Interviews Mickey 17: Stuart Penn – VFX Supervisor – Framestore By Vincent Frei - 27/05/2025 When we last spoke with Stuart Penn in 2019, he walked us through Framestore’s work on Avengers: Endgame. He has since added The Aeronauts, Moon Knight, 1899, and Flite to his impressive list of credits. How did you get involved on this show? Soon after we had been awarded work, Director Bong visited our London Studio in May 2022 to meet us and share his vision with us. How was the sequences made by Framestore? Framestore was responsible for the development of the Baby and Mama Creepers. We worked on the shots of the Baby Creepers within the ship, and the Creepers in the caves and the ice crevasse. We developed the ice cave and crevasse environments, including a full-CG shot of Mickey falling into the crevasse. Within the ship we were also responsible for the cycler room with its lava pit, the human printer, a range of set extensions, Marshall’s beautiful rock and—one of my personal favourites—Pigeon Man’s spinning eyes. We also crafted the spacewalk sequence. All the work came out of our London and Mumbai studios. Bong Joon Ho has a very distinct visual storytelling style. How did you collaborate with him to ensure the VFX aligned with his vision, and were there any unexpected creative challenges that pushed the team in new directions? Director Bong was fun to work with, very collaborative and had a very clear vision of where the film was going. We had discussions before and during the shoot. While we were shooting, Director Bong would talk to us about the backstory of what the Creepers might be thinking that went beyond the scope of what we would see in the movie. This really helped with giving the creatures character. Can you walk us through the design and animation process for the baby and mother creepers? What references or inspirations helped shape their look and movement? Director Bong had been working with his creature designer, Heechul Jang, for many months before production started. We had kickoffs with Director Bong and Heechul that provided us with some of the best and most thought out concepts I think we’ve ever received. Director Bong set us the challenge of bringing them to life. We took the lead on the Baby and Mama Creepers and DNEG took on the Juniors. It’s fun to note that the energy and inquisitive nature of the Babies was inspired by reference footage of puppies. Were these creatures primarily CG, or was there any practical element involved? How did you ensure their integration into the live-action footage? They were all CG in the final film. On set we had a range of stuffies and mockups for actors to interact with and for lighting reference. People became quite attached to the baby creeper stuffies! For the Mama there was a head and large frame that was controlled by a team of puppeteers for eyeline and lighting reference. The ice cave has a very distinct visual style. How did you achieve the look of the ice, and what techniques were used to create the lighting and atmospheric effects inside the cave? I was sent to Iceland for a week to gather reference. I visited a range of ice cave locations—driving, hiking and being dropped by helicopter at various locations across a glacier. This reference provided the basis for the look of the caves. The ice was rendered fully refractive with interior volumes to create the structures. As it’s so computationally expensive to render we used tricks where we could reproject a limited number of fully rendered frames. This worked best on lock offs or small camera moves—others we just had to render full length. How were the scenes featuring multiple Mickeys filmed? Did you rely mostly on motion control, digital doubles, or a combination of techniques to seamlessly integrate the clones into the shots? For our shots it was mostly multiple plates relying on the skill of camera operators to match the framing and move and the comp work to either split frames or lift one of the Mickeys from a plate and replace the stand-in. Since Mickey’s clones are central to the story, what were the biggest VFX challenges in making them interact convincingly? Were there any specific techniques used to differentiate them visually or subtly show their progression over time? This really all came down to Robert Pattinson’s performances. He would usually be acting with his double for interaction and lighting. They would then switch positions and redo the performance. Robs could switch between the Mickey 17 and 18 characters with the assistance of quick hair and makeup changes. The prison environment seems to have a unique aesthetic and mood. How much of it was built practically, and how did VFX contribute to enhancing or extending the set? The foreground cells and storage containers were practical and everything beyond the fence was CG with a DMP overlay. The containers going off into the distance were carefully positioned and lit to enable you to feel the vast scale of the ship. We also replaced the fence in most shots with CG as it was easier than rotoing through the chain links. When Mickey is outside the ship, exposed to radiation, there are several extreme body effects, including his hand coming off. Can you discuss the challenges of creating these sequences, particularly in terms of digital prosthetics and damage simulations? Knocking Mickey’s hand off was quite straight forward due the speed of the impact. We started with a plate of the practical arm and glove and switch to a pre-sculpted CG glove and arm stump. The hand spinning off into the distance was hand animated to allow us to fully art direct the spin and trajectory. The final touch was to add and FX sim for the blood droplets. How did you balance realism and stylization in depicting the effects of radiation exposure? Were there real-world references or scientific studies that guided the look of the damage? Most of the radiation effects came from great make up and prosthetics—we just added some final touches such as an FX sim for a bursting blister. We tried a few different simulations based on work we had none on previous shows but ultimately dialed it back to something more subtle so it didn’t distract from the moment. Were there any memorable moments or scenes from the film that you found particularly rewarding or challenging to work on from a visual effects standpoint? There were a lot of quite diverse challenges. From creature work, environments, lava to a lot of ‘one off’ effects. The shot where the Creepers are pushing Mickey out into the snow was particularly challenging, with so many Creepers interacting with each other and Mickey, it took the combination of several animators and compositors to bring it together and integrate with the partial CG Mickey. Looking back on the project, what aspects of the visual effects are you most proud of? The baby creeper and the Ice cave environment. How long have you worked on this show? I worked on it for about 18 months What’s the VFX shots count? Framestore worked on 405 shots. A big thanks for your time. WANT TO KNOW MORE?Framestore: Dedicated page about Mickey 17 on Framestore website. © Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2025

Breakdown & Showreels The Electric State: A World Full of Unique Robots by Digital Domain By Vincent Frei - 26/05/2025 In the final episode of Behind The Electric State, VFX Supervisor Joel Behrens and Animation Supervisor Liz Bernard from Digital Domain dive into the film’s most ambitious sequences — packed with fully CG environments and an army of bots, each with their own personality! WANT TO KNOW MORE?Digital Domain: Dedicated page about The Electric State in Digital Domain website.Joel Behrens & Elizabeth “Liz” Bernard: Here’s my interview with Joel Behrens (VFX Supervisor) & Elizabeth “Liz” Bernard (Animation Supervisor). © Vincent Frei – The Art of VFX – 2025

