By TREVOR HOGG Images courtesy of Prime Video. For those seeking an alternative to the MCU, Prime Video has two offerings of the live-action and animated variety that take the superhero genre into R-rated territory where the hands of the god-like figures get dirty, bloodied and severed. “The Boys is about the intersection of celebrity and politics using superheroes,” states Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor on The Boys. “Sometimes I see the news and I don’t even know we can write to catch up to it! But we try. Invincible is an intense look at an alternate DC Universe that has more grit to the superhero side of it all. On one hand, I was jealous watching Season 1 of Invincible because in animation you can do things that you can’t do in real life on a budget.” Season 4 does not tone down the blood, gore and body count. Fleet notes, “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” When Splinter (Rob Benedict) splits in two, the cloning effect was inspired by cellular mitosis. “The writers almost have this dialogue with us. Sometimes, they’ll write in the script, ‘And Fleet will come up with a cool visual effect for how to kill this person.’ Or, ‘Chhiu, our fight coordinator, will make an awesome fight.’ It is a frequent topic of conversation. We’re constantly trying to be inventive and create new ways to kill people!” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor A total of 1,600 visual effects shots were created for the eight episodes by ILM, Pixomondo, MPC Toronto, Spin VFX, DNEG, Untold Studios, Luma Pictures and Rocket Science VFX. Previs was a critical part of the process. “We have John Griffith [Previs Director], who owns a small company called CNCPT out of Texas, and he does wonderful Unreal Engine level previs,” Fleet remarks. “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” Founding Director of Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, Victoria Neuman, literally gets ripped in half by two tendrils coming out of Compound V-enhanced Billy Butcher, the leader of superhero resistance group The Boys. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” Multiple plates were shot to enable Simon Pegg to phase through the actor laying in a hospital bed. Testing can get rather elaborate. “For that end scene with Butcher’s tendrils, the room was two stories, and we were able to put the camera up high along with a bunch of blood cannons,” Fleet recalls. “When the body rips in half and explodes, there is a practical component. We rained down a bunch of real blood and guts right in front of Huey. It’s a known joke that we like to douse Jack Quaid with blood as much as possible! In this case, the special effects team led by Hudson Kenny needed to test it the day before, and I said, “I’ll be the guinea pig for the test.’ They covered the whole place with plastic like it was a Dexter kill room because you don’t want to destroy the set. I’m standing there in a white hazmat suit with goggles on, covered from head to toe in plastic and waiting as they’re tweaking all of these things. It sounds like World War II going on. They’re on walkie talkies to each other, and then all of a sudden, it’s ‘Five, four, three, two, one…’  And I get exploded with blood. I wanted to see what it was like, and it’s intense.” “On set, we have a cartoon of what is going to be done, and you’ll be amazed, specifically for action and heavy visual effects stuff, how close those shots are to the previs when we finish.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor The Deep has a love affair with an octopus called Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton. “It’s implied bestiality!” Fleet laughs. “I would call it more of a romance. What was fun from my perspective is that I knew what the look was going to be [from Season 3], so then it’s about putting in the details and the animation. One of the instincts that you always have when you’re making a sea creature that talks to a human [is] you tend to want to give it human gestures and eyebrows. Erik Kripke [Creator, Executive Producer, Showrunner, Director, Writer] said, ‘No. We have to find things that an octopus could do that conveys the same emotion.’ That’s when ideas came in, such as putting a little The Deep toy inside the water tank. When Ambrosius is trying to have an intimate moment or connect with him, she can wrap a tentacle around that. My favorite experience doing Ambrosius was when The Deep is reading poetry to her on a bed. CG creatures touching humans is one of the more complicated things to do and make look real. Ambrosius’ tentacles reach for his arm, and it becomes an intimate moment. More than touching the skin, displacing the bedsheet as Ambrosius moved ended up becoming a lot of CG, and we had to go back and forth a few times to get that looking right; that turned out to be tricky.” A building is replaced by a massive crowd attending a rally being held by Homelander. In a twisted form of sexual foreplay, Sister Sage has The Deep perform a transorbital lobotomy on her. “Thank you, Amazon for selling lobotomy tools as novelty items!” Fleet chuckles. “We filmed it with a lobotomy tool on set. There is a lot of safety involved in doing something like that. Obviously, you don’t want to put any performer in any situation where they come close to putting anything real near their eye. We created this half lobotomy tool and did this complicated split screen with the lobotomy tool on a teeter totter. The Deep was [acting in a certain way] in one shot and Sister Sage reacted in the other shot. To marry the two ended up being a lot of CG work. Then there are these close-ups which are full CG. I always keep a dummy head that is painted gray that I use all of the time for reference. In macrophotography I filmed this lobotomy tool going right into the eye area. I did that because the tool is chrome, so it’s reflective and has ridges. It has an interesting reflective property. I was able to see how and what part of the human eye reflects onto the tool. A lot of that shot became about realistic reflections and lighting on the tool. Then heavy CG for displacing the eye and pushing the lobotomy tool into it. That was one of the more complicated sequences that we had to achieve.” In order to create an intimate moment between Ambrosius and The Deep, a toy version of the superhero was placed inside of the water tank that she could wrap a tentacle around. “The word that we like to use on this show is ‘grounded,’ and I like to say ‘grounded’ with an asterisk in this day and age because we’re grounded until we get to killing people in the craziest ways. In this case, having someone floating in the air and being ripped in half by two tendrils was all CG.