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Michael Clifford hair timeline

As some of you might know, this blog started from the frustration of missing certain things in the 5SOS fandom. I’m a 1D fan, I’m used to seeing masterposts about anything and everything. That’s very much not the case in the 5SOS fandom. So I figured, if it’s not here, I might as well go and do it myself. A while back I came to the conclusion there doesn’t seem to be a proper detailed timeline of Michael’s hair journey. So of course, I decided to make one. I heavily underestimated the amount of time this would cost, but I (mostly) had fun making this. So, now I would like to present you with the finished result. It should have every hair color ever in here, but if I somehow missed something or got something wrong, please let me know. I’ve tried my best to be as thorough as possible, but I only became a fan in 2020 and basically had to work my way through 5SOS history for this.

I used Michael’s instagram as a guide and filled in the gaps with interviews, tour diaries, etc. Thankfully he documented most of his hair changes on instagram, which made my job a little easier. So let’s get going!

I have combined 4 pictures into a collage, to prevent having to post close to 50 pictures below each other. The order of every collage is left to right, top to bottom.

So we start with Michael’s natural hair color,. This is a picture I found on Google, I have no idea about the exact date. But this is his natural hair before he started dying it. The next picture is the very first time he dyed his hair, this was a red-ish brown. This picture was posted on January 2 2013. Then later on in the same month he decided to dye his hair darker, to a chocolate brown, which he posted a picture of on January 27. His first bold color happens about a month later. On March 30 2013 he posted this picture of himself with dark blue hair and some lighter blue highlights in his fringe.

The next change comes June 19 2013. When the blue has been mostly removed, you can tell there’s some blue left in the fringe from the highlights, and the rest of his hair still has a blue-green tinge to it. This picture is a screenshot from the 5SOS vs. food video, Michael did post a picture of it on instagram captioned: “when I went blonde for a day”, but the color of that one is quite saturated. So is a better representation. After that, we move on to galaxy hair! The first picture with this hair was posted on instagram on June 19 2013. I thought this was a separate color from the 3rd picture in this collage, but it’s possible it’s the light playing tricks. Picture 3 was posted on June 26, exactly a week after the previous one. On July 6 we move on to the next change, bleach blonde! I think this is the first time he bleached his whole hair. Since the previous color’s were all darker than his own hair, he wouldn’t necessarily have needed bleach. As seen in the first picture of this collage, his hair wasn’t bleached yet. Except for the highlighted fringe. I assume a color removing product was used to get most of the blue dye out, because he said he went blonde “for a day”, which doesn’t indicate fading to me.

The bleach blonde seem to stay for a while, because the next change is almost 3 months later. September 28 2013 brings the reveal of the smurf blue hair. This obviously fades over time, leaving a light, almost pastel blue color as seen in the screenshot I included from their Australia/New Zealand tour diary, opening for One Direction. As October 21 comes around we get a brand new color, bright pink! This faded into a pastel pink as can be seen in the screenshot from this thank you video, posted on November 24.

Up next is reverse skunk, as posted on instagram on November 26 2013. This seems to last a good while, because the next change doesn’t come until 2014, judging by this twitcam from January 18 where the reverse skunk hair is still present. February 10, is when this picture of the purple hair was posted. Moving on to March 21, we get dark red, or maybe dark brown with red highlights, it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly this color is. There is no instagram picture for this one, so I’ve used a screenshot from the 5SOS Livestream to show this one. While writing this I discovered in this video, posted on March 13. where his hair was also this color already. The 4th screenshot from the Don’t Stop video, to demonstrate how long their hair lasted. The video was released May 18 2014. So I’m assuming it was filmed somewhere in (late) April.

The next hair color in line is brown, the picture in this collage was posted to on May 18. However, going back through Michael’s instagram it seems like he already had this color at the start of the There’s No Place Like Home tour in Sydney, on April 30 2014. It’s likely he dyed it right before the start of  tour. The next change comes a little quicker, the earliest I could pinpoint this brown/blonde combo is May 18 at the Billboard music awards 2014. I can’t pinpoint, when exactly he got it done, but I’m assuming it was close before the BBMA’s. Moving on, we’re getting to the iconic green hair era. Again it’s hard to pinpoint when he exactly got it. There’s only 1 picture of it on his instagram, which was uploaded in July. The picture I used is from the Capital Summertime Ball 2014, held on June 21. The website describes it as “his new green hair”. So I’m assuming this is where he debuted it. After green we get this mystery lilac type color. I only found it in this Target Prank video on the 5SOS Youtube channel. Since they are promoting 5SOS1, which was released June 27, 2014, the video can be narrowed down to late June, early July of 2014. That’s as close as I could get it. I even went back to check if maybe they pre-filmed this in february/march and this was the faded purple hair, but the timeline still holds up.

September 1 2014 is when we see a new hair color appear on instagram. For (what appears to be) the video of Good Girls Michael bleached his hair to a white blonde. A better picture is the screenshot from the Good Girls video I included. The next change we see is on September 4 at the 5SOS performance for the iTunes festival 2014. This means that either he bleached his hair a while before September 1 or it was just a transition before the red with the orange undertone. This color fades throughout September judging by the pictures on instagram. I probably should have included one in here, but you can easily find them if you look for them. However on September 29 it seems the color got a refresh, looking nice and bright again.

The first picture in this collage, posted December 17 2014, shows the hair fading again. Then on December 18, at the People Magazine Awards the hair seems refreshed again. It looks to me as if the color has a slightly less orange undertone as well. But that’s hard to determine from 1 picture. The next picture, posted February 4 2015 shows the red has once again faded.  After the red he moves on to this purple color. The first time we see it on instagram is February 18 in a video from the studio. The picture used for illustration was posted on February 27. 

A better view of the violet/purple hair can be seen in the screenshot from the Japan Tour Diaries part 1. In part 2 you can already see the color fading again. The next picture, posted February 28 2015 shows and even more drastic fade, where his hair has turned almost blonde again. Then around March 15 his hair goes fully white blonde again. At the start of the ROWYSO tour in Portugal, May 4, Michael’s hair is still blonde. However 2 days later in Spain, on May 6, he seems to be back to a violet/blue color, like he had previously. 

Then May 24 2015 we move to the next change, (jet) black hair (sorry, it had to be done). On July 16 a touch of color is brought into the hair, with addition of a few colorful streaks in his fringe. right on time for the start of the next leg of the ROWYSO tour that starts in Las Vegas. On July 23 he seems to have added a feather extension in the mix. This may have just been a temporary thing, because I can’t find any further evidence of this beyond the 1 instagram picture. Then August 29 brings a drastic change. From black we move back to blonde.