Women have been an important part of the armed services since the beginning, with icons like Harriet Tubman participating in the Civil War. While being female in a traditionally male-dominated space hasn't always been easy, these women have still served their countries.In 2023, the US Department of Defense reported that the percentage of women serving in active and reserve capacities was growing. In 2022, 17.5% of active-duty roles and 21.6% of the National Guard and reserves were women, up slightly from the year before, it reported, citing the 2022 Demographics Profile of the Military Community.On Memorial Day this year, here are 12 famous women who have served in the military around the world, including Bea Arthur, Queen Elizabeth, and more. Harriet Tubman was a military leader and Union spy during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman. MPI/Getty Images Most know Harriet Tubman for her groundbreaking work with the Underground Railroad and, later, as an abolitionist, but as National Geographic reported, Tubman was also an integral part of the Civil War.In 1863, Tubman and Colonel James Montgomery led a group of soldiers in freeing slaves from plantations in South Carolina, making Tubman the first woman in US history to lead a military expedition, according to National Geographic.Her work continued as a spy and recruiter for the Union Army. This operation was so covert that only President Lincoln knew about it.Tubman received compensation for her military contributions decades later, in 1899. Thomas B. Allen, the author of "Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent," called Tubman "one of the great heroines of the Civil War." Queen Elizabeth was a military truck driver during World War II. Queen Elizabeth outside a first aid truck during World War II. Keystone/Getty Images Queen Elizabeth was only 18 years old when she begged her father, King George VI, to take part in helping out during World War II. She joined the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service in England that same year and was known as "Second Subaltern Elizabeth Windsor," according to the National Archives.While serving, the young queen drove military trucks and trained as a mechanic, making her, to this day, the only female member of the Royal Family to enter the armed forces.  NASA's Eileen Collins was one of the first female pilots in the Air Force and in space. Eileen Collins. NASA Eileen Collins broke several barriers during her career: Not only was she NASA's first female shuttle commander, but at 23, she became the Air Force's first female flight instructor, according to the agency.She joined the Air Force in 1978, becoming one of the first four women to go through pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Enid, Oklahoma. She wrote in Time, "The Air Force was testing whether women could succeed as military pilots. We obviously were living in a fishbowl — everyone knew who we were, our personal business, our test scores and our flight performance. My philosophy was to be the best pilot I could be."Her military training directly led her to test-pilot school, where she "knew" she would go on to be the first female space shuttle pilot — and succeeded in doing so.   "Golden Girl" Bea Arthur was one of the first members of the Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Bea Arthur. Lennox McLendon/AP Photo Before she was Dorothy Zbornak on "The Golden Girls," Emmy Award-winning actor Bea Arthur was a Marine.As reported by The Daily Beast, Arthur enlisted in the Women's Reserve when she was 21 years old. She first served as a typist and truck driver. She worked her way up to staff sergeant and was honorably discharged in 1945. Official documents show that Arthur's supervisors thought she was "argumentative," which is not a far cry from the feisty persona she became known for on both "The Golden Girls" and "Maude." "Stranger Things" actor Jennifer Marshall served in the US Navy for five years. Jennifer Marshall as Susan Hargrove on "Stranger Things." Netflix Before Jennifer Marshall scored the role of Susan Hargrove on Netflix's hit show "Stranger Things," she served in the United States Navy from ages 17 to 22. According to Marshall's website, during her service, she was a forklift operator, aircraft handler, and logistics specialist. She also worked for the USS Theodore Roosevelt's Sexual Assault Victim Intervention (SAVI) program. Marshall was awarded many honors and medals for her time in the Navy. Now, in addition to acting, she works with Pin-Ups For Vets, a nonprofit organization that aids hospitalized veterans and deployed troops. Food Network star Sunny Anderson was in the Air Force. Sunny Anderson. Jim Spellman/Getty Images Anderson, who hosts "The Kitchen," "Cooking for Real," and "Home Made in America," grew up around the military because of her parents. As an adult, she enlisted in the US Air Force as a radio broadcaster and journalist, working in Seoul, South Korea, and in San Antonio. "I knew that there were radio stations, television stations, newspapers, and magazines, for the military, by the military, and I wanted to be a part of that," Anderson told ABC News in 2013.She also wanted to train in something that would be useful when she left the military."My transition from the Air Force started before I even got in the Air Force," she said. Radio talk show host Robin Quivers was a captain in the Air Force. Robin Quivers. Walter McBride/WireImage via Getty Images Robin Quivers has co-hosted "The Howard Stern Show" for over 30 years, but before that, she served as a captain in the US Air Force.Quivers got her degree in nursing from the University of Maryland and put it to use by joining the military as a second lieutenant after college. She quickly climbed the ranks, and when she was discharged in 1978, her official title was captain, according to Biography.com.She served as a reserve in the Air Force until 1990, per military records, after which she fully pivoted to her career in radio. But Howard Stern hired her for his show in 1981, which means that Quivers — though she was "inactive" — was still technically serving while she was on the air. Actor Zulay Henao served in the US Army for three years. Zulay Henao. JB Lacroix/ Getty Images Colombian-American actor Zulay Henao has appeared on the show "Army Wives," but few know that she herself served in the US Army before becoming an actor.Henao enlisted after completing high school and, after three years of serving, went on to enroll at the New York Conservatory for Dramatic Arts.She previously spoke to the paparazzi about her time in the military, saying: "I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing, and I wouldn't have the perspective I have of the world, if it weren't for the Army." Olympic medalist Shauna Rohbock was in the National Guard. Shauna Rohbock. Harry How/Getty Images Shauna Rohbock is an Olympic bobsledder and won the silver medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. But before that, according to Team USA, Rohbock joined the Utah Army National Guard and was part of the National Guard Outstanding Athlete Program. Olympian Amber English competed while still in the military. She won gold in women's skeet shooting at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Amber English at the 2020 Olympics. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images At her first Olympics, First Lt. Amber English took gold with an Olympic record score of 56, NBC reported. Technically not yet a veteran, she's a logistics officer and member of the Army Marksmanship Unit, according to Military.com.After English's win, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin congratulated her on Twitter, now known as X."Your country is extremely proud of you today, and I'm so glad you're representing us," he wrote.She joins an illustrious list of medal winners, both male and female, with military backgrounds. "Wonder Woman" Gal Gadot served in the Israel Defense Forces for two years. Gal Gadot. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images After Gal Gadot was crowned Miss Israel in 2004 and before she became Wonder Woman in 2017, she served her mandatory two years in the IDF. During her assignment, she worked as a "physical fitness specialist," teaching gymnastics and calisthenics to the soldiers, PopSugar reported.Pro-Palestine groups have criticized her service, as well as her support of the Israeli military and cause in social media posts."I think much of it comes from ignorance and people not understanding what most people do in the army in Israel or what I did in the army during my service in the military," she told The Jakarta Post in May 2021. She added, "Being an Israeli and going to the army is an integral thing. It's something you have to do. It's mandatory." Ruth Westheimer, better known as the sex therapist Dr. Ruth, trained as a sniper in the IDF. Dr. Ruth. Donna Svennevik/Walt Disney Television/Getty Images Dr. Ruth was a Holocaust survivor, and after World War II ended, she moved as a teenager to what would become Israel. During her time there, she trained as a sniper due to her small size.She told The New Yorker in 2013, "I have no idea what the experience would be if I had to show it. But I was a very good sniper."Melina Glusac contributed to an earlier version of this story.