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Sheep and chickens embark on a violent rampage courtesy of Compound V with the latter piercing the chest of a bodyguard belonging to Victoria Neuman. “Weirdly, that was one of our more traditional shots,’ Fleet states. “What is fun about that one is I asked for real chickens as reference. The chicken flying through his chest is real. It’s our chicken wrangler in green suit gently tossing a chicken. We blended two real plates together with some CG in the middle.” A connection was made with a sci-fi classic. “The sheep kill this bull, and we shot it is in this narrow corridor of fencing. When they run, I always equated it as the Trench Run in Star Wars and looked at the sheep as TIE fighters or X-wings coming at them.” The scene was one of the scarier moments for the visual effects team. Fleet explains, “When I read the script, I thought this could be the moment where we jump the shark. For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” The sheep injected with Compound V develop the ability to fly and were shot in an imperfect manner to help ground the scenes. Once injected with Compound V, Hugh Campbell Sr. (Simon Pegg) develops the ability to phase through objects, including human beings. “We called it the Bro-nut because his name in the script is Wall Street Bro,” Fleet notes. “That was a complicated motion control shot, repeating the move over and over again. We had to shoot multiple plates of Simon Pegg and the guy in the bed. Special effects and prosthetics created a dummy guy with a hole in his chest with practical blood dripping down. It was meshing it together and getting the timing right in post. On top of that, there was the CG blood immediately around Simon Pegg.” The phasing effect had to avoid appearing as a dissolve. “I had this idea of doing high-frequency vibration on the X axis loosely based on how The Flash vibrates through walls. You want everything to have a loose motivation that then helps trigger the visuals. We tried not to overcomplicate that because, ultimately, you want something like that to be quick. If you spend too much time on phasing, it can look cheesy. In our case, it was a lot of false walls. Simon Pegg is running into a greenscreen hole which we plug in with a wall or coming out of one. I went off the actor’s action, and we added a light opacity mix with some X-axis shake.” Providing a different twist to the fights was the replacement of spurting blood with photoreal rubber duckies during a drug-induced hallucination. Homelander (Anthony Starr) breaks a mirror which emphasizes his multiple personality disorder. “The original plan was that special effects was going to pre-break a mirror, and we were going to shoot Anthony Starr moving his head doing all of the performances in the different parts of the mirror,” Fleet reveals. “This was all based on a photo that my ex-brother-in-law sent me. He was walking down a street in Glendale, California, came across a broken mirror that someone had thrown out, and took a photo of himself where he had five heads in the mirror. We get there on the day, and I’m realizing that this is really complicated. Anthony has to do these five different performances, and we have to deal with infinite mirrors. At the last minute, I said, ‘We have to do this on a clean mirror.’ We did it on a clear mirror and gave Anthony different eyelines. The mirror break was all done in post, and we were able to cheat his head slightly and art-direct where the break crosses his chin. Editorial was able to do split screens for the timing of the dialogue.” “For the shots where the sheep are still and scream to the camera, Untold Studios did a bunch of R&D and came up with baboon teeth. I tried to keep anything real as much as possible, but, obviously, when sheep are flying, they have to be CG. I call it the Battlestar Galactica theory, where I like to shake the camera, overshoot shots and make it sloppy when they’re in the air so you can add motion blur. Comedy also helps sell visual effects.” —Stephan Fleet, VFX Supervisor Initially, the plan was to use a practical mirror, but creating a digital version proved to be the more effective solution. A different spin on the bloodbath occurs during a fight when a drugged Frenchie (Tomer Capone) hallucinates as Kimiko Miyashiro (Karen Fukuhara) goes on a killing spree. “We went back and forth with a lot of different concepts for what this hallucination would be,” Fleet remarks. “When we filmed it, we landed on Frenchie having a synesthesia moment where he’s seeing a lot of abstract colors flying in the air. We started getting into that in post and it wasn’t working. We went back to the rubber duckies, which goes back to the story of him in the bathtub. What’s in the bathtub? Rubber duckies, bubbles and water. There was a lot of physics and logic required to figure out how these rubber duckies could float out of someone’s neck. We decided on bubbles when Kimiko hits people’s heads. At one point, we had water when she got shot, but it wasn’t working, so we killed it. We probably did about 100 different versions. We got really detailed with our rubber duckie modeling because we didn’t want it to look cartoony. That took a long time.” Ambrosius, voiced by Tilda Swinton, gets a lot more screentime in Season 4. When Splinter (Rob Benedict) splits in two was achieved heavily in CG. “Erik threw out the words ‘cellular mitosis’ early on as something he wanted to use,” Fleet states. “We shot Rob Benedict on a greenscreen doing all of the different performances for the clones that pop out. It was a crazy amount of CG work with Houdini and particle and skin effects. We previs’d the sequence so we had specific actions. One clone comes out to the right and the other pulls backwards.” What tends to go unnoticed by many is Splinter’s clones setting up for a press conference being held by Firecracker (Valorie Curry). “It’s funny how no one brings up the 22-hour motion control shot that we had to do with Splinter on the stage, which was the most complicated shot!” Fleet observes. “We have this sweeping long shot that brings you into the room and follows Splinter as he carries a container to the stage and hands it off to a clone, and then you reveal five more of them interweaving each other and interacting with all of these objects. It’s like a minute-long dance. First off, you have to choreograph it. We previs’d it, but then you need to get people to do it. We hired dancers and put different colored armbands on them. The camera is like another performer, and a metronome is going, which enables you to find a pace. That took about eight hours of rehearsal. Then Rob has to watch each one of their performances and mimic it to the beat. When he is handing off a box of cables, it’s to a double who is going to have to be erased and be him on the other side. They have to be almost perfect in their timing and lineup in order to take it over in visual effects and make it work.”