The blonde seems to last for quite some time. Judging by this performance of Hey Everybody, his hair was still blonde on November 11 2015 (the video was uploaded on the day of the performance, I checked). But then November 22 brings us red hair at the American Music Awards. Judging by other pictures on his instagram this seems to be a more true (less orange) red than in 2014. The red slowly fades, first to a more orange toned color in Bali (picture posted January 2 2016). And eventually it fades all the way to blonde wint a soft hint of red/pink in the 3rd picture, posted January 25 2016. Shortly after he premieres a teal hair color at the G’day USA red carpet on January 28. 

The teal color sticks around for a while, even during the first leg of the SLFL tour. The last I saw of it was on March 12 2016, at the Philippines show. Then in between the Asian and Euopean leg the color changes from teal to brown, as seen at the Sheffield SLFL show on April 5. Then in the break between their last Dublin show (April 27) and their Vienna show (May 12) he bleaches his hair again. After this the era of Michael frequently coloring his hair seems to be done. He stays blonde, at some point he grows it out until only the long parts of his hair are still blonde. As can be seen in this picture posted on October 16 2017. Then at the start of the Meet You There Tour in Japan (August 2 2018) the colored hair makes a brief return with this pink moment. It doesn’t seem to last long however, since I can’t find a lot about it after Japan. So it may have been a temporary thing.

October 9 2018 he posts the first picture in this collage. It’s very possible this is faded pink from the previous picture. Or maybe he dyed it a lighter shade later on. After this the colored hair stops, but we do occasionally get various shades of blonde. The second picture, from November 16 2018, shows a caramel tone to his hair. In the third picture, posted on October 21 2018, we see sort of a dirty blonde. We end this timeline the way we started, back to natural hair. because of quarantine the bleached blonde grew out and eventually disappeared once he cut it. So we have come full circle. We started with natural hair and we are ending it with natural hair. If we get any more changes in the future I will be sure to add them to the timeline.

Finally, a few facts, for fun. 

In total, Michael has had 29 color changes in a span of roughly 8 years.* 

He’s had the most colors in 2013 and 2014 (both years he’s had 8 different colors)

The orange red was the color he had the longest, 150 days to be precise (based on the information available).

* Not counting fades or the “blonde for a day. Since they are part of 1 color or were just used to transition to another color. Also not counting the various shades of bleached blonde in the last collage, since it’s hard to tell if they are actually different, or if it’s light. I did count the transition from blonde to natural.

hello, friends !! i believe it’s finally time to announce the surprise collaboration !! @ofmymuses and i are not only working on a character masterlist, but we are making them for muse inspiration for our brand new rp !! my half of the masterlist is premiering now, but her half should be arriving at some point today. @maskedfm​ is an appless slasher-themed rp following the lives of the rosefield residents as a possible copy cat killer strikes the victim of the first murders, gertrude green, and her daughter, georgie. with the original killer, identified to be gertrude’s ex-best friend, still locked up in prison, the new rosefield ripper can be anyone. so the question at hand is: how do you know who you can trust? we will be opening for apps in one hour, but i will answer any questions that come our way.

tl;dr: this character masterlist is a collaboration between amanda and i to help potential lurkers figure out any characters they might want to play in our new group !! however, it can also serve as stand-alone descriptions for any groups you might want to join !!

Tessa Thompson:

Name: Evangeline Campbell

Age: Thirty-Six.

Major: Community College Professor.

MBTI: ENTJ.

Hogwarts: Ravenclaw.

Enneagram: 1w2. 

Astrology: Aquarius Sun-Capricorn Moon.

Evangeline Campbell is a professor at the community college in her county. On a regular basis, she has to deal with grades and complaints. As a result, Evangeline has developed a bit of a dismissive attitude towards any unfounded objections sent her way. However, she wasn’t initially that way.

When she was younger, Evangeline took a very eager interest in anything she could get her hands on. She loved learning and as a result, her grades were always sky high. She was incredibly fascinated by school and loved trying her best to attend it every single day. The only problem is that she feels as if she peaked around that time. Will her attitude towards her life’s current situation turn around for the better?

Ludovica Martino:

Name: Mia Lombardi.

Age: Twenty.

Major: Photography.

MBTI: ISFP.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 6w5.

Astrology: Scorpio Sun-Cancer Moon

Mia has never been the type to have massive aspirations for herself. All she has ever been concerned with is enjoying her life and creating memories along the way. This did not please her parents, nor did it satisfy her guidance counselor, who had Mia in her office nearly every weekday in Mia’s junior and senior years. 

After a solid year and a half of attempting to break through to her that college is a necessity, Mia was convinced after she was told that photography is a great way to save created memories forever. She’s a beginner in the field, but she loves every second of it. She doesn’t see herself getting a career in the field, but she doesn’t aspire to be well-known anyway. She’s just having fun, but her parents are starting to pressure her to look into internships. Will she be able to figure out the road ahead, before it’s too late?

Tori Kelly:

Name: Marisol Jones

Age: Twenty-Four.

Job: Local Radio DJ.

MBTI: ESFP.

Hogwarts: Gryffindor.

Enneagram: 7w8.

Astrology: Sagittarius Sun-Taurus Moon.

Marisol has always been a small town girl with big city aspirations. From a very young age, Marisol would constantly use her family’s video camera and would use it to record herself talking about the burdens of her daily life. In elementary school, Marisol often found herself getting in trouble for talking too much or vying to be the center of attention at any given moment. In her mind, she couldn’t help it. The need to be heard was just a part of who she was and being the loudest person in the room was the easiest way to get that need met.

She didn’t see much of an issue with her behavior until she was twenty-one. This was when her boyfriend of three years broke up with her over it. Instead of yelling at him and telling her off, which was her go-to conflict-resolution plan, she became deadly quiet. One night after dark, she snuck into the studio of a local radio station. Even though the station was normally playing elevator music after midnight, she broke the non-stop stream of boring music by deciding to play You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette as revenge, letting any listeners know that this song was specifically dedicated to her boyfriend. The potheads and insomniacs loved it and soon enough, she was hired by the station to work as a DJ and commentator. Town citizens love her witty banter on the local station, but she wants more. Her ultimate dream is to move to Los Angeles and pursue a radio career there. Will her dream come true?

Carlson Young:

Name: Emilie Woods 

Age: Twenty-Six.

MBTI: ENFP.

Job: Party Planner.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 7w6. 

Astrology: Gemini Sun-Pisces Moon

As a child, Emilie was frequently sick. Her immune system has always been very weak, so if there was a sickness going around at school, there was a ninety-percent chance that she would catch it and would have to miss another week of classes. She rarely had other children her age to give her company and entertainment. As a result, she often had to make up her own games and activities for entertainment.