James Gentz has seen birds aplenty on his East Texas rice-and-crawfish farm: snow geese and pintails, spoonbills and teal. The whooping crane couple, though, he found “magnificent.” These endangered, long-necked behemoths arrived in 2021 and set to building a nest amid his flooded fields. “I just loved to see them,” Gentz says. Not every farmer is thrilled to host birds. Some worry about the spread of avian flu, others are concerned that the birds will eat too much of their valuable crops. But as an unstable climate delivers too little water, careening temperatures and chaotic storms, the fates of human food production and birds are ever more linked—with the same climate anomalies that harm birds hurting agriculture too. In some places, farmer cooperation is critical to the continued existence of whooping cranes and other wetland-dependent waterbird species, close to one-third of which are experiencing declines. Numbers of waterfowl (think ducks and geese) have crashed by 20 percent since 2014, and long-legged wading shorebirds like sandpipers have suffered steep population losses. Conservation-minded biologists, nonprofits, government agencies, and farmers themselves are amping up efforts to ensure that each species survives and thrives. With federal support in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, their work is more important (and threatened) than ever. Their collaborations, be they domestic or international, are highly specific, because different regions support different kinds of agriculture—grasslands, or deep or shallow wetlands, for example, favored by different kinds of birds. Key to the efforts is making it financially worthwhile for farmers to keep—or tweak—practices to meet bird forage and habitat needs. Traditional crawfish-and-rice farms in Louisiana, as well as in Gentz’s corner of Texas, mimic natural freshwater wetlands that are being lost to saltwater intrusion from sea level rise. Rice grows in fields that are flooded to keep weeds down; fields are drained for harvest by fall. They are then re-flooded to cover crawfish burrowed in the mud; these are harvested in early spring—and the cycle begins again. That second flooding coincides with fall migration—a genetic and learned behavior that determines where birds fly and when—and it lures massive numbers of egrets, herons, bitterns, and storks that dine on the crustaceans as well as on tadpoles, fish, and insects in the water. On a biodiverse crawfish-and-rice farm, “you can see 30, 40, 50 species of birds, amphibians, reptiles, everything,” says Elijah Wojohn, a shorebird conservation biologist at nonprofit Manomet Conservation Sciences in Massachusetts. In contrast, if farmers switch to less water-intensive corn and soybean production in response to climate pressures, “you’ll see raccoons, deer, crows, that’s about it.” Wojohn often relies on word-of-mouth to hook farmers on conservation; one learned to spot whimbrel, with their large, curved bills, got “fired up” about them and told all his farmer friends. Such farmer-to-farmer dialogue is how you change things among this sometimes change-averse group, Wojohn says. In the Mississippi Delta and in California, where rice is generally grown without crustaceans, conservation organizations like Ducks Unlimited have long boosted farmers’ income and staying power by helping them get paid to flood fields in winter for hunters. This attracts overwintering ducks and geese—considered an extra “crop”—that gobble leftover rice and pond plants; the birds also help to decompose rice stalks so farmers don’t have to remove them. Ducks Unlimited’s goal is simple, says director of conservation innovation Scott Manley: Keep rice farmers farming rice. This is especially important as a changing climate makes that harder. 2024 saw a huge push, with the organization conserving 1 million acres for waterfowl. Some strategies can backfire. In Central New York, where dwindling winter ice has seen waterfowl lingering past their habitual migration times, wildlife managers and land trusts are buying less productive farmland to plant with native grasses; these give migratory fuel to ducks when not much else is growing. But there’s potential for this to produce too many birds for the land available back in their breeding areas, says Andrew Dixon, director of science and conservation at the Mohamed Bin Zayed Raptor Conservation Fund in Abu Dhabi, and coauthor of an article about the genetics of bird migration in the 2024 Annual Review of Animal Biosciences. This can damage ecosystems meant to serve them. Recently, conservation efforts spanning continents and thousands of miles have sprung up. One seeks to protect buff-breasted sandpipers. As they migrate 18,000 miles to and from the High Arctic where they nest, the birds experience extreme hunger—hyperphagia—that compels them to voraciously devour insects in short grasses where the bugs proliferate. But many stops along the birds’ round-trip route are threatened. There are water shortages affecting agriculture in Texas, where the birds forage at turf grass farms; grassland loss and degradation in Paraguay; and in Colombia, conversion of forage lands to exotic grasses and rice paddies these birds cannot use. Conservationists say it’s critical to protect habitat for “buffies” all along their route, and to ensure that the winters these small shorebirds spend around Uruguay’s coastal lagoons are a food fiesta. To that end, Manomet conservation specialist Joaquín Aldabe, in partnership with Uruguay’s agriculture ministry, has so far taught 40 local ranchers how to improve their cattle grazing practices. Rotationally moving the animals from pasture to pasture means grasses stay the right length for insects to flourish. There are no easy fixes in the North American northwest, where bird conservation is in crisis. Extreme drought is causing breeding grounds, molting spots, and migration stopover sites to vanish. It is also endangering the livelihoods of farmers, who feel the push to sell land to developers. From Southern Oregon to Central California, conservation allies have provided monetary incentives for water-strapped grain farmers to leave behind harvest debris to improve survivability for the 1 billion birds that pass through every year, and for ranchers to flood-irrigate unused pastures. One treacherous leg of the northwest migration route is the parched Klamath Basin of Oregon and California. For three recent years, “we saw no migrating birds. I mean, the peak count was zero,” says John Vradenburg, supervisory biologist of the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex. He and myriad private, public, and Indigenous partners are working to conjure more water for the basin’s human and avian denizens, as perennial wetlands become seasonal wetlands, seasonal wetlands transition to temporary wetlands, and temporary wetlands turn to arid lands. Taking down four power dams and one levee has stretched the Klamath River’s water across the landscape, creating new streams and connecting farm fields to long-separated wetlands. But making the most of this requires expansive thinking. Wetland restoration—now endangered by loss of funding from the current administration—would help drought-afflicted farmers by keeping water tables high. But what if farmers could also receive extra money for their businesses via eco-credits, akin to carbon credits, for the work those wetlands do to filter-clean farm runoff? And what if wetlands could function as aquaculture incubators for juvenile fish, before stocking rivers? Klamath tribes are invested in restoring endangered c’waam and koptu sucker fish, and this could help them achieve that goal. As birds’ traditional resting and nesting spots become inhospitable, a more sobering question is whether improvements can happen rapidly enough. The blistering pace of climate change gives little chance for species to genetically adapt, although some are changing their behaviors. That means that the work of conservationists to find and secure adequate, supportive farmland and rangeland as the birds seek out new routes has become a sprint against time. This story originally appeared at Knowable Magazine. Lela Nargi, Knowable Magazine Knowable Magazine explores the real-world significance of scholarly work through a journalistic lens. 0 Comments

