Kirk Wheeler

So much of what Rick Beato articulates in this video is equally true of other forms of media besides music — video, photography, books, software, and more. I’m not sure what the solution is other than individually finding the energy and discipline to invest in “radical attention”, dedicating yourself to truly investing in and paying attention to a limited set of great works. I’ve done it myself and can attest that it’s certainly worth the effort. https://lnkd.in/gXAHDeVV #attention #consumption #art

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Innovate with creative constraints like making a comic using the alphabet as a template. Learn all about it on my Substack: https://lnkd.in/ePYrR33T

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I'm sure this is a vast oversimplification, but stating that studios needed to be closed because execs and publishing teams couldn't support those teams while those teams were trying to build to their core strengths... It's a such a bad look. The optics are terrible. Arkane is reported to have been pitching a return to immersive single player sim games (like Dishonored and Prey). Tango is reported to have been pitching Hi Fi Rush 2. Microsoft Xbox has $80.1 Billion in cash reserves as of March 2024. It's not that there isn't the money. Microsoft is valued at $3.04 Trillion with stock at $412.32. It was possible to save all of these jobs and studios. Saying or intimating that the studios couldn't be saved because execs were busy and publishing support was understaffed gives an utter lie to the notions of why the mergers and acquisition of Zenimax/Bethesda and Activision Blizzard King were done. If they couldn't be supported they shouldn't have been bought. If there weren't enough publishing support staff GO HIRE SOME. There is $80.1 Billion in the bank. For the company that recently eclipsed Apple as the largest company in the world. While Investments and spending are being done on Cloud GPUs for Cloud AI, perhaps save the studios that were bought in 2020-2021 and 2022 to 2023?! This just makes me sad with the waste, the throwing away of instuitutional knowledge, the hubris, and the lack of understanding for what studio closures do to the game industry. ----- GamesIndustryBiz: "Report - ZeniMax on studio closures: "I think we were about to topple over. Executive reportedly attributed shutdowns to lack of support and understaffing" "A ZeniMax executive has reportedly said Xbox's closure of four studios this week was due to a lack of staff and support. As reported by Bloomberg, head of ZeniMax Jill Braff reportedly said during a town hall meeting on Wednesday it was hard to support the studios globally "with a lean central team" and various projects in the works. "I think we were about to topple over,"Braff said. Xbox Games Studios head Matt Booty allegedly added that the decision to close the four studios was to free up resources elsewhere, according to Bloomberg. The publication also reported that Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin were in the process of pitching new projects which required more staff – these were reportedly a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush and a new single-player immersive sim game from Arkane. This was suggested to be a factor in both closures." GamesIndustryBiz: https://lnkd.in/gZtZCazf ----- "Microsoft’s Xbox Is Planning More Cuts After Studio Closings Xbox is offering voluntary severance agreements to producers, quality assurance testers and other staff at ZeniMax as part of a broader cost-cutting initiative" https://lnkd.in/gSJENA4f #gameindustry #microosft #xbox #bethesda #zenimax #gamelayoffs #disturbanceintheforce

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Dion Wilson's career journey is a testament to seizing opportunities and navigating diverse landscapes. After his tenure with the US Department of Defense, Dion shifted gears, drawn back to his childhood passion for comics by a burgeoning market. Inspired by the explosive growth of conventions like San Diego Comic-Con, Dion founded Titanium Comics in 2007, diving headfirst into the vibrant world of independent media. Recognizing the transformative potential of blockchain, Dion now leads Raster Technologies and its flagship product, Hero Ledger. Hero Ledger stands out as a blockchain-enabled B2B marketplace tailored for independent creators in media and entertainment. It empowers creators to protect their intellectual property with robust attestation tools and offers innovative licensing opportunities, democratizing access to major platforms traditionally reserved for established names. Dion's entrepreneurial journey underscores key lessons: the importance of building a strong team and the universal principles of business success. He emphasizes the role of risk-taking and meticulous note-taking, advocating for continuous learning and adaptation in an ever-evolving industry. Looking forward, Dion sees Web 3.0 as a game-changer, predicting that its rich data insights will propel independent creators to new heights of efficiency and creativity. He envisions a future where collaboration and ecosystem-building redefine success, making way for smaller creators to shine alongside industry giants. #Entrepreneurship #BlockchainInnovation #ComicBookIndustry #Web3Transformation #IndependentCreators #RasterTechnologies

