Los Angeles-based production company Pressman Film is turning to crowdfunding to finance its latest slate. The indie studio behind films including “American Psycho,” “Wall Street” and “The Crow” is targeting $1.5 million in the first tranche, hosted by investment firm Republic. As the movie industry continues to regain its footing following the impact of COVID-19 and the Hollywood strikes, companies continue to seek innovative ways to move forward. “Get in on the ground floor of the filmmaking process, get exclusive insider perks, and share in the returns,” explains Republic’s website. Minimum buy-in is $200. Continue reading Pressman Film Joins Republic on Crowdfunding Capital Raise

Adobe is showcasing upcoming generative AI video tools that build on the Firefly video model the software giant announced in April. The offerings include a text-to-video feature and one that generates video from pictures. Each outputs clips of up to five seconds. Adobe has developed Firefly as the generative component of the AI integration it is rolling out across its Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications, which previously focused on editing and now, thanks to gen AI, incorporate creation. Adobe wasn’t a first-mover in the space, but its percolating effort has been received enthusiastically. Continue reading Adobe Publicly Demos Firefly Text- and Image-to Video Tools

Sony’s $700 PlayStation 5 Pro promises improved graphics and gameplay. The midcycle upgrade, releasing next month, aims to keep the console competitive with — or better than — ever-evolving game PCs. Sony says the new model supports 8K gaming, an upgrade to the native 4K available with the PS5. For those gamers interested in a disc drive for the PS5 Pro, an $80 model is available. Sony Interactive Entertainment’s popular “Gran Turismo 7” racing simulation game is poised to be the first 8K title for the PS5 Pro. Sony says the GPU on the PS5 Pro has 67 percent more compute and 28 percent faster memory, for rendering that is 45 percent faster than its predecessor. Continue reading New Sony PS5 Pro Supports 8K and Improves 4K Ray Tracing

Canon’s new EOS C80 is a professional full-frame 6K cinema camera designed for filmmakers that require a compact yet full-featured device. It is the company’s first cinema model with an RF mount. It also has a back-illuminated, stacked CMOS image sensor with triple-base ISO, which Canon says delivers “stunning imagery in a wide range of lighting conditions.” Base ISOs of 800, 3200 and 12,800 allow for full dynamic range. New to the EOS C line is 12G-SDI output, while Canon’s latest Dual Pixel CMOS Autofocus — Dual Pixel AF II — has been added. The C80 also lets users choose from different autofocus frame sizes. Continue reading Canon EOS C80 Offers Full-Frame 6K Recording for Pro Video

Senza is a connected TV app that parent Synamedia says can “transform the economics of reaching viewers” by offloading streaming controls from set-top boxes and dongles to the cloud. Synamedia claims Senza can reduce streaming costs by up to 90 percent while maintaining content security. The platform can be used to deliver to home TV screens as well as offsite locations such as bars, hotels and stadiums. “Senza moves the user experience from devices — such as connected TVs and streaming sticks — into the cloud and offers an HTML5 interface to quickly launch free, low-cost or premium services,” according to the company. Continue reading Synamedia Reimagines TV Streaming with New Cloud Device

Amazon is aiming to speed up production of its Audible audiobooks by inviting a small group of narrators to clone their voices using generative artificial intelligence. The U.S. beta test will roll out later this year according to Amazon, which announced the move on Audible’s creator marketplace. “There is a vast catalog of books that does not yet exist in audio and as we explore ways to bring more books to life on Audible, we’re committed to thoughtfully balancing the interests of authors, narrators, publishers, and listeners,” Amazon explains. Continue reading Amazon Is Inviting Audible Narrators to Create AI Voice Clones

IBM is the first cloud customer for Intel’s Gaudi 3 AI accelerator chip, which it will make available in early 2025. The Gaudi 3 will be available for hybrid and on-site environments via the IBM Cloud, as part of Watsonx AI and on IBM data platforms. Gaudi 3, which began shipping in Q2 and is expected to go into mass production later this year, is IBM’s AI challenger to GPU accelerators from Nvidia and AMD, the latter having in January begun shipping its own HPC solution, the MI300X. Unlike that chip and Nvidia’s Hopper H100 and more recent Blackwell B200, the Gaudi 3 is not a GPU, but built on an architecture specifically for inference and deep learning. Continue reading IBM Cloud Is First to Widely Implement Intel Gaudi 3 AI Chips