The demand for extended reality (XR) talent is increasing rapidly, opening countless new doors for the next generation of metaverse creators. To adequately prepare tomorrow’s real-time 3D workforce, educators and schools need to be teaching these desirable skill sets to their students today. In pursuit of this goal, Unity Social Impact and Meta Immersive Learning have partnered to increase access to AR/VR hardware, high-quality educational content, and other resources that will help educators create or enhance innovative XR programs.The Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant is one of the core components of this partnership, providing over $1 million in awards to higher-education institutions leveraging real-time 3D and immersive technology to make advances in teaching and learning, XR creation, and workforce development.Grantees were selected based on their proposals’ attention to inclusion, impact, viability, and innovation. Special consideration was given to institutions and programs that cater to or design innovative educational content for underserved learners.Today, we’re thrilled to introduce the eight recipients of the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant. A team of over 60 judges from Unity and Meta selected the winners from among 276 submissions.“Now, more than ever, we have a responsibility to equip young people with the skills necessary for future jobs – providing them with learning that translates to earning,” says Jessica Lindl, vice president of social impact at Unity. “I’m thrilled with the winners of the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant and am confident that these institutions will continue to provide equitable access to education and workforce opportunities.”Read on to learn how these forward-thinking projects are increasing access to quality real-time 3D education.Arizona State University’s Center for Narrative and Emerging Media (NEM) in Los Angeles will open as a best-in-class teaching and research facility, focused on diversifying who can create and distribute narratives using emerging media technologies in the areas of arts, culture, and nonfiction.NEM will train and support storytellers, artists, journalists, entrepreneurs, and engineers who will build the stories, technologies, and policies of the future. This fall, ASU launched their flagship MA Narrative and Emerging Media program, a collaborative effort between the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication centered around the development of a creative practice and critical understanding of emerging storytelling and immersive content creation. Funding from the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant will support student production, virtual production, staff training, and research.Country: United States of AmericaThe vision of California Community Colleges is to ensure students from all backgrounds succeed in reaching their education and career goals, with emphasis on improving families’ incomes and communities’ workforces. To achieve this, California Community Colleges aim to provide educational programs that highlight inclusivity, diversity, and equity while minimizing logistical and financial barriers to success.Cañada College will partner with various employers and California Community College districts to enhance XR apprenticeship programs, K–14 curriculum development, and XR job training programs designed for dislocated workers, workforce board clients, and underemployed individuals. Funds from the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant will aid Cañada College in designing and sharing workforce readiness models for county education offices, community colleges and universities, and workforce training entities in California and throughout the U.S.Country: United States of AmericaThe Clarkson University Psychology Department plans to use their grant funding to develop a novel instructional tool that leverages both VR for accurate neuroanatomical renderings and modern pedagogical principles (such as social interaction and embodiment) to build an innovative and engaging neuroscience learning experience.By using this tool to enhance their psychology program’s neuroscience instruction and open-sourcing the tool for use at other institutions, Clarkson University hopes to positively impact psychology students – especially those from underrepresented backgrounds. And, since student training is integrated throughout the project, the development process will involve students from multiple departments, providing them with opportunities to work in VR, engage in usability testing, and learn about neuroscience.Country: United States of AmericaThe LED (Digital Experience Lab) at the Federal University of Ceará (UFC) Department of Architecture, Urbanism and Design (DAUD) aims to be a place for students and professors to explore new digital technologies and develop innovative solutions for real-world problems.The LED plans to use their Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant funding to outfit eight digital studios with hardware for running prototyping experiments in virtual environments. They’ll also acquire peripherals for interacting with AR and MR experiences, including projectors for SAR (spatial AR), Kinect sensors, and motion trackers, with the goal of exploring ways that XR technology can improve design education and project solutions. Finally, their team will drive development of LEDed, a free platform for sharing educational content and experiences in XR within the department’s community and beyond.Country: BrazilNorQuest College is Alberta’s largest community college, serving more than 21,000 students annually. Housed within the Research Office at NorQuest College, Autism CanTech! (ACT!)’s vision is to remove barriers that hinder meaningful and sustainable employment within the digital economy for individuals on the Autism spectrum.Through job-specific training in technical skills, employability skills, career coaching, and Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities, ACT! works to fill industry gaps. ACT! also offers participants additional support through new assistive technology which allows users, career coaches, and supervisors to manage tasks, schedule work-related activities, and live chat. Funds from the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant will support the development of a road map and team to adapt educator resources and XR courses for a neurodiverse audience.Country: CanadaEthọ́s Lab is a Black-led, nonprofit innovation academy for teens based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and accessible from anywhere in the world. To build toward a more inclusive future, Ethọ́s Lab takes a holistic, community-based approach to teaching S.T.E.A.M. that is partnered and has a long-term vision. The organization provides pathways