New monsters, features, and more arrive in the Forbidden Lands with Free Title Update 2, dropping in Monster Hunter Wilds on June 30! Watch the latest trailer for a look at what awaits you. Play Video Monster Hunter Wilds – Free Title Update 2 In addition to what’s featured in the trailer, Free Title Update 2 will also feature improvements and adjustments to various aspects of the game. Make sure to check the official Monster Hunter Wilds website for a new Director’s Letter from Game Director Yuya Tokuda coming soon, for a deeper dive into what’s coming in addition to the core new monsters and features. ● The Leviathan, Lagiacrus, emerges at last View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image The long-awaited Leviathan, Lagiacrus, has finally appeared in Monster Hunter Wilds! Floating at the top of the aquatic food chain, Lagiacrus is a master of the sea, boiling the surrounding water by emitting powerful currents of electricity. New missions to hunt Lagiacrus will become available for hunters at Hunter Rank 31 or above, and after clearing the “A World Turned Upside Down” main mission, and the “Forest Doshaguma” side mission. While you’ll fight Lagiacrus primarily on land, your hunt against this formidable foe can also take you deep underwater for a special encounter, where it feels most at home. During the underwater portion of the hunt, hunters won’t be able to use their weapons freely, but there are still ways to fight back and turn the tide of battle. Stay alert for your opportunities! Hunt Lagiacrus to obtain materials for new hunter and Palico armor! As usual, these sets can be used as layered armor as well. ● The Flying Wyvern, Seregios, strikes View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Shining golden bright, the flying wyvern, Seregios, swoops into the Forbidden Lands with Free Title Update 2! Seregios is a highly mobile aerial monster that fires sharp bladescales, inflicting bleeding status on hunters. Keep an eye on your health and bring along rations and well-done steak when hunting this monster. Missions to hunt Seregios are available for hunters at HR 31 or above that have cleared the “A World Turned Upside Down” main mission. New hunter and Palico armor forged from Seregios materials awaits you! For hunters looking for a greater challenge, 8★ Tempered Lagiacrus and Seregios will begin appearing for hunters at HR 41 or higher, after completing their initial missions. Best of luck against these powerful monsters! Hunt in style with layered weapons With Free Title Update 2, hunters will be able to use Layered Weapons, which lets you use the look of any weapon, while keeping the stats and abilities of another. To unlock a weapon design as a Layered Weapon option, you’ll need to craft the final weapon in that weapon’s upgrade tree. Artian Weapons can be used as layered weapons by fully reinforcing a Rarity 8 Artian weapon. For weapons that change in appearance when upgraded, you’ll also have the option to use their pre-upgrade designs as well! You can also craft layered Palico weapons by forging their high-rank weapons. We hope this feature encourages you to delve deeper into crafting the powerful Artian Weapon you’ve been looking for, all while keeping the appearance of your favorite weapon. New optional features Change your choice of handler accompanying you in the field to Eric after completing the Lagiacrus mission in Free Title Update 2! You can always switch back to Alma too, but it doesn’t hurt to give our trusty handler a break from time to time. A new Support Hunter joins the fray Mina, a support hunter who wields a Sword & Shield, joins the hunt. With Free Title Update 2, you’ll be able to choose which support hunters can join you on quests. Photo Mode Improvements Snap even more creative photos of your hunts with some new options, including an Effects tab to adjust brightness and filter effects, and a Character Display tab to toggle off your Handler, Palico, Seikret, and more. Celebrate summer with the Festival of Accord: Flamefete seasonal event View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image The next seasonal event in Monster Hunter Wilds, the Festival of Accord: Flamefete, will take place in the Grand Hub from July 23 to August 6! Cool off with this summer themed celebration, where you can obtain new armor, gestures, and pop-up camp decorations for a limited time. You’ll also be able to eat special seasonal event meals and enjoy the fun of summer as the Grand Hub and all it’s members will be dressed to mark the occasion. Arch-Tempered Uth Duna slams down starting July 30 Take on an even more powerful version of Uth Duna when Arch-Tempered Uth Duna arrives as an Event Quest and Free Challenge Quest from July 30 to August 20! Take on and defeat the challenging apex of the Scarlet Forest to obtain materials for crafting the new Uth Duna γ hunter armor set and the Felyne Uth Duna γ Palico armor set. Be sure you’re at least HR 50 or above to take on this quest. We’ve also got plenty of new Event Quests on the way in the weeks ahead, including some where you can earn new special equipment, quests to obtain more armor spheres, and challenge quests against Mizutsune. Be sure to keep checking back each week to see what’s new! A special collaboration with Fender Monster Hunter Wilds is collaborating with world-renowned guitar brand Fender®! From August 27 to September 24, a special Event Quest will be available to earn a collaboration gesture that lets you rock out with the Monster Hunter Rathalos Telecaster®. In celebration of Monster Hunter’s 20th anniversary, the globally released Monster Hunter Rathalos Telecaster® collaboration guitar is making its way into the game! Be sure to experience it both in-game and in real life! A new round of cosmetic DLC arrives View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image Express your style with additional DLC, including four free dance gestures. Paid cosmetic DLC, such as gestures, stickers, pendants, and more will also be available. If you’ve purchased the Premium Deluxe Edition of Monster Hunter Wilds or the Cosmetic DLC Pass, Cosmetic DLC Pack 2 and other additional items will be available to download when Free Title Update 2 releases.  