquis were treated with empathy. In Discovery it’s even more at the forefront given Book’s status as a main character, but also the series’ ethos as the Star Trek show that’s all about feelings. While the show sometimes takes flak for all the crying, here the emotional elements feel well balanced, with everyone’s motives clearly articulated both to each other and to the audience. It’s easy to understand each character even if you disagree.

And understanding is the lynchpin of the plot here; the 10C are not carbon-based lifeforms and they don’t communicate like humanoids do. It’s a classic Star Trek problem, as seen in episodes like “Darmok” or “Amok Time.” So last week’s episode was dedicated to the crew and assorted ambassadors methodically working through mathematical and chemical solutions to build a working bridge language. They managed to establish to the 10C that there were problems with the DMA, opening up the door to further negotiation in this week’s episode.

“Coming Home” has a lot of meanings in the context of the actual episode. There’s the threat of the DMA heading toward Earth, there’s a number of scenes set in our solar system involving returning character Sylvia Tilly, and reconciliation between Michael Burnham and her lover Cleveland Booker, the person who grounds her in the 32nd century.

CBS

But there’s also meaning in that the episode is where Discovery finally reconciles itself as a Star Trek show, making its highest point of drama not the struggle to evacuate a doomed planet, or the attempts to stop Tarka’s plan, but the actual face-to-face (so to speak) discussion with the 10C. It’s nothing like the action-based approach of the Abrams films or even earlier seasons that dealt with war and time travel and evil sentient computers. It’s diplomacy. It’s a lot of talking, and sitting around and talking about feelings.

And some of those feelings are what you’d call… environmentally minded. It isn’t enough that the 10C merely stops destroying planets that house sentient life. The fact is, the DMA also creates pollution and that needs to be stopped as well. With Earth in immediate danger it seems like an unreasonable ask at the moment, but it’s also very much in the ethos of Star Trek to consider one’s general societal and galactic impact as well. The core of Star Trek is humanism and social justice, and so many classic episodes deal with issues of identity, civil rights, and environmental issues. Discovery has spent so much time dealing with one huge violent crisis after another that it hasn’t had time to do simpler humanist metaphors, and bringing that in at the end here seems to indicate a desire to deal with those issues more in upcoming seasons.

The entire denouement makes that promise: The Federation is growing in strength, the Discovery crew is taking some time off for themselves, and a very special guest toward the end seems to be the show making its politics clear to those segments of the audience who love to decry “woke Trek.” Star Trek has always been woke, but Discovery has only dipped its toe into the water in previous seasons. With its fifth season on the horizon, it’s ready to plunge fully in.

Twitter actioned over 50,000 pieces of misleading Ukraine content

Twitter said it has "labeled or removed" more than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the company shared in a blog post today. Additionally, the platform removed roughly 75,000 accounts for “inauthentic behavior” and spam. Though this number encompassed users not specifically engaged in war propaganda, it included accounts associated with #IStandWithPutin, a hashtag that went viral last month thanks to a coordinated campaign of fake accounts

Unlike previous times where a single government or a state information campaign was to blame, Twitter found a wide range of actors were responsible for manipulating the platform, such as those recirculating old conflict footage as if it were new, as well as the many Ukraine-related fundraising scams that have cropped up in the wake of the invasion.

Last month Twitter also promised to not amplify any tweets from users that included links to state-affiliated media (a step-up from its old policy, which was not to amplify or promote tweets that were only directly from accounts of the state-affiliated media). Since February 28th, Twitter says it has labeled more than 61,000 unique tweets that included links to state-run media. It estimates doing so reduced the reach of these tweets by around 30 percent. 

Twitter has allowed Kremlin-backed media like RT and Sputnik (as well as other state-run media) to continue to operate their verified accounts, but labels and accordingly demotes what the outlets tweet. Both propaganda outlets are also banned from advertising on Twitter.

Misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine has thrived on social media, especially in the form of misleading photos and video. The government of Russia has blocked access to most Western-operated platforms for civilians (including Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok), largely as a way to suppress dissent amongst its own people. But the Kremlin’s own disinformation campaigns on these platforms appear to continue apace. A Russia-backed theory that the U.S. is helping Ukraine build bioweapons was further amplified by Chinese state media, as well as far-right and right-wing figures in the United States.

Netflix wants to charge you more for moochers on your account

Netflix is finally gearing up to do something about unauthorized account sharing. After testing a notification last year that pushed people to stop mooching and get their own Netflix accounts, the company has announced another test in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru that will let subscribers pay extra to share their account with people outside of their home. According to Variety, subscribers will be able to add up to two "sub-members" for $2.99 each in Costa Rica. Those users will get their own Netflix logins, recommendations and profile. 

Additionally, Netflix will also let subscribers in those countries transfer individual profiles to completely separate accounts. That'll make it easy for moochers to keep their queue and recommendations intact. The company isn't committing to these features globally yet, but if it works out in those countries, don't be surprised if it starts nagging your parents to pay extra for your account.

"We’ve always made it easy for people who live together to share their Netflix account, with features like separate profiles and multiple streams in our Standard and Premium plans," Chengyi Long, director of Netflix Product Innovation, said in a blog post. "While these have been hugely popular, they have also created some confusion about when and how Netflix can be shared. As a result, accounts are being shared between households - impacting our ability to invest in great new TV and films for our members."

If anything, it's surprising it's taken Netflix this long to do something about account sharing. The practice is explicitly forbidden in the company's Terms of Service, but it's something many people do anyway. (And really, grandma doesn't need her own account just to watch her stories.) After raising its prices in North America earlier this year, it wouldn't be too shocking to see the company push for additional fees.

Sam Barlow's Immortality trilogy hits Xbox and PC this summer

Immortality, the latest game from Her Story and Telling Lies creator Sam Barlow, is set to hit Xbox Series consoles, Game Pass and PC this summer. Like its predecessors, Immortality is shot in full-motion video and uses interactive cinematic scenes as a main mechanic. However, unlike the previous games, Immortality has a distinct horror vibe, not just psychological thrill.

The game is broken into three parts, each one a mysterious, unreleased movie starring the actress Marissa Marcel. Marcel disappeared after filming wrapped on these movies, and players have to investigate the lost footage to figure out what happened to her. The movies are Ambrosio (1968), Minsky (1970) and Two of Everything (1999).

Barlow revealed the Immortality trilogy back in 2020 and released a teaser in June 2021, though details about the game have remained scarce. Today's new trailer, which debuted during the ID@Xbox showcase on Twitch, was the first real dive into the game — and it looks delicious.

Barlow brought on three screenwriters to help with the Immortality script, Allan Scott (Queen's Gambit), Amelia Gray (Mr. Robot) and Barry Gifford (Lost Highway). It looks like the game will come to additional consoles down the line, as Barlow said on Twitter, "Other platforms to be announced."