to applied learning, mentorship, and access to emerging tech through weekly collaborative workshops, creative projects, and events. As participants, youth develop core skills for post-secondary admissions, future careers, and being the leaders of innovation.Centre for Digital Media (CDM) was established in 2007 through a ground-breaking partnership between the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia Institute of Technology, and Emily Carr University of Art + Design. Anchored by the flagship, multidisciplinary Master of Digital Media program, CDM is a mixed-use campus, home to Canada’s first Metastage studio as well as game studios and innovative startups in the healthcare and cloud-computing sectors.With the support of the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant, Ethọ́s Lab and CDM aim to increase the representation of Black youth and girls in XR-based digital futures through development of an XR Media Lab program. The funding will enable the program to serve 300+ underrepresented youth and 190+ high school educators over five years.Country: CanadaUniversidad de los Andes was founded in 1948 as an autonomous and innovative institution pursuing pluralism, tolerance, and respect. It strives to raise consciousness about students’ social and civic responsibilities as well as their relationship to and stewardship of the environment.The XR Incubator Program (named “Vivero Virtual” in Spanish) is a two-year program focused on both workforce development and education innovation in XR. With Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant funding, Universidad de los Andes will launch three Massive, Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in Spanish to promote learning throughout Ibero-America. Funds will also help implement a week-long XR Camp offering Colombian educators access to a variety of XR technologies, and an XR Mobile Lab that will allow those educators to show XR technologies to the public at their own institutions.Country: ColombiaThe University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the Swiss Distance University of Applied Sciences (FFHS) aspire to design an innovative, immersive tool that addresses challenges faced by teachers in underrepresented communities. With Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant funding, their multinational team will develop and test a VR prototype for pre-service teachers (student teachers working towards their teacher certification) in South Africa.The tool will allow future teachers to have authentic teaching experiences in a safe environment, aided by learning analytics that provide opportunities to reflect on their lesson delivery and prepare them for actual teaching. The University also intends the tool to help mitigate language barriers for students whose first language is not English. Broadly, the project will empower pre-service teachers to be agents in transforming science teaching, leveraging the potential of immersive technologies and preparing students from marginalized communities with 21st-century digital skills.Country: South AfricaOn behalf of Unity Social Impact and Meta Immersive Learning, congratulations to all of our grant recipients and thank you to everyone who applied for the Higher Ed XR Innovation Grant. Learn more about educator resources and tools for propelling real-time 3D in the classroom and Meta’s $150 million investment to transform the way we learn through Meta Immersive Learning.

If you've ever wondered where loofahs come from, take a trip with us.   Image: Penpak Ngamsathain / Getty Images Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday. If you’ve spent most of your life under the impression that loofahs are some type of sea sponge and that these scratchy natural scrubbers are the last thing you’d want to use on your body on a daily basis, you’re not alone. But in fact, the Luffa Aegyptiaca (often known as loofah in the U.S.) is the taxonomic name of a species of gourd that grows on land, and it’s a genetic descendant of the wild cucumber. What’s more, if it’s locally grown with minimal processing, it’s plenty soft enough for not just your skin, but plenty of other applications, too. What is a luffa? In the States, you’d be excused for not being familiar with this unique plant, as luffa is far more popular in Asia and tropical regions. In fact, very few farmers grow the plant commercially for the American market—there are just two farms in the country and, according to Brooklynn Gamble, farm supervisor at The Luffa Farm in Nipomo, California, both are located in the West Coast state. But the plant isn’t endemic to countries this far north, so cultivating it requires lots of care and attention. Luffa plants growing on vines at The Luffa Farm. Image: Courtesy of The Luffa Farm Fortunately, luffa farmer Deanne Coon was willing to offer both, which is how The Luffa Farm was born in 2000 after growing the plant as part of a friend’s biology class experiment and then spending nearly two decades experimenting. Thanks to Nipomo’s location in a decidedly non-tropical climate, Coon had to account for things like cooler seasons (she grows in greenhouses), coastal winds (also greenhouses) and gophers (she grows plants in pots instead of directly in the ground).  Now semi-retired, she and a team run the small farm peppered with avocado and citrus trees and decorated with quirky custom yard art. They also offer tours during open hours so visitors can learn a little something about luffa. Guests saunter through a steamy greenhouse where long green gourds that resemble zucchini hang from trellises in impressive quantities. They learn that while some Asian cultures raise smaller varieties that are green, tender, and edible when young, it’s not popular as a culinary ingredient in the U.S. And when they inquire about why crispy brown gourds are still hanging on the vine, they learn that luffa isn’t harvested until well after you think it’s dead. “When it’s completely brown and dry we cut it off the vine,” Gamble explains. Only then, and after it is peeled, will it finally be recognizable as the fibrous exfoliating sponge many know and love. In areas of Asia, the luffa fruit is used in culinary dishes. Image: Courtesy of The Luffa Farm It’s what’s on the inside that matters Getting to that point, however, takes time and unique biological functions that aren’t visible to the naked eye. It takes six to nine months after planting luffa seeds for them to be ready to harvest, Gamble explains (longer in winter, shorter in summer). It takes three to four months just for slim green baby gourds to start sprouting from reaching vines and the male flowers, which are necessary for pollination, to bloom.  