Her favorite activity was planning parties for her dolls and stuffed animals. She would make up birthdays for each of them and would plan out all the little details of their individual birthday parties. Her eyes would light up and she would become incredibly giddy when she was able to see her plans come to life, even though she was the only one who cared enough to see it happen.

As an adult, Emilie still has a weak immune system, but she takes extra measures to still go out and socialize, in spite of it. Her neighbors often comment that she has a larger than life personality. That kind of joy is only strengthened at her job, where she helps to plan anniversary parties, sweet sixteens, and weddings for people in her town. She has a boundary where she doesn’t allow others to touch her, especially if they’re ill. However, people often don’t think twice about breaking her boundaries, because they don’t think it’s as serious as it truly is. Will Emilie be able to stand up for herself and put her foot down?

Orion Carloto:

Name: Luna Costa.

Age: Twenty-One.

Major: History.

MBTI: ISTJ.

Hogwarts: Slytherin. 

Enneagram: 3w4.

Astrology: Virgo Sun-Gemini Moon.

Luna Costa was born and raised in New York City. With her parents both being workaholics, she learned how to be at the top of her game from a very early age. As she grew up, her ambitious streak stuck and she was to be within the top five percent of her class.  

That was before the Costa family moved to the suburbs. Luna was forced to make new friends, look at new schools, and get used to a completely unfamiliar environment. It’s been around four years since then and Luna has found herself stuck at a lower-tier college. However, she still dreams of one day owning a fabulous museum of her own. Will her ambitious streak pay off?

Josephine Langford:

Name: Hannah Bradford

Age: Twenty-One.

Major: Musical Theatre

MBTI: ENFJ.

Hogwarts: Hufflepuff.

Enneagram: 3w2.

Astrology: Libra Sun-Cancer Moon.

Hannah Bradford is an optimistic, sensitive soul. From a young age, she lived to make others smile, due to her antics. When she found out that a stage was the perfect place to do exactly that, she was hooked. From then on, she vowed to join any theatre program she could, including summer camps and school plays.

When high school came around, Hannah often received lead roles in most of the school productions. However, while she was trying to make everyone else happy, she was miserable. Her parents had separated in her last year of middle school and even though the two parents initially had equal custody, her father left the picture shortly after. 

After four solid years of anger, she entered community college with a brand new mindset. She wanted to be a positive influence on everyone she knew, including herself. She painted the walls of her bedroom yellow, decided to take in more sunlight, and wanted to surround herself with positivity, as she felt that this would help her complete her goal. That goal seemed to be on its way towards completion until it was suddenly halted by the death of her father. She found out through her grandmother and she instantly felt as if she was back at square one.

Since then, Hannah has been diagnosed with situational depression and is taking life one step at a time, without any added pressure. Will Hannah’s situation get any better?

Welcome to Morgyn’s Drag Race

I've been away from my blog for quite a while, working on a (stupid) project that has occupied my time. And like all defiantly proud persons, I needed to see through this project to the end...and I also had fun (kinda) working on it. So without further ado, here is the Blogspot premiere of Morgyn's Drag Race: Season One!

Having made its official premiere on August 30, 2020; Morgyn's Drag Race was originally just a fun side-project that blew up into a full size in going 'The Sims' mini series. Meet the Cast

Morgyn Ember

Hailing from the Magic Realm, hidden deep within Glimmerbrook; Morgyn is a non-binary sim though that does not make him ineligible from being one of the sickest drag queens in Sim Nation (look up the real world history of Drag; trans and NB persons were the pioneers of drag culture).

Morgyn introduces himself as the 'head judge' of the inaugural season of Drag Race, alongside his co-judges; Siobhan Fyres and Izzy Fabulous, truly a stylish and LGBTQIA+ inclusive judging panel.

Morgyn's critiques of the queens come from the heart and he laces every critique with a compliment, embracing and appreciating said queen's individuality while criticizing their work. Morgyn can be best described as an fair, constructive and sensitive judge, and unlike real world judge/critics such as Rupaul or Simon Cowell; Morgyn actually critiques the queen's runway rather than barking out trendy one-liners or simply discrediting a queen's work because 'he doesn't like it'.

Siobhan & Izzy make up the rest of the judging panel acting as the defacto Michelle Visage and Santino Rice respectively; though it's a little deeper than that. Siobhan Fyres is more like co-judge 'Stacey McKenzie' of Canada's Drag Race or former Drag Race judge 'Merle Ginsberg', often giving constructive criticism while not shying away from criticizing a queen's sloppiness or lack of runway presence.

Izzy could be compared to ex-Drag Race judge 'Santino Rice', though that comparison falls a little flat when you see that Izzy's personality is less sharp-tongued and 'mean girl'-esque and more blunt and impartial on similar lines as 'Simon Cowell' or 'Piers Morgan'. Izzy openly displays boredom or disinterest within the first few seconds of seeing a queen's runway, and is often chided by Morgyn for being too hasty.

The Pilot or first episode showed us Eliza Pancakes acting as Morgyn's second-in-command as a literal expy of drag race judge 'Michelle Visage', being very quick to dismiss a queen for being weird or different, criticizing a queen's look for not being 'trendy' or 'mainstream' enough and even going so far as taking offense with an Asian queen's pun-name.  She was fired by the second episode and instead blackmailed placed into a hosting position of 'What's In the Bag?', which is basically a Sims version of 'Whatcha Packin?' It's a humorous after show type of series that revolves around Eliza interviewing eliminated queens, all the while getting several jabs in at Morgyn, the producers, the company and of course shading the guest queen themselves.

The Contestants

Morgyn's Drag Race was announced on August of this year, which included a special series of 'Meet the Queens' videos focusing on all twelve of the competing queens. This season I am proud to say that it features a diverse range of queens ranging in size, nationality, gender identity and drag/performance style.

The initial twelve 'meet the queens' videos are still available to watch on my youtube channel, however they will soon be made irrelevant as newer, updated MTQ videos shall take their place - featuring a fluid, solid theme for the promo (which never got an official release oops!)

So without further ado, let's do further and get to know these twelve quirky queens shall we (in alphabetical order)? (*Note: That characters who are competing drag queens are referred to as 'her/she' and 'he/him' interchangeably via the rule of 'when a queen is in drag they are she, when they are out of drag they are he, there are of course expections).