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Dion Wilson’s career path embodies seizing opportunities and navigating diverse landscapes. After serving with the US Department of Defense, Dion rekindled his childhood passion for comics, inspired by the burgeoning market, including the explosive growth of conventions like San Diego Comic-Con. In 2007, he founded Titanium Comics, immersing himself in the vibrant world of independent media. Today, as the driving force behind Raster Technologies, Dion leads the development of Hero Ledger, a pioneering blockchain-based B2B marketplace for media and entertainment creators. Hero Ledger distinguishes itself with robust tools for intellectual property protection and innovative licensing opportunities, democratizing access to major platforms traditionally limited to established names. Dion’s entrepreneurial journey underscores essential lessons: the pivotal role of building a strong team and the universal principles of business success. He emphasizes risk-taking, meticulous note-taking, and continuous learning, vital in an ever-evolving industry. Looking forward, Dion anticipates Web 3.0’s transformative impact, foreseeing its rich data insights empowering independent creators to achieve new levels of efficiency and creativity. He envisions a future where collaboration and ecosystem-building redefine success, leveling the playing field for smaller creators alongside industry giants. Follow @gtle.show #toptiercoaching #technololgy .. .. .. .. #businesscoach #businesscoaching #smallbusinesscoach #techtv #Entrepreneurship #BlockchainInnovation #ComicBookIndustry #Web3Transformation #IndependentCreators #RasterTechnologies

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🍏✨ Apple Issues Apology Over Controversial iPad Pro Ad 🖌️🎨 👉 As a company deeply rooted in creativity, Apple strives to empower and inspire creatives worldwide. However, we recently missed the mark with their latest commercial showcasing the innovative features of the new iPad Pro. In response to the widespread criticism from the creative community, we sincerely apologize. "Creativity is in our DNA at Apple, and it’s incredibly important to us to design products that empower creatives all over the world," said Tor Myhren, Apple’s vice president of marketing. "Our goal is to always celebrate the myriad of ways users express themselves and bring their ideas to life through iPad. We missed the mark with this video, and we’re sorry." 🛑 The commercial, titled "Crush," aimed to highlight the capabilities of the M4-powered iPad Pro by depicting various objects being flattened under pressure, leaving only the iPad Pro intact. While our intention was to showcase the device's durability and innovation, the execution fell short of resonating with the creative community. https://lnkd.in/dBHM3vWz #Apple #iPadPro #Creativity #Apology #Innovation

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���� **Transforming Promptineering: A Deep Dive into Monosemanticity and Model Mechanics** 🚀 As a former actor and film director turned prompt engineer, I’ve come to appreciate the blend of art and science in what I call "Promptineering." A recent article caught my attention, discussing **scaling monosemanticity** in transformer circuits—an essential step forward for our field. Why is this important? Monosemanticity ensures our prompts elicit **consistent, predictable responses** from NLP models. It's not just about crafting clever text; it's about understanding the **intricate workings** of various models. As promptineers, we must be adept at **reading the nuances** between different models and **adapting to drift**—the subtle changes in model behavior over time. This means having a deep understanding of how models operate under the hood, not just on the surface level. The concept of **consent flux** in the article is particularly intriguing. It refers to the dynamic nature of user consent in interactions with AI, underscoring the need for promptineers to be vigilant and adaptable. To excel in promptineering, one must be well-versed in **all models**—their strengths, weaknesses, and idiosyncrasies. It's about being able to **interpret and pivot** as models evolve, ensuring that our prompts remain effective and our AI interactions remain ethical and user-centric. Let's embrace this knowledge to build **trustworthy and efficient AI systems** that respect user intent and consent. The future of AI depends on our ability to stay informed and agile. 🌟 #Promptineering #AIethics #NLP #MachineLearning #AIinEducation #EdTech #AIforTeachers #FutureofEducation #TechInClassrooms Geri Gillespy, Ed.D. Ken Shelton Kirk Uhler Bonnie Nieves Lindy Hockenbary Anthropic

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Exploring the Transition from Indie to AAA Game Studios Challenges, Strategies, and Insights Watch here: YouTube Exploring the Transition from Indie to AAA Game Studios Challenges, Strategies, and Insights ▸ https://lttr.ai/AUkER #IndieGameStudio #AAAGameStudio