Once that happens and pollination is complete, the squash are technically edible and ripe for picking. The inner fruit tends to be slimy like okra, so it’s a bit of an acquired taste. However, there are certainly recipes from around the world that incorporate this nutritional veggie. But The Luffa Farm isn’t in the business of unpopular produce, so the fruit is left on the vine where it can grow as large and heavy as the trellised vines can handle, Gamble continues. As that happens, the interior plant fibers act as the veins that feed water and nutrients to the seeds, the care of which is the plant’s number one directive. Those veins get thicker and denser to nourish the seeds as the gourd grows. When the gourd gets too big—about the size of an oversized zucchini—the vine, which can grow 30 to 40 feet in any direction, cuts off the water supply to the whole fruit in order to redistribute resources to other plants on the vine that are still growing. “As the vine sucks the water out and recycles it, [the gourd] dries up,” Gamble describes. When that happens, instead of rotting like most other produce, the luffa turns from deep green to yellow to brown and hard. When that happens, the gourd feels light as air because all the liquid and vegetable matter has dried up, leaving only a fibrous network of cellulose inside the now-hard, shell-like skin. That’s when it’s time to harvest. The skin is cracked open and the seeds, which can be replanted, are shaken out. Harvesters soak the whole gourd in water for five minutes, which rehydrates the thin layer of vegetable residue on the underside and then “the skin so it slides right off,” Gamble says. What’s left over is an airy, light, sponge-like spidery network of plant fibers that make an excellent natural multi-purpose sponge that’s pliable when dry and even softer when wet. That’s what makes it such an attractive option among skincare enthusiasts. Not all luffa are created equal If that doesn’t sound at all like the rigid, compressed luffa you see for sale at your local health food store, you’re not wrong. Most luffa are imported, and since they’re a plant, they must be treated beforehand to ensure they won’t transport bugs, disease, or other agricultural blights, Gamble explains.  “Those heat treatments in particular are what damage the fibers,” she states. It shrinks the otherwise light and loose cellulose structures and makes the luffa hard, compact, and less pliable. Compromising the structure also makes them more prone to bacterial growth, because they don’t dry out as easily or completely between uses. Luffas grown and sold at The Luffa Farm. Image: Courtesy of The Luffa Farm Luffa grown in the U.S., like the ones from The Luffa Farm, don’t have to be treated with anything since they’re not imported from overseas. They just get a quick rinse before they’re sold. As a result, they’re softer, more pleasant on skin, more versatile, and longer lasting. One might last up to a year of regular use. Plus, because they’re highly porous, “they don’t create the same breeding ground for bacteria,” Gamble offers. A plant with unlimited uses But exfoliating isn’t all these plants are good for. On the contrary, Gamble says there are many uses for luffa. Softer varieties can be used as a facial sponge in place of a washcloth. They can even be tossed in the washer for a deep clean, though you should avoid putting them in the dryer. They make excellent dish sponges and pot scrubbers. Gamble uses one on her stainless steel stove.  A wet luffa makes quick work of washing your car, too, especially when it comes to scrubbing bugs off your grill, Gamble recommends. The fibers won’t even scratch the finish. They’ve even been used as insulation in mud brick houses and as industrial filters and may have inspired a sunlight-powered porous hydrogel that could potentially purify water. The best part: untreated luffa sponges are compostable, making them an eco-friendly alternative to synthetic sponges. “They are so unique as a plant,” Gamble says, a truly multifunctional and sustainable natural product whose uses go far beyond bath time exfoliation. And yes, it’s one that grows on land, not underwater.

The concept of advancement is baked into the way we think about work—almost like it’s a video game. Just like you don’t want to stay at a particular level of that game for too long, it sometimes doesn’t feel like you’re succeeding at work if your title doesn’t change, and you don’t get a significant raise. Getting a promotion isn’t just a matter of wanting it or playing the game long enough. There are several factors at play—only some of which are under your control. First, the organization needs to have a position for you to move into. If there is no role for you to play, then there isn’t much you can do to get promoted this year. Second, you have to decide whether the job you would be promoted into is one you really want. Third, you have to be ready for that new set of responsibilities. So, if you want to get promoted this year, you need to get information related to all three of those issues. Is there room for me? Before you get your hopes up for a promotion, you need to know whether there is a role for you. Early on in your career, the answer to that question is probably “yes.” Often, the first few promotions reflect your ability to do your role with less oversight and to take on additional responsibility in your initial role. Before long, though, promotions start to involve either oversight of an entire project or supervision of people. At that point, there are fewer potential roles available than when the promotion involves more technical expertise. Once you’re on that people management track, the number of potential positions above the one you have go down. You may eventually reach a point when you may be completely qualified for a future role, but there may not be a position available. What does the next role really entail? As attractive as a promotion may sound in theory, you also have to ask yourself whether you would enjoy the job in practice. This question is particularly relevant when considering the people management track. Being a supervisor of other people is a very different role than the individual contributor roles that usually precede it. Just because you enjoy the work of your organization does not mean that you will enjoy having to manage others. As you rise in the organization, the work you do goes from being focused on the tactics for achieving particular goals to formulating the strategy that will guide the path of the organization. This strategic oversight comes with additional responsibility for the success and health of the organization. The job can be exciting, but also stressful. Talking with supervisors to find out the true responsibilities you will be taking on is important. Work and life need to be integrated. If your new role requires different hours or more engagement on nights and weekends, you should think through whether your lifestyle and responsibilities will support those changes. Be sure to talk with people in your life, such as a significant other. Their life might be affected by a change in your work requirements, so you’ll need their support. What do I need to learn? When you are approaching a promotion, you’ll never be completely ready. There is always a lot to learn on the job. That said, there is often work you can do to prepare. Your organization may offer technical or leadership classes that you can take to begin to develop the next set of skills. Talk with your supervisor, the HR team, and any learning and development professionals in your organization to find out what options there are for you to get a jump on the next round of skills. Look at job ads that your company or others put out for similar roles and get a sense of whether your current qualifications fit. If companies prefer advanced degrees for applicants to a position, it might be time to think about going back to school. Being proactive won’t guarantee you the promotion you want, but it can help speed you on your way. And if a promotion in your current organization isn’t in the cards, it will also get you ready to move on when the time is right. Finally, be aware that promotions don’t always happen on your timeline. It can be frustrating to feel like you have languished in a role longer than you should. But, use the time to learn, to develop your social network, and to be ready to hit the ground running when a new opportunity does open up.