Free Title Update roadmap We hope you’re excited to dive into all the content coming with Free Title Update 2! We’ll continue to release updates, with Free Title Update 3 coming at the end of September. Stay tuned for more details to come. A Monster Hunter Wilds background is added to the PS5 Welcome hub Alongside Free Title Update 2 on June 30, an animated background featuring the hunters facing Arkveld during the Inclemency will be added to the Welcome hub. Customize your PS5 Welcome hub with Monster Hunter Wilds to get you in the hunting mood. View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image How to change the backgroundWelcome hub -> Change background -> Games Try out Monster Hunter Wilds on PS5 with a PlayStation Plus Premium Game Trial starting on June 30 View and download image Download the image close Close Download this image With the Game Trial, you can try out the full version of the game for 2 hours. If you decide to purchase the full version after the trial, your save data will carry over, allowing you to continue playing seamlessly right where you left off. If you haven’t played Monster Hunter Wilds yet, this is a great way to give it a try. Happy Hunting!

Casa Sofia | © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG Located in the historic heart of Lagos, Portugal, Casa Sofia by Mário Martins Atelier is a thoughtful exercise in urban integration and contemporary reinterpretation. Occupying a site once held by a modest two-story house, the project is situated on the corner of a block facing the Church of St Sebastião. With its commanding presence, this national monument set a formidable challenge for the architects: introducing a new residence that respects the weight of history while offering a clear, contemporary expression. Casa Sofia Technical Information Architects1-4: Mário Martins Atelier Location: Lagos, Portugal Project Completion Years: 2023 Photographs: © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG It is therefore important to design a building to fit into and complete the block. A house that is quiet and solid, with rhythmic metrics, whose new design brings an identity, with the weight and scent of the times, to a city that has existed for many centuries. – Mário Martins Atelier Casa Sofia Photographs © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG © Fernando Guerra / FG+SG Spatial Organization and Circulation The design’s ambition is anchored in reconciling modern residential needs with the dense urban fabric that defines the walled city. Rather than imposing a bold or disruptive form, the project embraces the existing rhythms and textures of the surrounding architecture. The result is a building that both defers to and elevates the neighborhood’s character. Its restrained profile and carefully modulated facade echo the massing and articulation of the original house while introducing an identity that is clearly of its time. At the core of Casa Sofia’s spatial organization is a deliberate hierarchy of spaces that transitions seamlessly between public, semi-public, and private domains. Entry from the street occurs through a modest set of steps leading to an exterior atrium. This threshold mediates the relationship between the public realm and the interior, grounding the house in its urban context. Once inside, an open hall reveals the vertical flow of the building, dominated by a staircase that appears to float, linking the house’s various levels while maintaining visual continuity throughout. The ground floor houses three bedrooms, each with an ensuite bathroom, radiating from the central hall. This level also contains a small basement for technical support, reinforcing the discreet layering of functional and domestic spaces. Midway up the staircase, the house opens onto a garage, a laundry room, and an intimate courtyard. These areas, essential for daily life, are seamlessly integrated into the overall composition, contributing to a spatial richness that is both pragmatic and sensorial. On the first floor, an open-plan arrangement accommodates the main living spaces. Around a central void, the living and dining areas, kitchen, and master suite are arranged to encourage visual interplay and shared light. This configuration enhances the spatial porosity, ensuring that despite the density of the historic center, the house retains a sense of openness and fluidity. Above, a recessed roof level recedes from the street, culminating in a panoramic terrace with a swimming pool. Here, the building dissolves into the sky, offering expansive views and light-filled leisure spaces that contrast with the more enclosed lower floors. Materiality