China’s Huawei has unveiled a trifold smartphone with an OLED panel that has two vertical folds, opening to a 10.2-inch, 16:11 display. The Mate XT — which comes in red and black and offers three storage options ranging in price from $2,809 to $3,371 — is due to arrive in Chinese stores September 20, the same day that Apple’s new iPhone 16 lineup hits retail shelves there. Huawei and Apple are among the top brands currently battling for market share in what is the world’s largest cellphone market. With Huawei under U.S. sanctions, it is unlikely the trifold phone will be released here. Continue reading Huawei Unveils Mate XT Phone with 3 Panels, 10-inch Screen

The White House has implemented a program to help fill roughly 500,000 open tech positions across the United States. The program, Service for America, was developed by the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) in partnership with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to help connect Americans with available jobs in cybersecurity, technology and artificial intelligence. “Our nation has a critical need for cyber talent,” explains ONCD Director Harry Coker, Jr., who notes many of the open cyber positions do not require a computer science degree or deeply technical background. Continue reading White House Launches Effort to Fill 500,000 Technology Jobs

During yesterday’s Glowtime event in Cupertino, Apple introduced its iPhone 16 lineup with Apple Intelligence features, A18 chip, and new camera control button to access “visual intelligence” functionality. The company also unveiled a redesigned Apple Watch with polished titanium option and new S10 chip; a new Satin Black color for the Apple Watch Ultra 2, alongside a collection of updated bands with darker hues; and two new versions of AirPods wireless earbuds, one touting active noise canceling. The iPhone 16 and 16 Plus models feature aluminum bodies while the 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max bodies are made of titanium. The first Apple Intelligence features for the new iPhones will launch in beta next month. Continue reading Glowtime: Apple Unveils iPhone 16, Apple Watch 10, AirPods 4

YouTube is introducing AI detection tools designed to allow people to learn when their face and/or voice are copied and used in third-party videos. As part of the effort, YouTube’s existing Content ID program that protects copyrighted music will expand to include more broad-based voice simulation detection technology. The new tools aim to protect “people from a variety of industries — from creators and actors to musicians and athletes,” according to the company. The Google-owned platform is also coming up with a way to address unauthorized use of its content for training AI models. Continue reading YouTube Adding Tools to Protect Against Unauthorized AI Use

During the 10th annual Roblox Developers Conference (RDC 2024) in San Jose, the gaming platform announced it is opening to global currencies in addition to its own Robux, which generates billions in virtual transactions each year. Starting later this year, a small test bed of developers will be able to charge real money for games that charge fees, with a program expected to open “to all eligible creators by mid-2025.” The massively multiplayer online platform that lets users build online game worlds also discussed a project to develop its own AI foundation model to power generative 3D creation on the platform. Continue reading Roblox Adds Real Currency, Teases Its Coming Generative AI

The first legally binding international treaty on artificial intelligence was signed last week by the countries that negotiated it, including the United States, United Kingdom and European Union members. The Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence is “aimed at ensuring that the use of AI systems is fully consistent with human rights, democracy and the rule of law.” Drawn up by the Council of Europe (COE), an international human rights organization, the treaty was signed at the COE’s Conference of Ministers of Justice in Lithuania. Other signatories include Israel, Iceland, Norway, the Republic of Moldova and Georgia. Continue reading U.S. and Europe Sign the First Legally Binding Global AI Treaty

Gracenote, the Nielsen content solutions division, has launched Gracenote Watch Prompts, an AI-powered dataset that equips global video platforms and services with programming facts intended to help influence consumer viewing behavior. Designed to be paired with user preference and consumption data, the new Watch Prompts aim at delivering personalized film and TV promotion, resulting in increased tune-in. According to Nielsen, 74 percent of U.S. consumers last year either didn’t know or only had a vague idea as to what they wanted to watch when starting a streaming session, “meaning a large majority are making on-the-fly viewing decisions.” Continue reading Gracenote Watch Prompts Aim to Help Streaming TV Viewers

Verizon has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire competing fiber Internet service provider Frontier Communications in a transaction valued at $20 billion, including $9.6 billion in cash. The deal is expected to close in about 18 months, pending Frontier shareholder and regulatory approval. Verizon says the deal will increase its fiber subscribers by 2.2 million customers and extend its network reach to 25 million households across 31 states and Washington, D.C. It is also expected to expand Verizon’s intelligent edge network for digital innovations like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. Continue reading Verizon Plans Frontier Acquisition in Deal Valued at $20 Billion