Matt Palmer is unapologetic about how to kill someone in his new movie, Fear Street: Prom Queen. “We spent a lot of time working out how to kill people,” Palmer tells Digital Trends in an exclusive interview. Palmer is the co-writer and director of Prom Queen, the fourth film in Netflix’s Fear Street franchise. While the first three Fear Street movies are considered a trilogy, Prom Queen is a standalone movie with new characters and stories. However, the common denominator is the setting, the town of Shadyside. Based on R.L. Stine’s novel, Fear Street: Prom Queen transports audiences to 1988. Senior prom is two days away, and six girls are running for prom queen. Two of them — the kind outcast, Lori Granger (India Fowler), and the popular bully, Tiffany Falconer (Fina Strazza) — are bitter rivals. Executing political maneuvers to win votes for a popularity contest is difficult enough. Yet the toughest challenge on prom night will be avoiding a masked murderer stalking the candidates. Recommended Videos Ahead, Palmer talks about the importance of needle drops, the key changes from book to screen, and how to execute the perfect kill. Alan Markfield / Netflix This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Digital Trends: I wanted to start with the needle drops. They stood out right away. What was the one ’80s song you knew had to be in Prom Queen? Matt Palmer: I’m Not Scared by Eighth Wonder. Why is that? I think there are bigger needle drops in terms of known songs, but that song, there’s something special about it. It was actually written by the Pet Shop Boys, which is why it’s such a good tune. But it’s a slightly lesser-known tune. It has this throbbing and pulsing. Very early on, I was like, this is what the prom looks like from the sounds. That pulsing and blaring thing. I feel like the whole tone of prom came from that song. Also, the lyrics as well. It’s a kind of Lori Granger story. That was the one. We switched things up during the edit. There were different tracks pulled out and changed to get the right energy. That was the one right from the beginning. That’s going right there after that kill, and it’s not going anywhere. With your musical process, are you a director and writer who builds a scene and knows exactly what song to put in? Is it more about getting a playlist from your music supervisor, running through things, and seeing what works? Take me through that musical element. It’s funny because, in the first movie I made, there is a lot of music in it, but it’s composed music. It goes under the radar. A lot of people with Calibre are like, “Oh, that’s great. There’s no music in it.” I’m like, “Eh, it’s kind of there. You’re just not noticing it.” But this one [Prom Queen] was a completely different assignment. You hear [Quentin] Tarantino talk quite a lot about how he’ll pull out a record and that’ll start the movie in his head. It was a lot more like that with this one, which was really fun. Like the Billy Idol one, you start to assemble montages around the music. It’s a very different way of working, but a really fun one. It’s quite addictive. I’d like to do it again. It’s like building a long playlist. Yeah, I spent two months at the very beginning, when we were just starting to write the movie, agonizing over this playlist. There were tunes that were key like You’re the Inspiration by Chicago. I had a whole scene where the Devil character dances with Lori. Then, we were like, we don’t need this scene. The scene isn’t helping the character or the film. And I was like, “But the music!” [Laughs] It was so hard to cut because I was so in love with the idea of setting a scene to that music, but it had to go. Sometimes, the images come from the music. Sometimes, it completely switches, like Sweet Dreams. The dance-off was going to be Prince, but Prince tunes are incredibly hard to license. Once Gloria was in, this wasn’t going anywhere. Even if we get Prince at the last minute, this [Gloria] is the tune. It’s funny how it happens. The morning I found Gloria, I was walking through the pre-production office, and a couple of hours later, it was playing in every room. I heard people singing Gloria, and I was like, OK. This is the tune. The spirit of the book is alive in the movie. I know some changes were made. Obviously, the name of the character Lizzie* is Lori. Why did you change her backstory? In the book, the girls are mean to each other in Prom Queen. … There’s a lot in the book, and it’s obviously from a different time. There are a lot of girls talking about boys. It was interesting as a man writing a female character. Not just one, but five girls lead the movie. It was really important to have great female producers. They were guiding me on that. If all the girls in the movie were just talking about guys, it would just feel like it was from a different time. You have to make it connect with a modern audience. I don’t think those kinds of interactions would really play today. Alan Markfield / Netflix The other thing is it’s a whodunit. If you’re working from source material where a whole lot of people in the world know who did it, you have to change the story so that people don’t know who did it because that’s the lifeblood of mystery. R.L. Stine is great. If you like stuff, take it. If you want to go in a different direction, take it. He’s very flexible. It gave us the freedom to launch off from a great premise and take it into some new characters and interesting directions. *In R.L. Stine’s book, the main character is named Lizzie McVay. In the movie, it’s Lori Granger. A lot of these kills are showcases for practical effects. Take me through building a kill. Do you want it to happen one way and then see if you can do it practically? Well, we would write what we wanted and then try and work out how we could do it. We’ll try and do this until someone says it’s kind of impossible. One of the things I’m pleased with the movie is it does feel like all of the kills are quite different. Quite early on, someone was like, “What’s the killer’s signature weapon?” I remember going to see the remake of My Bloody Valentine. He has his ax. It’s like every single kill is an ax. After four of them, I’m craving a chainsaw. This killer in Prom Queen will just grab things and have a few things handy. It opens the possibility of different kills. Even tonally, there’s one kill that I feel is much darker and scarier. There’s one that’s comedic and drawn out. There’s one that’s very abrupt and sudden and probably the goriest thing in it. It’s quite satisfying. I’ve watched a lot of slasher movies, and I’m unapologetically rabid about it. I like [Dario] Argento. What I like about Argento is you can feel when a kill is coming. There’s almost a ritual to it with Arengto and a contract with the audience. It’s like, “OK, it’s coming. It’s going to look cool, and I’m going to focus on my directorial skills. It’s going to be gory as f***.” Just bring it. I guess I come from that school of when a kill is coming, it’s like a sacred and special moment. You need to do something that’s going to satisfy the audience