and Craftsmanship Materiality plays a decisive role in mediating the building’s relationship with its context. White-painted plaster, a familiar element in the region, is punctuated by deep limestone moldings. These details create a play of light and shadow that emphasizes the facade’s verticality and rhythm. The generous thickness of the walls, carried over from the site’s earlier construction, lends a sense of solidity and permanence to the house, recalling the tactile traditions of the Algarve’s architecture. The interior and exterior detailing is characterized by an economy of means, where each material is selected for its ability to reinforce the house’s quiet presence. Local materials and craftsmanship ground the project in its immediate context while responding to environmental imperatives. High thermal comfort is achieved through careful orientation and passive design strategies, complemented by the integration of solar control and water conservation measures. These considerations underscore the project’s commitment to sustainability without resorting to superficial gestures. Broader Urban and Cultural Implications Beyond its immediate function as a family home, Casa Sofia engages in a broader dialogue with its urban and cultural surroundings. The project exemplifies a measured response to the question of how to build within a historical setting without resorting to nostalgia or pastiche. It demonstrates that contemporary architecture can find resonance within heritage contexts by prioritizing the values of continuity, scale, and material authenticity. In its measured dialogue with the Church of St Sebastião and the centuries-old urban landscape of Lagos, Casa Sofia illustrates the potential for architecture to enrich the experience of place through quiet, rigorous interventions. It is a project that reaffirms architecture’s capacity to negotiate between past and present, crafting spaces that are at once deeply contextual and unambiguously of their moment. Casa Sofia Plans Sketch | © Mário Martins Atelier Ground Level | © Mário Martins Atelier Level 1 | © Mário Martins Atelier Level 2 | © Mário Martins Atelier Roof Plan | © Mário Martins Atelier Section | © Mário Martins Atelier Casa Sofia Image Gallery About Mário Martins Atelier Mário Martins Atelier is a Portuguese architecture and urbanism practice founded in 2000 by architect Mário Martins, who holds a degree from the Faculty of Architecture at the Technical University of Lisbon (1988). Headquartered in Lagos with a secondary office in Lisbon, the firm operates with a dedicated multidisciplinary team. The office has developed a broad spectrum of work, from single-family homes and collective housing to public buildings and urban regeneration, distinguished by technical precision, contextual sensitivity, and sustainable strategies. Credits and Additional Notes Lead Architect: Mário Martins, arq. Project Team: Rita Rocha, Sónia Fialho, Susana Caetano, Susana Jóia, Ana Graça Engineering: Nuno Grave Engenharia Building: Marques Antunes Engenharia Lda

Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of testing out the reMarkable Paper Pro. You can read my full review here, but in short, it gets everything right about the note taking experience. Despite being an e-ink tablet, it does get quite pricey. However, there are certainly some fantastic parts of the experience that make it worth comparing to an iPad Air, depending on what you’re looking for in a note taking device for school, work, or whatever else. Updated June 15th to reflect reMarkable’s new post-tariff pricing. Overview Since the reMarkable Paper Pro comes in at $679 with the reMarkable Marker Plus included, it likely makes most sense to compare this against Apple’s iPad Air 11-inch. That comes in at $599 without an Apple Pencil, and adding in the Apple Pencil Pro will run you an additional $129. The equivalent iPad setup will run you $50 more than the reMarkable Paper Pro. Given the fact that iPad Air‘s regularly go on sale, it’d be fair to say they’re roughly on the same playing field. So, $679 for a reMarkable Paper Pro setup, versus $728 for a comparable iPad Air setup. Which is better for you? Obviously, the iPad Air has one key advantage: It runs iOS, has millions of apps available, can browse the web, play games, stream TV shows/movies, and much more. To some, that might end the comparison and make the iPad a clear winner, but I disagree. Yes, if you want your tablet to do all of those things for you, the iPad Air is a no brainer. At the end of the day, the iPad Air is a general purpose tablet that’ll do a lot more for you. However, if you also have a laptop to accompany your tablet, I’d argue that the iPad Air may fall into a category of slight redundance. Most things you’d want to do on the iPad can be done on a laptop, excluding any sort of touchscreen/stylus reliant features. iPads are great, and if you want that – you should pick that. However, I have an alternative argument to offer… The reMarkable Paper Pro does one thing really well: note taking. At first thought, you might think: why would I pay so much for a device that only does one thing? Well, that’s because it does that one thing really well. There’s also a second side to this argument: focus. It’s much easier to focus on what you’re doing when the device isn’t capable of anything else. If you’re taking notes while studying, you could easily see a notification or have the