Also, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Baga Trash

Sy Jefferies

AKA "

Baga Trash

" 34, is a well-known drag performer from Windenburg. Now I know what you're probably thinking; "he's an obvious parody of Baga Chipz" well no, not really. While Baga Trash IS a British queen (even if my impression is shite), he was inspired by several different characters and queens including but not limited to 'Tammie Brown' and 'Daphne Moon'. Baga aspires to become the world's top trash queen, and applauds 'trashion' as the style of the future. Interestingly enough, Baga Trash has little to no interest in ANY of the features from Eco Lifestyle, odd since dumpster diving is right up her ally.

Caliente

Nicholas Contreras

aka

"Caliente",

at 24 is one of the youngest competing queens this season right after Terra Ryzen. Caliente prides herself on her youth, beauty and bubbly personality and actively proclaims her "youthful vigor" to be the secret to success. Now what is "youthful vigor" you might ask? Youthful Vigor is the total tetratic composition of youth, attractiveness or beauty, personality and talent. With that mantra in mind, Caliente remains ever cheerful and confident throughout the competition.      Having originally been brought up on a large farm in Brindleton Bay, Caliente was no stranger to receiving the occasional odd glance from passersby as she gallivanted down main street in her pink designer miniskirts and halter tops, and to be honest she loved the attention more than anyone could know, this of course would boost her confidence into moving out to Newcrest where she would officially compete for the title of 'Morgyn's Magical Queen'.

Crow

Corbin Corvidae

AKA

"Crow"

30, is an adventurous and experienced queen hailing from Oasis Springs. As many would point out that Crow has glaringly obvious similarities to a certain

real life queen

and I will be 100% honest, yes Crow is an homage to many former Drag Race queens. Crow's personality I think is what sets her apart and standalone from other queens, both real life and fictitious. The most obvious similarities being Crow's seemingly bitter attitude towards the younger queens (particularly Caliente and Terra Ryzen), which plays into the same trope of "

this is a competition

" and "

blame the edit

". When starting Morgyn's Drag Race, we needed an antithesis to who we figured would be the standout protagonists of the season (being either Galaxia, Lapis or Caliente) and Crow fits that bill nicely.

Crow's moniker stems from her fascination with the color black, darkness, midnight and the very bird itself while the demeanor and overall look of her character is derived from her love of the 1990's film of the same name. Crow's experience and expertise with drag make her a force to be reckoned with, while her demure and sultry demeanor set her apart from the competition. Regardless of how you feel about Miss Crow, no one can deny that she serves some serious looks each time she hits the runway

Extra

Lance Proffitt

(pronounced 'Pro-feet') aka

"Extra"

29, is a professional

"background artist"

from Del Sol Valley, and no we're not talking about the actual profession of the

same name

we're talking about an

extra

, as in an uncredited background character in a film or series. Basically Extra is really talented at not being the lead character in movies or TV.  Extra's personality is kind of a composition of an egotistical and yet eerily self-aware celebrity. Extra doesn't NEED others to remind him that he's a star, because in his world he is already a star. He mentions in his initial "talking head" during Episode One/Pilot that he had background roles in such serials as;

"Touched by an Alien"

,

"Abducted for Real"

and

"The Great Awful Cook-off"

. He also noted in his

"What's In the Bag"

segment with Eliza Pancakes, that he is a musical queen and that his talent for the talent show challenge would have been a live rendition of his hit song;

"Boy is a Bear"

. This is a bit of a spoiler so I rupologize in advance, but even Extra's book title for episode six;

"Suck More"

must be a callback to a certain real world queen, right? Whatever the case, Extra's willing to put int the time so long as you're willing to pay the dime.

Fortuna Cookie

Shūfáng Shāncháhuā ('Shu' for short) aka "Fortuna Cookie" 25, is a young queen from Strangerville who's motto is undoubtedly "here to make it queer", has certainly came to the right show hasn't she? Shu started drag at a shockingly young age; 3, when she dressed up in her mom's clothes and makeup and impersonated 'Miss Piggy' to entertain her family, though they were more red-faced from secondhand-embarrassment than laughter.

  Cookie is a very artistic and personable queen, having done drag professionally since at least high school and performed at the 8-Bells in Strangerville since her university days at Britechester. She was taken in by her would be drag-mother, 'Mint Cookie' and quickly made friends with newfound family; 'Sugar Cookie', 'Fudge Cookie' and 'Samoa Cookie'. Shu's drag name had always just been 'Fortuna' (for luck) before being adopted by the Haus of Cookie, where she became "Fortuna Cookie".

Galaxia

Cosmo Nebulon AKA "Galaxia" 28, is quite possibly the most unique queen in this lineup; not only is she the only queen from Sixam, but also the very first 'Alien' contestant in the series history (but surely not to be the last). Galaxia moved to Del Sol Valley shortly before being cast on "Morgyn's Drag Race", because as he puts it the "drag scene on Sixam is boring!" Self-described 'Xenomorph Queen' Galaxia certainly has a lot in common with real life queens such as 'Alaska' and 'Pandora Boxx', though I think Galaxia's uniqueness in both style and personality make him standout from the crowd, that and he's "a fucking alien!" 

For everyone who's seen the initial airing of the pilot will know that Galaxia is here to bring it on a galactic level, having aced the "Trash to Treasure" challenge seemingly flawlessly (though editing does play a part in EVERY reality series) and unanimously impressed the judging panel, even stone-cold bitch Eliza Pancakes. Spoilers ahead for recently dropped Episode 5; Snatch Game saw Galaxia in the bottom for the first time, but little did her competition know that she was no slouch because she TURNED. IT. OUT! Not one, not two, but three reveals during the lipsync - I COULD NOT, BELIEVE IT (and I'm the one who created everything)"! Clearly Galaxia is not playing around and takes the competition VERY seriously, going so far as to plan ahead for a possible lipsync for your life with three reveals to boot, it's curious what else she had planned up her sleeve for the previous runways and if she had similar reveals planned.

Icy

Myron Frost AKA "Icy" 27, of Willow Creek came to the competition pulling no punches and dressing to impress from the get-go. Icy began drag during her teen years, and started performing professionally during college. Aside from being the series' first black queen to walk through those doors, Icy also brought her own sense of style and class to the initial competition. Professionalism, style, and class are all words synonymous with Icy; a queen who carries herself as though she has already won (because let's be honest, you NEED a fiery attitude in order to get ahead in these sorts of contests). Though behind the confident and stunning exterior, belies a person who detests drama of any sort, and can be seen at any time an argument erupts - Icy is sure to stay out of the line of sight.

When I think of Icy, I think of former Drag Race queens who carried a similar air of confidence, professionalism and style such as Chad Michaels and Jaida Essence Hall, though honestly Icy is as much her own identity as anyone else, and the aforementioned queens merely served as inspiration, vocal fry and all.