and maybe surprise them as well. Put elements in it and mix it all up. We spent a lot of time working out how to kill people. Alan Markfield / Netflix I would hope a director of a slasher thinks about it a lot, so that’s good. [Laughs] Probably too much. I was reading an interview about how you programmed a film festival and picked out movies to run all night. I’ll give you the choice here. You have Prom Queen as your first one. What are the next four movies to pair it with? So I wouldn’t play Prom Queen first. [Laughs] I’d play Prom Queen either third or fourth. I spent 15 years doing this, and honestly, it’s insane. OK, the things I learned. If you’re going to play a slow movie, play it second. The third spot should always be the most insane, crazy, mind-bending, psychotronic, f***** up thing. That creates an energy in the middle of the night. People feel like, “I’ve seen the craziest thing ever, so anything after this is a bonus. In the fourth slot, play something with a plot. People need something to grab onto at five in the morning. At one event, I played Child’s Play fourth. Child’s Play has a really good narrative and plot. The manager of the cinema was like, “My god. They’ve all woken up. They all look way more awake than they did after the third movie, and they’re all ready for the fifth one.” It took me a while to realize, but don’t play something long or too abstract at number four. Otherwise, people will fall asleep. It’s crazy. You don’t always get it right. I played Black Christmas second at the first one. It’s a great movie, but I got away with it. That’s the other thing. Anything that goes over an hour and a half, and you’re really dicing with death. That’s why Prom Queen is 87 minutes. I found with 87-minute movies, people tend to feel they were short and sharp. I liked it, and I didn’t get sleepy. I was like, can I make a movie that, if it was playing at four in the morning, wouldn’t get people bored? I’d probably play Prom Queen third or fourth. Fear Street: Prom Queen is now streaming on Netflix.

Flyalone - Adobe News Labour puts Humphrey AI to work for council admin A tool built on the government’s Humphrey AI toolset is being piloted by 25 councils to take notes during meetings Published: 23 May 2025 15:45 The UK government has announced that its artificial intelligence (AI) suite, Humphrey, is being trialled by a number of local councils. Its AI tool, Minute, takes notes in meetings, and was recently used in one chaired by prime minister Keir Starmer. Part of Humphrey, the package of AI tools built to help civil servants deliver for ministers and the public more effectively, uses generative AI to turn meetings into notes, and provides tools for correcting summaries. The government found that early tests using Minute showed that officials saved an hour of admin per one-hour meeting. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said Minute can help speed up actions after planning meetings, allowing officers to focus on the task at hand, rather than paperwork, and make informed decisions to get homes built. It’s currently being trailed by 25 local councils. Among the ways it’s being used is to help streamline burdensome admin tasks in the planning process as part of the government’s plans to build 1.5 million homes by 2030. Lords minister for housing and local government Sharon Taylor said: “Local councils are on the frontline of housing delivery, and we’re backing them with cutting-edge AI technology like Minute so officers can spend less time buried in admin and more time helping to get Britain building. “This is alongside our landmark reforms to deliver 1.5 million homes, including the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, which will get working people and families into secure homes and boost economic growth right across the country,” she said. Read more stories about public sector AI Humphrey AI tool powers Scottish Parliament consultation: AI-powered Consult tool has helped the Scottish Parliament to organise feedback from a public consultation into themes. Major obstacles facing Labour’s AI opportunity action plan: Skills, data held in legacy tech and a lack of leadership are among the areas discussed during a recent Public Accounts Committee session. Minute can also be used to take notes in meetings between social care workers and their supervisors, allowing workers to focus on offering more support instead of being bogged down by bureaucracy.   The Minute trial ties in with a broader government initiative to help local councils use technology to improve essential services they are responsible for delivering to local residents. To fulfil one of the actions in the 50-point AI Opportunities Plan of Action, which was published in January, the government has also introduced an AI Knowledge Hub for sharing examples of how local councils are using technology so others can learn from them – such as an AI assistant that speeds up the reporting of fly-tipping and graffiti in central London. In 2024, a Local Government Association (LGA) survey found that the majority of councils who took part in the poll (85%) were using or exploring how they would use AI. The areas where most respondents had realised benefits from using AI were staff productivity (35%), service efficiencies (32%) and cost savings (22%). However, the LGA reported that the five biggest barriers to deploying AI identified by respondents were a lack of funding (64%), a lack of staff capabilities (53%), a lack of staff capacity (50%), a lack of sufficient governance and a lack of clear use cases (41% each). The government’s own State of digital government review, published earlier this year, reported that each of the 320 local authorities in England negotiate technology contracts with big tech companies independently – when many are buying exactly the same tools – making this spending much less effective. The trials with AI-based tools built on Humphrey and the AI Knowledge Hub represent an attempt by the government to reduce the barriers to deploying AI across the public sector. AI and digital government minister Feryal Clark said: “From parking permits and planning permission, local councils handle some of the services that impact our daily lives most. For too long, they have been left to fend for themselves when keeping up with rapid innovations in AI and digital technology – when we know it has huge potential to help solve many of the challenges they face. Clark said the government was going to work with local councils to help them buy and build the technology they need to deliver Labour’s Plan for Change and support their local communities more effectively.  In The Current Issue: UK critical systems at risk from ‘digital divide’ created by AI threats UK at risk of Russian cyber and physical attacks as Ukraine seeks peace deal Standard Chartered grounds AI ambitions in data governance Download Current Issue SAP Sapphire 2025: Developers take centre stage as AI integration deepens – CW Developer Network Microsoft entices developers to build more Windows AI apps – Cliff Saran's Enterprise blog View All Blogs