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You know why audio designers and QA often care so much about every other part of a content pipeline? Because overtime rolls downhill. Let's take a character pipeline that runs about 16 weeks. Here's art: 1 week in concept 2 weeks for modeling 1 week for rigging - might take less so there's buffer! (texture running in parallel) 4 weeks for animation (texture finishing) 4 weeks for VFX 2 weeks for audio 2 weeks for QA Alongside that, designers are working on gameplay, which injects change that can cause more work/rework. If the character has important story elements, you might also have narrative shifts, which can force changes in order to maintain a cohesive character. OK, so assets are flowing through the system, let's say you're reasonably load balanced in terms of people (a huge assumption, I admit). So one day, concept comes to you and says, "Hey, it took us longer to get signoff then we expected, we're not ready yet but another pass or two, we'll be a couple days late." Everyone responds with something like, "Got it, that makes sense. Stuff happens in game dev! We've still got over 14 weeks, we'll figure it out!" But of course this meant modeling also started a little late, and because they weren't quite ready to go, they took on a separate thing to stay productive and help out a different team. Good collaboration, way to keep producing value, you know? So now we're a week behind, but we've still got 12 weeks to figure this out. I won't keep going, but where audio has been promised "2 weeks" what you don't realize is before you're through the second step they've lost one. By the time design tweaks something and anim and VFX have to go back and redo a few things, audio and QA are basically working simultaneously, attempting to get everything done in one week, or even a weekend. VFX also starts feeling the pain because the cascade of issues and late QA pass mean the earlier people in the pipeline are injected with work, which mostly hits the later disciplines because they were already crunched trying to hit their times. At the end of the pipeline, we don't have room to negotiate. In fact, we're all rushing to get it done. This makes audio designers, QA, and sometimes VFX some of the most sensitive to news about things being late ANYWHERE in the pipeline. They've seen the pattern, they know it rolls downhill. They've also been blamed for it in bad organizations. Speaking of, two poor (and common) leadership responses: - "What's wrong with audio and QA? They're always late!" - "We need to hire more audio and QA! That'll solve it!" One slightly better but still not great response: - "It's now an 18 week pipeline, we'll add some buffer!" - That buffer will be gone before animation finishes. You have to recognize these patterns, then work with the ENTIRE team to address them. Otherwise you start getting annoyed at the people with zero control over their reality. #gameproduction #gamedevelopment #gameindustry #art #qa #audio

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New AI tools that I’d like to be invented by the Adobe Digital Video and Audio Team. Thought I’d jot down a wishlist of couple AI-powered tools that I hope Adobe will invest in creating within the next year. 1. Focus Enhancer. I’d really want this to be a generative AI tool that brings slightly out-of-focus camera footage into sharp focus. A client, back in states, was recently asking me if this existed because she botched an entire interview shoot with a camera with a faulty auto-focus. 2. Auto Color. About time right? This would be an AI tool designed for advanced color grading and correction. It would automatically matches colors across different camera footage and perform top level color grading after the fact. I made an in depth video about this on the YouTube channel. 3. Bit Depth Deepener. This would again be a AMAZING generative AI tool that enhances the bit depth of images or videos, creating high-quality visuals from lower bit depth footage. 4. AutoSFX. This would be an AI tool that automatically generates sound effects based on the visuals and action in video footage. What are some hopes and dreams you folks have? What’s crazy is that most things that we dream of (in the realm of AI development) have an almost 100% of being created in the next 1 to 2 years. Adobe Premiere Pro - Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials Adobe After Effects - Tips, Tricks, & Tutorials

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Evernote's evolution continues. After many improvements to the desktop app, they've turned their attention to the mobile app, which I think needs more work. https://lnkd.in/g7UDEyub @evernote #productivity #evernoteexpert #evernotetips #notetaking

