The Amazon Echo Dot has become increasingly popular as people have gotten more lazy about finding information themselves by putting immense pressure on their fingers to type on a keyboard. With Amazon’s home assistant, you can get answers to loads of questions, check the weather, and even hear some jokes. But the devices themselves can be somewhat of an eyesore. Thankfully, if you’re a Star Wars fan, there’s a way you can spruce up your Echo Dot to make it look like the cute floppy-eared asset from The Mandalorian who is lovingly referred to as Baby Yoda. Read More »
Disney and Lucasfilm have been pulling back the curtain on the making of The Mandalorian and it never ceases to be impressive. The show’s “stagecraft” technology, where a rear-projected LED screen creates a reactive real-time environment for a film scene, is nothing short of mind-blowing, representing a whole new avenue for filmmaking in the years ahead. But this tech is not limited to major corporations and major productions like the first live-action Star Wars TV series. A new video shows the tech in action on a smaller scale, and it’s equally impressive.
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Since lockdown began, co-viewing parties have been all the rage, though the separate apps and plug-ins allowing for these kind of shared streaming experiences have been largely inconsistent. While unofficial parties have made Netflix viewing parties a regular occasion, official watch party options from Twitch and Hulu haven’t gained much traction. But Movies Anywhere, the digital movie library app operated by Disney, is attempting to unify the shared streaming experience with its newly unveiled Watch Together app.
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Amazon Fire TV just got a big upgrade for all the cord-cutters out there. One of the cons of giving up cable in favor of streaming platforms is that you miss out on live TV. But Amazon’s Fire TV platform is expanding to give its customers an old taste of live television again, with several key new services: YouTube TV, Sling TV, and Hulu’s live TV offering.
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Movie theaters still aren’t open, and most people aren’t too keen on sitting in close proximity with each other in front of the television. But in the middle of this pandemic, people have been taking advantage of spending time together virtually. Unfortunately, most of the major streaming services haven’t done much to help viewers connect with their friends online by allowing them to watch movies and TV shows online together. But now that’s changed: Amazon Prime Video has launched its own Watch Party extension which allows up to 100 people to watch something online simultaneously. Read More »
What will the movie industry look like after the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic? Disney+’s The Mandalorian and its cutting-edge Stagecraft system, which uses a rear-projected LED screen to create a reactive environment, may give us a vision. And already foreign production studios are taking The Mandalorian up on that vision.
A new Spain-based virtual production facility, Orca Studios, is installing the LED volume technology inspired by the game-changing tech used by ILM on its Stagecraft system for The Mandalorian. And with coronavirus precautions limiting crew and overseas shoots, we can likely expect this technology to be used by many more production studios in the future.
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The clumsy inventor Wallace and his loyal dog Gromit have been gracing our screens for more than 30 years. Aardman Animation’s crowning achievement, Wallace & Gromit feel like it’s been a part of our cultural landscape forever, due in part to the unchanging stop-motion animation and the classic slapstick situations the duo put themselves in. There’s something so reliable about Wallace & Gromit — the duo always look the same, in their doughy claymation style and early 20th century sweater vests; they always get into outsized scrapes involving Wallace’s latest Rube Goldberg invention; and they always come out of their latest misadventure all right.
But Aardman is changing things up in a big way for Wallace & Gromit. The studio is introducing the first Wallace & Gromit augmented reality adventure with Wallace & Gromit: The Big Fix-Up. That’s right, Wallace’s Rube Goldberg devices are about to get interactive.
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The first Avatar pushed the limits of 3D, and the second will seek to do the same with motion-capture technology. Avatar 2 is set to hit theaters more than a decade after James Cameron’s record-setting blockbuster, a delay that is partially due to the cutting-edge motion-capture technology that Cameron developed to depict a new underwater world. Now, a new behind-the-scenes Avatar 2 image has been released showing the cast of the sci-fi action film using that very technology.
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Fans of Disney’s most beloved films have already had the chance to experience parts of those worlds in the company’s theme parks — going on theme park rides set in the Star Wars universe or taking pictures with their favorite Avengers characters. But entertainment company Secret Cinema is hoping to make the most “iconic” Disney movies even more immersive. Walt Disney has signed a multi-title agreement with Secret Cinema, the company behind immersive movie-based experiences, to adapt popular Disney films like The Pirates of the Caribbean, Tron, Avengers and Star Wars into immersive experiences.
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The team behind Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker took careful consideration to ensure that Carrie Fisher, who tragically passed three years ago, would remain a pivotal part of the film without sullying her memory. That meant repurposing leftover footage from previous movies to insert into The Rise of Skywalker. But the entirety General Leia’s arc couldn’t be pulled off with old Force Awakens footage. The VFX team would have to turn to dailies from the original Star Wars trilogy films and a very fitting body double.
Spoilers for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker follow.
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