temptation to check notification center. Or, if you’re reading an e-book, you could easily choose to swipe up and get into another app. The best thing about the reMarkable Paper Pro is that you can’t easily get lost in the world of modern technology, while still having important technological features like cloud backup of your notes. Plus, you don’t have to worry about carrying around physical paper. One last thing – the reMarkable Paper Pro also has rubber feet on the back, so if you place it down flat on a table caseless, you don’t have to worry about scratching it up. Spec comparison Here’s a quick rundown of all of the key specs between the two devices. reMarkable Paper Pro‘s strengths definitely lie in battery, form factor, and stylus. iPad has some rather neat features with the Apple Pencil Pro, and also clears in the display category. Both devices also offer keyboards for typed notes, though only the iPad offers a trackpad. Display– 10.9-inch LCD display– Glossy glass– 2360 × 1640 at 264 ppi– 11.8-inch Color e-ink display– Paper-feeling textured glass– 2160 × 1620 at 229 ppiHardware– 6.1mm thin– Anodized aluminum coating– Weighs 461g w/o Pencil Pro– 5.1mm thin– Textured aluminum edges– Weighs 360g w/ Marker attachedStylus– Magnetically charges from device– Supports tilt/pressure sensitivity– Low latency (number unspecified)– Matte plastic build– Squeeze features, double tap gestures– Magnetically charges from device– Supports tilt/pressure sensitivity– Ultra-low latency (12ms)– Premium textured aluminum build– Built in eraser on the bottomBattery life– Up to 10 hours of web browsing– Recharges to 100% in 2-3 hrs– Up to 14 days of typical usage– Fast charges to 90% in 90 minsPrice– $599 ($529 on sale) for iPad Air– $129 ($99 on sale) for Pencil Pro– $679 bundled with Marker Plus Wrap up All in all, I’m not going to try to convince anyone that wanted to buy an iPad that they should buy a reMarkable Paper Pro. You can’t beat the fact that the iPad Air will do a lot more, for roughly the same cost. But, if you’re not buying this to be a primary computing device, I’d argue that the reMarkable Paper Pro is a worthy alternative, especially if you really just want something you can zone in on. The reMarkable Paper Pro feels a lot nicer to write on, has substantially longer battery life, and really masters a minimalist form of digital note taking. Buy M3 iPad Air on Amazon: Buy reMarkable Paper Pro on Amazon: What do you think of these two tablets? Let us know in the comments. My favorite Apple accessory recommendations: Follow Michael: X/Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram Add 9to5Mac to your Google News feed.  FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.You’re reading 9to5Mac — experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. 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Montreal City Hall – Beaupré Michaud and Associates, Architects in collaboration with MU Architecture, Montreal. Photo credit: Raphaël Thibodeau The Ordre des architectes du Québec (OAQ) has revealed the winners of its 2025 Awards of Excellence in Architecture. A total of eleven projects were recognized at a gala hosted by Jean-René Dufort at Espace St-Denis in Montreal. The Grand Prix d’excellence en architecture was awarded to the restoration of Montreal City Hall , a major project led by Beaupré Michaud et Associés, architects, and MU Architecture. This complex project successfully preserves the building’s historical qualities while transforming it into an exemplary place in terms of energy and ecology.  Guided by plans from the 1920s, the architects revived this building by equipping it with contemporary, efficient, more open, and more accessible features for residents. In addition to the heritage restoration, the team also reconciled old and contemporary technologies, energy efficiency, universal accessibility, and the reappropriation of spaces that had become dilapidated. The People’s Choice Award was presented to the Coop Milieu de l’île, designed by Pivot: Coopérative d’architecture. Located in Outremont, this 91-unit intergenerational housing cooperative was born from the initiative of a group of committed citizens looking to address the housing crisis by creating affordable, off-market housing. In the context of the housing crisis, the jury emphasized that this project, which is also the recipient of an Award of Excellence, designed by and for its residents, acts as a “breath of fresh air in Outremont.” Coop Milieu de l’île. Pivot: Architecture Cooperative, Montreal. Photo credit: Annie Fafard “The projects we evaluated this year were truly remarkable in their richness and diversity. The jury found in them everything that makes Quebec architecture so strong and unique: rigor, attention to detail, and respect for the context and built heritage. We saw emblematic projects, but also discreet gestures, almost invisible in the landscape. Some projects rehabilitated forgotten places, transformed historic buildings, or even imagined new spaces for collective living. All, in their own way, highlighted the powerful impact of built quality on our living environments,” said Gabrielle Nadeau, chair of the OAQ Awards of Excellence Jury. The jury for the 2025 Awards of Excellence in Architecture was chaired by Gabrielle Nadeau, principal design architect, COBE in Copenhagen. It also included architects Marianne Charbonneau of Agence Spatiale, Maxime-Alexis