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This post is all “organic” Here’s my prediction for A.I. content in TV, Film, Comics,Games and Music, etc. Yes. We’re going to consume fully A.I. generated content. Written, drawn, composed video edited, cartoons, literally everything. A wave of augmented or even completely autonomous creative art leveraging tech to expediate and even circumvent the creative process is coming. Not only will it be faster but people will consume this fast food, en masse. That’s what it is. Fast food. We’re going to see a whole lot of junk food. Stuff that tastes good, filled with salts and sugars but we’re gonna love the hell out of it! But much like fast food it won’t feel good, not in the same way. The human body loves natures chow and the more we feed it that, the longer it lasts. The more we avoid fast food, the longer we get to play on this earthy playground. The mind works the same way. Creativity is a crucial component to the human spirit and experience here. So a lot of creativity will get lost as we consume unorganic creative fast food. And that’s ok! The world didn’t end when McDonalds or Featables arrived. Are they good for you? No. We know this but it’s tasty. And as a human, you should live how you want. Consuming, fast food, smoking cigarettes, drinking beer or reading some A.I. generated cartoon meme targeting you, specifically. It’s a short time here so you need to maximize it doing what you enjoy and many of you/us will be entertained by A.I. content. Some humans will run on fast food but in time a health movement will emerge and some, probably alot, of people will crave “organic” creativity again. We are just at the start of this fast food movement so theres no need to label our entertainment organic, yet. But we will. In time, you’ll see an organic label on TV, Film, Games, Comics, etc. It will cost more, it will feel better and some section of humanity will rest easier knowing they bought “organic” The others will enjoy a Bic Mac, without shame or care of being labled unhealthy. Personally, I love the hell ouf of my GMO filled giant oversized, red as hell, juicy strawberries. No way nature could make that! But, I know the smaller, brownish, meek looking, insecticide free little fellows are better for my health. For now, I’ll just enjoy a bucket of popcorn. Organic or Microwave Orville will do just fine. This post was all organic, filled with bad grammar, spelling and half baked ideas. Reader beware. No A.I. was used to process this food and make it taste or read better. #ai #videgames #creativity #humans #robots #mcdonalds #bigmac #organic #film #tv #comics

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AI or Not? Over the last month, NVIDIA's high-AI-flying stock has taken a bit of a dive on rumors that the AI hype may have burst. Then last week, Meta, Google & Microsoft (oh my!) all got bullish on #AI Tech, and NVIDIA's valuation grew by $150 billion in a few days. So, Is AI Boon or Bubble? Is there actual profit to be made for anyone but the biggest players, or will Big Tech simply take all the AI spoils? At Streaming Media NYC, we could not have a more expert panel of geniuses for this actual debate. Multi-hyphenate extraordinaire Cynthia Nelson moderates a debate between some daunting and brilliant articulators from all walks of the Media Universe - Jacqueline Hernández (She. Her. Ella.), Karissa Price, Steven Ship, Liz (Sarachek) Blacker, Marc Bloomgarden, and Reza Hashemi - with varying and singular views on the issue. #StreamingMediaNYC will be chock full of barn-burning discussions on the topics we all need to know about. Use code GoUpstream! to register and save 25% right now. https://lnkd.in/eMM_nkqN #GenAI #LLM #Cloud

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Seriously, I mean no offense by offering up this opinion. But this change in comp, as described in this article, is reason #257 that I can't believe so many people wrote about how the writers and actors won the negotiations last fall. On top of a decrease in content spend, fewer projects, fewer tentpoles, and a pivot to more sports, now Hollywood, led by Netflix, is trying to get rid of the cost-plus model, in an effort that serious people know is an attempt to save money. The genius in this move by Netflix is that now that they've built up the premier streamer and has way more eyeballs than anyone else, talent can't really push back. Besides, who can argue with pay for performance? They can't. Again, I'm not taking a side here. I'm just pointing out that when we look back at those WGA and SAG agreements, the articles that claimed victory for the guilds probably won't hold up. What will be the best way to measure that? Guild revenue? Overall content spend? Streaming P&Ls?

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Say NO to kool-aid is a two part episode on The World of UX with Darren Hood. In this, Darren calls out all the things that are negatively impacting UX in 2024. This consists the five following contributing features: 1. Design systems 2. AI 3. Faux educational resources 4. Ph.D to UX movement 5. Blindly embracing imposter syndrome Man! Has it been a major reality pill for the fact that I more than realized I drank happily from the UX cult kool-aid. Thanks to podcasts like Beyond UX Design Podcast and The World of UX with Darren Hood, I’m refocusing and improving my foundation. If you’d like to make sure you aren’t drinking from the kool aid or learn how to spot kool aid sellers, I can’t recommend these episodes enough! Links in the comments. #beyonduxdesign #theworldofuxwithdarrenhood #uxkoolaid #uxdesign #designsystems #ai #uxeducation #phdtoux #impostersyndromeornormaldoubt P.S. A shout out to Jeremy Miller for yet another valuable resource. P.S.S. A shout out to Darren Hood, MSUXD for the awesome reality check.