Jackqleen Qkwueeen

Jackson King AKA "Jackqleen Qkwueeen" 37, is Magnolia Promenade's premiere expert in classical theater and the bardic arts. And I'm not going to start this article off with a lie, when I conceptualized Jackqleen I had originally envisioned a different kind of queen entirely which can be seen in her original 'Meet the Queens' video, which if I'm being honest, pretty much all of the queens had different personalities and quirks that differ from their current/later personas. Jackqleen was originally supposed to be a faux Shakespearean expert who would occasionally slip into talking with her rural dialect or twang, which I disliked for a multitude of reasons and decided that making Jackqleen a legitimate, classically trained thespian of Magnolia Promenade, was more interesting. And to make her standout vocally and personality-wise, I just kept picturing Frasier Crane. 

Despite having fallen into the bottom two the first episode, and let's be honest that "Trash to Treasure" challenge was not tailored to make everyone look good, which in Jackqleen's case made her look worse than Velvetta Baggins, whom was described as someone having walked out of a day spa. We can't deny that Jackqleen has a refined and sophisticated outlook to drag, and that being a professional theater actor can only help propel her career as a drag artist

Lapis

Bleau Rathbone AKA "Lapis" 31, is one of San Myshuno's most eclectic, eccentric and unique artists. Having performed drag since his nineteenth birthday; Bleau introduced himself in drag to the world of performance art for the first time and then and there 'Lapis' was born (*Note: Lapis prefers to be referred to as 'they/them', but only when in full drag). Lapis' namesake stems from the gemstone itself 'lapis lazuli', the fact that it is mostly blue and their love for the color blue, taking all of these facets into consideration it's not hard to see why Lapis incorporates everything into their drag.

If you've been watching 'Morgyn's Drag Race' since Episode One, then you're already familiar with just how iconic a queen that Lapis is, having served looks since Episode One with the upcoming Episode 7 and 8 possibly being their strongest serves yet. Lapis believes in and identifies with the individual, priding themselves with being as unique and as standout as possible all while continuing to stay on-brand with the Lapis name (everything blue, black, eclectic and electric).

Parsley

Parsley 32, is quite possibly the single-most polarizing figure from 'Morgyn's Drag Race'. Hailing from Evergreen Harbor, Parsley describes herself as being "lean, green and mean" and the "green meanie". The second she steps through the entryway she insults her competition by calling them all "douchebags" (originally calling them "motherfuckers"), and also easily dismisses them as being 'basic', 'boring' and 'not impressive'. With a raspy growly voice that would give Patty & Selma a run for their money. 

Parsley was inundated into the world of drag years back when she lived in San Myshuno and roomed with a popular Drag Queen named 'Darren Leek', who at the time was also her roommate. Darren welcomed Parsley into the Leek family of drag, becoming her drag-mother in the process. Though Parsley stood out from the crowd, having picked a green theme and sticking to it, she polarized a large majority of folks she came into contact with, many finding her to be rude while others found her to be downright terrifying. Parsley's own drag-mother, Darren Leek cut ties with her because of her behavior, and quite possibly out of fear.

Terra Ryzen

Scotch Golddig

AKA

"Terra Ryzen"

22, is another queen hailing from Strangerville and is also the youngest competing queen in the competition to date. Some who have browsed the Sims reddit may remember Scotch making a few appearances

pre-drag race

as "

Florida Man

", a member of the infamous "Golddig" clan; a family of reputed 'gold-diggers' who are always looking for their next claim. His grandmother, 'Dusty Bones' made occasional appearances on reddit as a burnt-out version of '

Matilda the Chef

'.

Terra enters the competition as the youngest queen and also the most inexperienced, asking the more experienced queens for help with her makeup and nails shortly after making her entrance. Terra is almost immediately denigrated by her older, more experiences co-competitors as being "busted" and looking a "mess", though despite all that Terra manages to maintain a confidence bordering on cockiness that she will succeed and in fact win the competition, though anyone having seen the first episode will know Terra's ultimate fate.

Velvetta Baggins

Wilberforce Armitage XVII AKA "Velvetta Baggins", is an oldschool queen from Windenburg. She speaks with a High-British or a classically 'posh British' accent, and frequently bemoans about all of the times that the French ave supposedly terrorized her and her comrades while on active duty during the war, which war you ask? She can't remember, though it was likely sometime during the ice age as woolly mammoths and spear-throwing cavemen were involved. The running gag involving Velvetta is that she is old, like really very old. In truth she is probably somewhere around 50-55 years old, however Caliente refers to Velvetta as being "90" in her talking head and Terra Ryzen speculates that she is from the Mesozoic era, basically Velvetta is the oldest queen of the season which makes her target for everyone else. A pianist classically trained in the styles of baroque, Velvetta has entertained audiences for generations and continues to do so using her oldschool style, while fellow Windenburg queen Baga Trash utilizes modern pop culture and of course 'rubbish' to entertain audiences. What's interesting about fellow Windenburg Queens; Velvetta and Baga Trash is that they are both so intrinsically different, despite hailing from the same place. It can be argued that since Velvetta has been performing drag at a time since before Baga Trash, that the two styles will naturally be different.

I think the truth of the matter is that Velvetta is just another quirky, cooky queen with a bizarre sense of humor and a unique self-styled sense of fashion, not unlike Tammie Brown. The constant callbacks to the wartime tactics and the French are either a clever joke in the guise of obfuscating reality or she actually is senile and is suffering from false memories, either way Velvetta certainly is an interesting queen to have on the stage.

So now that you've gotten to know our judges, and all twelve contestants on a more personal level, maybe you will remember to set that timer to watch 'Morgyn's Drag Race' this Sunday, at 12:45 PM Pacific Standard Time.