Frappier of ACDF, and Guillaume Martel-Trudel of Provencher-Roy. Élène Levasseur, director of research and education at Architecture sans frontières Québec, acted as the public representative. Through the Awards of Excellence in Architecture, presented annually, the Order aims to raise awareness among Quebecers of the multiple dimensions of architectural quality, in addition to promoting the role of the architects in the design of inspiring, sustainable and thoughtful senior living environments. The full list of winners include the following. Habitat Sélénite by _naturehumaine Habitat Sélénite – _naturehumaine, Eastman (Estrie). Photo: Raphaël Thibodeau École secondaire du Bosquet by ABCP | Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux | Bilodeau Baril Leeming Architectes École secondaire du Bosquet – ABCP | Menkès Shooner Dagenais LeTourneux | Bilodeau Baril Leeming Architectes, Drummondville (Centre-du-Québec). Photo: Stéphane Brügger Bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy by Saucier + Perrotte Architectes et GLCRM Architectes Bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy – Saucier + Perrotte Architectes et GLCRM Architectes, Québec (Capitale-Nationale). Photo: Olivier Blouin Maison A by Atelier Pierre Thibault Maison A – Atelier Pierre Thibault, Saint-Nicolas (Chaudière-Appalaches). Photo: Maxime Brouillet Nouvel Hôtel de Ville de La Pêche by BGLA Architecture et Design Urbain Nouvel Hôtel de Ville de La Pêche – BGLA Architecture et Design Urbain, La Pêche (Outaouais). Photo: Stéphane Brügger / Dominique Laroche École du Zénith by Pelletier de Fontenay + Leclerc École du Zénith – Pelletier de Fontenay + Leclerc, Shefford (Estrie). Photo: James Brittain / David Boyer Le Paquebot by _naturehumaine Le Paquebot – _naturehumaine, Montréal (Montréal). Photo: Ronan Mézière Coopérative funéraire la Seigneurie by ultralocal architectes Coopérative funéraire la Seigneurie – ultralocal architectes, Québec (Capitale-Nationale). Photo credit: Paul Dussault Site d’observation des bélugas Putep’t-awt by atelier5 + mainstudio Site d’observation des bélugas Putep’t-awt – atelier5 + mainstudio, Cacouna (Bas-Saint-Laurent). Photo: Stéphane Groleau The post OAQ Awards of Excellence winners announced appeared first on Canadian Architect.

Silhouette photography has the unique power to convey powerful emotions and dramatic narratives by emphasizing shape and form over details and textures. By creatively harnessing silhouettes, photographers can captivate viewers’ imaginations, prompting them to fill in unseen details and engage deeply with the story. Here’s how to master silhouettes to elevate your photographic storytelling. The Art of Silhouettes A silhouette is created when your subject is backlit, making the subject appear completely dark against a lighter background. Silhouettes rely heavily on strong outlines, instantly recognizable shapes, and clear gestures to tell compelling stories. Capturing the Perfect Silhouette Ideal Conditions Sunrise and sunset offer low-angle sunlight, providing ideal lighting conditions to create dramatic silhouettes. Artificial light sources like urban lights, windows, and doorways offer unique creative opportunities for silhouette photography. Camera Settings Adjust your exposure for the brightest part of the scene, usually the background, to render your subject as a dark silhouette. Choose a narrower aperture (higher f-number) to maintain clear, sharp outlines, ensuring your silhouette remains distinct. Composition Techniques for Dramatic Impact Select subjects with strong, recognizable shapes—human figures, animals, architecture, and trees often create compelling silhouettes. Encourage subjects to use clear gestures or dynamic poses to communicate emotion or action effectively. Utilize negative space to emphasize silhouettes, creating visual balance and directing viewers’ attention to the subject. Enhancing Storytelling through Silhouettes Silhouettes simplify your scene, focusing viewers’ attention entirely on the emotional or narrative essence of your image. Obscuring details introduces an element of mystery, inviting viewers to engage actively with your photograph. Silhouettes naturally evoke emotional responses, effectively conveying solitude, contemplation, love, or drama. Post-Processing Tips Enhance contrast and deepen blacks to emphasize your silhouette, strengthening its dramatic presence. Apply subtle color grading or tone adjustments to amplify mood—warmer tones evoke romance or nostalgia, while cooler tones suggest tranquility or melancholy. Creative Applications Silhouettes are versatile across many genres, including intimate portraits, dynamic street photography, and striking nature and wildlife imagery. Using silhouettes thoughtfully allows photographers to communicate powerful forms and actions, creating graphically strong and emotionally resonant photographs. Silhouettes offer photographers an exceptional tool for impactful storytelling, combining simplicity with emotional intensity. By mastering essential techniques, thoughtful composition, and creative execution, you can craft compelling visual narratives that resonate deeply with your audience. Explore silhouettes in your photography, and uncover the profound storytelling power hidden within shadows. Extended reading: Creating depth and drama with moody photography The post Harnessing Silhouette for Dramatic Storytelling appeared first on 500px.