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The bleeding edge of technology is a cool place to play. It’s also an expensive place to play. As I’ve mentioned before, animation/video is often viewed as being a luxury. The purpose of this post is to describe why it’s not. Early in tech development, your time is the most important asset. You won’t have enough. You’re burning through your cash, everything is more expensive than you expect, things aren’t going as you thought they might initially. You know that you need to fail fast, but you’re counting every minute, and you need to find successes. In that state, it’s hard to picture why you would need to divert your attention to what seems like the fluffy bits that are tomorrow’s problem. If you’ve already got your runway, you may be good for now.   Even then, planning for the next stages of your idea/business has immense value. If you better understand your message, market and means, you can prepare for that following stage. You can decrease the time from finished product to sales. Most of the customers I work with are trying to push forward ideas without a full budget; that could be an individual, a small business, or even a team within a multinational. One simply may not have the luxury of getting a market-ready system in place, and people outside the project need to be convinced. Or, better still, converted into champions. There’s an idea, maybe an MVP (minimum viable product), but in order to get anywhere with it, some investment needs to occur. You'll meet with potential investors. Over and over again, sometimes showing videos of the MVP in action. Sometimes CAD models and diagrams. Occasionally a 200 page PowerPoint that is mind numbing technical jargon. Taking a step back and seeing the project wholistically through the video making process can provide many benefits. Better understanding the scope. Seeing new markets. Having fresh eyes on a project, a process, a mechanism. Making changes while they’re easy, rather than finding out a better approach later. Most importantly, you have a clean, compact, and efficient means by which you can explain your product. You have the step to the next part of your project, or, in some cases, the path to your runway. Something that can speak for you, even if you’re not in the room. Something that doesn't speak 'engineer' or 'scientist' or 'inventor', rather, 'person unfamiliar with your project'. The cost of the piece can easily return several orders of magnitude of value. While not every project I’ve supported has been successful, the process has always provided meaningful benefit that exceeded its cost.  Reach out. #investor #investment #project #startup #technology #animation #presentation #concept #bleedingedge #MVP

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Here’s a video of me playing around with NIFTYCase modular synth and jamming, finding some tunes for my upcoming track "Taka Baba" with my friend Tomo. Explaining more about mod synths and AI below: 🎹 Dive into Modular Synths Modular synthesizers have shaped music since the 1960s, allowing artists to craft unique sounds by connecting modules. From analog to digital, modular synths offer endless possibilities and creative freedom. 🛠️ The Tech Behind Modular Synths Modular synths consist of independent modules for generating, shaping, or modifying audio signals. Artists design intricate sounds by patching these modules together. 🤖 AI in Synths: A Rich History AI and machine learning have been integral to synths for decades. Early AI integration involved randomizers, creating unique sounds by generating random parameter values. Today, AI's role has expanded: 1. Intelligent Randomization: AI now generates musical random values within specific contexts. 2. Pattern Recognition: Machine learning analyzes music libraries to identify patterns and styles. 3. Adaptive Learning: AI adapts to a musician's style, suggesting new configurations. 🎶 The Future of AI in Synthesizers AI promises exciting possibilities: Automated Sound Design: AI could automate sound design, generating entire tracks based on brief inputs. Real-Time Collaboration: AI can facilitate real-time collaboration between artists, creating cohesive sounds. Enhanced Creativity Tools: AI could provide advanced tools for experimenting with sounds. The integration of AI in synthesizers is transforming music production, making it more accessible and opening new realms of creativity. At createprotocol.org we are launching a groundbreaking new sdk making the possibilities and use of ethical AI and enhancing the economy of intellectual properties in creative industries unlike the large scale theft by existing ai apps and give a way for them to use it ethically and reward the IP holders. Phase 1 Access limited to 100 devs from large companies to small startups is going live in July mid. Find out more and register for early access before the world. createprotocol.org What excites you most about the future of modular synths and AI? Share your thoughts below.👇 #AIinMusic #ModularSynths #SoundDesign #MusicProduction #FutureOfMusic createprotocol.org norikoshakti.com

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