Convert A Tune To A Totally different File Format With ITunes

Wanna extract lovely music from a video and put them into your music player? One of the best ways to transform mp4 (video file) to mp3 (audio file) is to utilize an excellent audio and video conversion software program program. For Home windows system, there are a huge variety of format conversion packages accessible over the online. For example, we have iTube Studio, Format Factory, Total Video Converter, Any Video Converter etc. With these Windows primarily based software packages, you'll be able to easily convert mp4 video to mp3 audio format while conserving the standard of output file intact. Choose an output format, simply highlight the MP4 video that want to convert and click "Profile">"Common Audio". Then, choose (.mp3). MediaHuman Audio Converter is a freeware software for Mac OS X and Home windows. It could actually show you how to to convert your music absolutely free to WMA, MP4 to MP3 MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC, OGG, AIFF, Apple Lossless format and www.audio-transcoder.com bunch of others. In the identical manner, you can change online MP4 clips. You'll solely want a media URL. Copy it and paste into the device by clicking the Paste URL" button. Choose the music output option and save your online clip and a song. Nearly all of the steps are the identical as above. Alternatively, you can download MP3 free from YouTube. +Import videos to any common purposes like Home windows Media Player, Windows Movie Maker, iTunes, Adobe Premiere Professional, and so forth. You might find some free on-line MP4 to MP3 converters. They're free to let you turn your MP4 video into MP3 music for a free listening on your portable gadget. Step three: Press "Convert MP3 to Video" and look forward to changing MP3 to MP4. MP4 to MP3 Converter is a tool that may help you take an MP4 video and convert it into an MP3 audio file. So, if you want to extract music or speech from a video, that is the tool for you. Helpful for obtaining a ringtone, or for different creative pursuits. As well as MP4, the MP4 to MP3 Converter is appropriate with other well-liked video codecs such as MOV, AVI, MPEG and WMV. The world's largest online file converter. Online conversion file consists of quite a few sort corresponding to Video, Audio, Document,Picture, Book, Archives. To this point, we are capable of export greater than 500 kinds of codecs, converts the enter format over 2000 totally different format conversion. Use Office On-line Converter, will make you quickly workplace. Effectively enhance the work efficiency. 1Select recordsdata or URL you want to convert. What I take advantage of is the freeware audio player Foobar2000 You will after all need a copy of LAMEexe (mp3 encoder), or you can have Foobar2000 output to a WAV that you could edit, normalize, and so on. Note that the mp4 will most likely have to be complaint in order for Foobar2000 to acknowledge it.

In case you have video files that comprise audio you would like you can isolate, Free Video To Audio Converter is the software for you. Designed to extract the audio from a video file, it performs this task effectively and with a surprisingly excessive level of high quality. With support for over 50 totally different audio codecs, including MP$, FLAC, OGG, WMA and WAV, there are decisions for everyone, even if you're a stickler for high sound quality. It additionally options help for much more video formats. 300 distinctive recordsdata varieties are accepted and include MKV, FLV, MP4, AVI and more. It is able to Converting MP4 to MP3 easily and shortly. Obtain free Freemake MP4 to MP3 Converter. There are two installer variations out there on the official web page: a web based one and an offline file. A web based installer is for customers with a stable and fast Internet connection. The offline or full version will be installed on a pc that's not linked to the Net. Adding recordsdata to the file list by Drag and Drop. I select Convert, then select the file to convert and then select tomp3 after which I name the new file with an.mp3 extension and click on Start but it just exhibits the phrase Streaming and once I look on the hard drive it lists the file I was changing to however 0kb and performs nothing. Some websites have introduced a new streaming standard. Primarily, the files which can be being downloaded are not actually MP4s but a new streaming format that is being misidentified as MP4. We are engaged on an replace to RealPlayer that can permit for this new format. We count on to release a repair with the subsequent RealPlayer sixteen build in late-August. As soon as the MP3 file is offered, click the obtain hyperlink despatched to your e-mail box and download. Free Video To Audio Converter isn't limited to only audio conversions. It might probably additionally rip CDs and convert online flash videos to audio, too. From sources like Youtube, merely input the URL of the video you'd like to convert and you'll be left with simply the audio observe.

The primary reason they're so fashionable is the way in which the file type works. MP3s use lossy compression How Does File Compression Work? How Does File Compression Work? File compression is at the core of how the fashionable internet works, one may argue, because it permits us to share files that would in any other case take too long to transfer. But how does it work? Learn More , which vastly reduces the dimensions of an audio file while barely affecting its quality. The process works by stripping out all the data that is past the hearing vary of the typical person, then compressing the rest as effectively as possible.The fact that Freemake is effectively designed and requires no special knowledge to be able to operate, puts it in our record of high 5 greatest YouTube to MP3 converters. This bad boy has over 93 million users, contains no ads and has learn made output profiles for different gadgets. It downloads and converts video to MP3, but aside from that it can convert audio files and images and is even able to ripping videos from DVD. It offers output options equivalent to AVI, WMV, MPG, and MP4. It's capable of burning videos to DVD and Blu-ray, and you'll even export movies to YouTube format.MP4 to MP3 Converter is an easy, environment friendly, quick but free MP4 to MP3 Converter. When the conversion is accomplished, click on the download link to get your convertedMP3 file. One thing I like about Online Converter is that it has the aptitude to transform some information, like layered PSDs , to multiple picture recordsdata you could obtain as a ZIP archive. 4When the conversion is accomplished, click on the obtain hyperlink to get your convertedMP3 file. Media > Open Capture Machine > Choose Desktop as the Capture Mode > Set your body rate > Click the drop-down menu on the underside of the screen and select Stream > A brand new window will open the place you may select the output file format and site.

Saturday, November 28, 2020

Inching toward exit (Reuters) U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he will leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for President-elect Joe Biden, the closest he has come to conceding the Nov. 3 election, even as he repeated claims of massive voter fraud. Speaking to reporters on the Thanksgiving holiday, Republican Trump said if Democrat Biden—who is due to be sworn in on Jan. 20—is formally declared the winner by the Electoral College, he will depart the White House. Asked if he would leave the White House if the Electoral College votes for Biden, Trump said: “Certainly I will. Certainly I will. And you know that.”

Schools struggle to stay open as quarantines sideline staff (AP) The infection of a single cafeteria worker was all it took to close classrooms in the small Lowellville school district in northeastern Ohio, forcing at least two weeks of remote learning. Not only did the worker who tested positive for the coronavirus need to quarantine, but so did the entire cafeteria staff and most of the transportation crew, because some employees work on both. The district of about 500 students sharing one building had resumed in-person instruction with masks and social distancing and avoided any student infections. But without enough substitute workers, administrators had no choice but to temporarily abandon classroom operations and meal services. “It boils down to the staff,” Lowellville Superintendent Geno Thomas said. “If you can’t staff a school, you have to bring it to remote.” Around the country, contact tracing and isolation protocols are sidelining school employees and closing school buildings. The staffing challenges force students out of classrooms, even in districts where officials say the health risks of in-person learning are manageable. And the absences add to the strain from a wave of early retirements and leaves taken by employees worried about health risks.

Pandemic pushes Peru's vital peasant farmers to the brink (AP) Under a punishing Andean sun, Nazario Quispe digs his plow into the soil where he is growing dozens of different potato varieties—uncertain when he will be able to afford the seeds and supplies to sow them again. Farmers like Quispe are responsible for the food that lands on 70% of Peruvian dinner tables, officials say, but months of pandemic lockdown and a souring economy have left many bankrupt and questioning whether to plant again. “If my savings dry up, how will I sustain myself?” asked Quispe, a father of five who grows 150 types of the tuber native to Peru from the Sacred Valley highlands. Across this South American nation an estimated 7 million peasants like the 51-year-old Quispe toil small plots of land to feed their families and earn a living. Strict quarantines early in the pandemic made transporting beans, potatoes and other crops to markets difficult. Prices plummeted as demand dropped. Official data shows the price for potatoes dropped at least 30% between March and July.