WWDC 2025, Apple’s annual developers conference, starts at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. Monday. Last year’s event was notable for its focus on AI, and this year, there is considerable pressure on the company to build on its promises, and to change the narrative after months of largely negative headlines. As in previous years, the company will focus on software updates and new technologies, including the next version of iOS, which is rumored to have the most significant design changes since the introduction of iOS 7. But iOS 19 (or 26, if other rumors about the new naming system are true) isn’t the only thing the company will announce at WWDC 2025. Here’s how you can watch the keynote livestream. iOS is getting the most dramatic design change in over a decade When Apple introduced a major overhaul to iOS back in 2013 with the launch of iOS 7, it felt jarring for many users with the shift from the prior skeuomorphic design with gradients and real-world textures to the more colorful, but flat, design style that reflected Apple’s then chief design officer Jony Ive’s taste for minimalism. Now, new reports suggest that an upcoming redesign could provoke a similar level of reaction. Reports suggest the new design may have elements referencing visionOS, the software powering Apple’s spatial computing headset, the Apple Vision Pro. If true, that means the new OS could feature a transparent interface and more circular app icons that break away from the traditional square format today. This visual redesign could be implemented across all of Apple’s ecosystem (including even CarPlay), according to Bloomberg, providing a more seamless experience for consumers moving between their different devices. Techcrunch event Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | July 15 REGISTER NOW iOS will change its naming system According to Bloomberg, Apple will announce a change in the naming system for iOS at this year’s WWDC. Instead of announcing the next version of iOS as iOS 19, Apple’s operating systems will shift to being named by year. That means we could be set to see the launch of iOS 26 instead, alongside the OSes for other products, including adOS 26, macOS 26, watchOS 26, tvOS 26, and visionOS 26. Apple may keep the AI news light this year While it might be challenging to top the news related to Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, the company is expected to share a few updates on the AI front. The company has seemingly been caught flat-footed in the AI race, making announcements about AI capabilities that had yet to ship, leading even some Apple pundits to accuse the company of touting vaporware. While Apple has launched several AI tools like Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools, Photos Clean Up, and more, its promise of an improved Siri, personalized to the end user and able to take action across your apps, has been delayed. Meanwhile, Apple has turned to outside companies like OpenAI to give its iPhone a boost in terms of its AI capabilities. At WWDC, it may announce support for other AI chatbots, as well. With Jony Ive now working with Sam Altman on an AI hardware device, Apple is under pressure to catch up on AI progress. Image Credits:Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto / Getty Images In addition, reports suggest that Apple’s Health app could soon incorporate AI technology, which could include a health chatbot and generative AI insights that provide personalized health-related suggestions based on user data. Additionally, other apps, such as Messages, may receive enhancements with AI capabilities, including a translation feature and polls that offer AI-generated suggestions, per 9to5Mac. Apple will likely make the most of a number of smaller OS updates that involve AI, given its underwhelming progress. Reports suggest that these updates could include AI-powered battery management features and an AI-powered Shortcuts app, for instance. iPhone users may get a dedicated gaming app Bloomberg confirmed a 9to5Mac report that said Apple is developing a dedicated gaming app that will replace the aging Game Center app. The app could include access to Apple Arcade’s subscription-based game store, plus other gaming features like leaderboards, recommendations, and ways to challenge your friends. It could also integrate with iMessage or FaceTime for remote gaming. Image Credits:Gabby Jones/Bloomberg / Getty Images Updates to Mac, Watch, TV, and more Along with the new design, reports suggest that Apple’s other operating systems will get some polish, too. For instance, macOS may also see the new gaming app and benefit from the new AirPods features. It’s also expected to be named macOS Tahoe, in keeping with Apple’s naming convention that references California landmarks. Apple TV may get a visual overhaul, but also changes to its user interface, the new gaming app, and other features. AirPods to get new features In addition to Messages getting a translation feature, Bloomberg reported that Apple could also bring a live-translate language feature to its AirPods wireless Bluetooth earbuds, allowing real-time translation during conversations. The iPhone will translate spoken words from another language for the user and will also translate the user’s response back into that language. A new report from 9to5Mac also suggests that AirPods may get new head gestures to complement today’s ability to either nod or shake your head to respond to incoming calls or messages. Plus, AirPods may get features to auto-pause music after you fall asleep, a way to trigger the camera via Camera Control with a touch, a studio-quality mic mode, and an improved pairing experience in shared AirPods. Image Credits:Darrell Etherington Apple Pencil upgrade According to reports, the Apple Pencil is also receiving a new update, one that will benefit users who wish to write in Arabic script. In an effort to cater to customers in UAE, Saudi Arabia, and India, Apple is reportedly launching a new virtual calligraphy feature in iPadOS 19. The company may also introduce a bi-directional keyboard so users can switch between Arabic and English on iPhones and iPads. No hardware announcements? There haven’t been any rumors regarding new devices, because no hardware is ready for release yet, according to Bloomberg. Although it’s always possible that the company will surprise us with a new Mac Pro announcement, most reports are saying this is highly unlikely at this point. Some reports indicate that Apple may also announce support for a new input device for its Vision Pro: spatial controllers. The devices would be motion-aware and designed with interaction in a 3D environment in mind, 9to5Mac says. In addition, Vision Pro could get eye-scrolling support, enabling users to scroll through documents on both native and third-party apps. Bloomberg had reported in November that Apple was expected to announce a smart home tablet in March 2025, featuring a 6-inch touchscreen and voice-activated controls. The device was said to include support for Home Control, Siri, and video calls, but has yet to launch. Following the discovery of a filing for “HomeOS” by PMC’s Parker Ortolani, speculation has arisen that Apple may unveil the software for the device at WWDC.