Brexit goes down to the wire: EU and UK say big differences remain (Reuters) The European Union and Britain said on Friday there were still substantial differences over a Brexit trade deal as the EU chief negotiator prepared to travel to London in a last-ditch attempt to avoid a tumultuous finale to the five-year Brexit crisis. With just five weeks left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU’s orbit on Dec. 31, both sides are calling on the other to compromise on the three main issues of contention—fishing, state aid and how to resolve any future disputes. The two sides will shortly resume face-to-face negotiations after they had to be suspended last week when one of EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier’s team tested positive for COVID-19.

Police brutality in Paris (AFP) Three police officers were suspended following the release of footage that shows a brutal beating of a black music producer in his studio in Paris. The incident comes amid protests against police brutality in France, just days after another video showing the violent dismantling of a migrant camp shocked the country—and the government’s push to restrict filming police.

E.U. Border Agency Accused of Covering Up Migrant Pushback in Greece (NYT) Mounting evidence indicates that the European Union’s border agency has been complicit in Greece’s illegal practice of pushing back migrants to Turkey, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and interviews with officials. In at least one case, Frontex, as the E.U. border agency is known, is accused of having helped cover up the violations, when a crew said it was discouraged by agency officials from reporting that they had seen the Greek authorities setting a boatload of migrants adrift in Turkish waters. It has fueled suspicions that the agency, newly boosted in its role as upholder of the rule of law at E.U. borders, is not just sporadically aware of such abuses, but that it plays a role in concealing them. “We are seeing an erosion of the rule of law at the E.U. borders which is willful,” said Gerald Knaus, a migration expert. “This is deeply worrying because it is eroding the refugee convention on the continent on which it was created.” Refugee arrivals to the European Union peaked five years ago and have dropped drastically since, but thousands of asylum seekers, many fleeing the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, still attempt the crossing.

S. Korea agency says N. Korea executed people, shut capital (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered at least two people executed, banned fishing at sea and locked down the capital, Pyongyang, as part of frantic efforts to guard against the coronavirus and its economic damage, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Friday. Kim’s government also ordered diplomats overseas to refrain from any acts that could provoke the United States because it is worried about President-elect Joe Biden’s expected new approach toward North Korea, lawmakers told reporters after attending a private briefing by the National Intelligence Service. North Korea has maintained that it hasn’t found a single coronavirus case on its soil, a claim disputed by outside experts, although it says it is making all-out efforts to prevent the virus’s spread. A major outbreak could have dire consequences because the North’s health care system remains crippled and suffers from a chronic lack of medical supplies.

China slaps tariffs of up to 212% on Australian wine imports (CNN) Australian winemakers have been dealt a huge blow from China as tensions continue to spiral between the two countries. Chinese regulators announced Friday that they would impose heavy tariffs on Australian wines after finding preliminary evidence of dumping. Starting Saturday, China will begin slapping duties of between 107.1% and 212.1% on Australian wine imports, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement. The move places yet another hurdle in front of Australian businesses as relations worsen between Canberra and Beijing. Australia has upset China this year by calling for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. Beijing later targeted Canberra over trade, namely by suspending some imports of beef and slapping heavy tariffs on barley.

Lawmakers throw pig guts, punches on Taiwan parliament floor (AP) Lawmakers in Taiwan got into a fist fight and threw pig guts at each other Friday over a soon-to-be enacted policy that would allow imports of U.S. pork and beef. Premier Su Tseng-chang was due to give a regularly scheduled policy report to lawmakers on Friday morning about the pork policy when opposition party lawmakers from the Nationalist party, also known as the KMT, blocked his attempt to speak by dumping bags of pig organs. Legislators from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party attempted to stop them, resulting in chaos and an exchange of punches. President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration lifted a longstanding ban on imports of U.S. pork and beef in August, in a move seen as one of the first steps toward possibly negotiating a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S. The ban is due to be lifted in January. That decision has met with fierce opposition, both from the KMT and individual citizens.

Israel Army Preparing in Case U.S. Strikes Iran, Axios Says (Bloomberg) Israel’s government instructed the military to prepare for a possible U.S. strike against Iran during the remainder of President Donald Trump’s term, Axios reported, citing unidentified Israeli officials. The instructions were given because officials anticipate “a very sensitive period” prior to the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, and not because of any intelligence or assessment that the U.S. will order an attack, the report said. The New York Times reported earlier this month that Trump asked his top aides whether he could take action against Iran’s main nuclear site. According to the report, senior advisers including Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence dissuaded him, but he might still be looking at ways to strike Iranian assets and allies.

Iran scientist linked to military nuclear program killed (AP) An Iranian scientist named by the West as the leader of the Islamic Republic’s disbanded military nuclear program was killed Friday in an ambush on the outskirts of Tehran, authorities said. Iran’s foreign minister alleged the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh bore “serious indications” of an Israeli role, but did not elaborate. Israel, long suspected of killing several Iranian nuclear scientists a decade ago, declined to immediately comment. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once told the public to “remember that name” when talking about Fakhrizadeh. The killing risks further raising tensions across the Mideast, nearly a year after Iran and the U.S. stood on the brink of war when an American drone strike killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad. It comes just as President-elect Joe Biden stands poised to be inaugurated in January and will likely complicate his efforts to return America to a pact aimed at ensuring Iran does not have enough highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.

Ethiopians flee Tigray capital in fear of imminent assault (AP) People continued to flee the capital of Ethiopia’s embattled Tigray region in fear of an imminent assault after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said the army had been ordered to move in for the “final phase” of an offensive to arrest the defiant regional leaders. Fighting reportedly remained well outside Mekele, a densely populated city of a half-million people who had been warned by the Ethiopian government of “no mercy” if they didn’t separate themselves from the Tigray leaders in time. Abiy on Thursday told residents to stay indoors and disarm as the army, with tanks, was given the order to move in. His government has vowed to protect civilians. Food and other supplies are running out in the Tigray region of 6 million people.

Week 5-17 Pre-production, filming and feedback of advertisement.

Week 5

After learning about the assignment, which was to create a short video advertisement for a small / large company, I wanted to look around for what companies or businesses I would’ve liked to help out, first off starting with a Musician named “Ryan McNicholl” He’s a local country singer and a friend of my sisters, I’ve also worked with him before one short films for previous short films. hes also produced, created and wrote an album called “Songs I Wish I Wrote”  I met up with him and took a few Recce photos of his recording studio as well as his equipment and his lyric book.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1HMNCNQmej88xPSVLCmq9eC0Sxsm9UWrM?usp=sharing 

I felt as though he’d be a good person to approach first due to him being fairly unknown and the promotional material could be used to get him some more notability, as well as it being something he could use for social media as a way to not only promote himself, but also his new album, however I felt as though his studio would be too small to film in, so if I were to go with Ryan, i’d need to film in other locations besides his studio and house.

I then went and looked into a local beauty company known as About Face, Beauty isn’t something I take a great interest in, however I knew both the workers at About Face and had shown my photography talents to them before, and they had wanted me to do promotional material for them, however due to time restraints, I was unable to at the time, and after taking recce shots of the location

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/18XA0j9hV10AWqoLCCZ17AGxiYxFICBKX?usp=sharing

After taking both of the necessary shots and thinking things over, I decided to go for About Face, mostly due to the amount of things that could be filmed there, such as customers being worked on as well as other treatments that most people wouldn't even have known about, after approaching them one last time, I went in and asked if they’d be happy for me to begin filming shortly and they gave me the go ahead to start filming.

Week 6

The next step was to make a shot list for the upcoming advertisement, doing so I’d used the Recce shots I had from the Salon as well as the knowledge I had of the location and of how best to utilise the camera to come up with the shot list, I also kept in mind that not everything on the shot list would make it into the film, there maybe somethings that I change on set or that I find other things to film, as well as cut things on in the editing process that I simply do not make it in due to time restraints or even the music choice.

I then made a more visual Story board, again using all of the ques from the shot list as an indicator.

And with both a shot list and a storyboard finished and finalised I then just needed to start filming.

Week 7-9

The first week of filming went well, I got used to the lighting and the smaller spaces of the location and was able to get around most of the smallness thanks to my 14-42mm lens. 

However once I brought this into Adobe Premiere, I then realised that the footage wasn't of a high enough quality, and in fact was shot in 720p not 1080, so all the editing that I had done up to that point had to have been thrown out, and I then needed to go back another day to begin filming all over again. 

Week 10-13

Going back in for another shoot, I managed to get a lot more footage of customers having their nails done and they were both happy to let me film them.as long as I kept the camera away from their faces which was unfortunate seeing as for that day of shooting I wasn't able to get any more customers. However the footage turned out a lot better than I had expected, and the colours and objects looked cleaner.

After taking it into Premiere I immediately noticed the difference in the look of the advertisement and knew it was a massive improvement, however this did mean that I needed to start all the progress i’d made that week.

Next step when it came to my Advertisement was making sure that I had the right music to go along with it, making sure that It was something calming, but not too calm, something that had a beat to it so that I could test and possibly use the cutting on the beat to my advantage. I decided to try Youtubes Audio library as I though that would be the best place to find simplistic audio with little to no lyrics so that I could just focus on the video, as well as having no copywrite to worry about. Hunting through the filters allowed me to find the type of music I wanted. 

Dance and Electronic would make the place seam modern and fresh, whilst the bright would give the video an upbeat tone that would show off the locations almost, laid back nature witch I feel is something that’s necessary when showing off a salon, especially from the previous examples, I’d need a song that had the maturity and calm of the location, whilst also having a decent tempo to keep the flow of the video going so that the video does not get boring and dry, even if the visuals are interesting.  

After a while I decided on the track Stranger, it had a calm opening with an quick tempo and a drop in the middle of the song with another change in tempo that allowed for more cut on beats. 

Finally bringing the audio file into Adobe Premiere I wanted to gauge a starting point for the advertisement, which I could easily change down the line.

As for editing during this time, I was able to get the first few edits of the advertisement into a semi finished state so that I could easily gauge how long the film should be, my cut off point being 1 minute 30 seconds, which I knew my film wouldn't be that long, however I kept it in mind

The first cut of the Advertisement was placed at 1:30 and I would then be able to work around the time constraint and then finalise the film from there, this also featured a clip from the old shoots, mostly due to the fact that there was no way to get that shot again, as the lighting began to change over time and I didn't think I could get that shot again, as for features: the advertisement in this would’ve had a mask in the highlighted section and would then transition to the up stairs area where I would then show off upstairs. This is also around the time that I went out and began filming again I wanted to get shots of a customer getting a treatment done, and the before and after, lucky I had a family member going along to about face for an eyebrow and upper lip wax.

Whilst I wanted these shots, I do not know if they will make it into the final advertisement as they might end up breaking the flow of the advert.

Throughout the following weeks the advert began to shift and evolve throughout due to the footage I began using as well as the way the music began flowing, with the music playing a big part in how I edited the advert.

In this much later version of the advert, more of the clips are added to the film as well as the mask I mentioned I wanted to use, however I do not like the way the mask looks, first off the complete lighting change is a bit off putting and detracting, and the speed of the second clip doesn't match well with how the first clip moves, making the jump from scene to scene feel awkward and out of place. 

week 14-16

In this Final week of editing I wanted to cut out the mask and cut the film down to an appropriate length as well as be able to get the music and visuals to match up well.  

In this version most of the clips have been stripped down and are cohesive enough to the point where it keeps a genuine flow throughout the advertisement, so’s the viewers don’t get board watching the video and are able to comprehend all that’s going on in the video without multiple viewings, this version also contains smooth transitional shots that fade and blur into one another, giving that gentle feeling that a salon is going for and as such I feel it captures that feeling well with the use of these effects. 

This Is the final version of my advertisement, as it comes to just over the minimum amount of time, that being 1:04 and as such I feel as though it uses it’s time well and Is able to fully accomplish what I set out to do with this project, however there are come gripes I have with this advert, that being that I regret not being able to get any proper shot of customers satisfied with the what work they got done. I also wish I was able to use more of the time allotted to show off more of what the salon provided.

After re-watching this version of the advert a few times, I decided I wanted to go over it again and edit it further with colour grading and enhancements to make the footage look a lot cleaner and a lot  more professional, and as a result, I feel the final version does look a lot cleaner than the original.  

Week 17

For feedback I got it from both my client and my tutor, they both liked the smooth transitions and felt it matched the branding well, however my tutor was able to pick up on the use of a price-list being off due to the fact that price lists for salons and other locations often change over time which could unfortunately date the video heavily, one of the main complaints I got from the client was the use in the nail varnish rack and the towels, as in the video they appeared to be quite dirty and unclean, however I am going to create a re-edited version of this advertisement for them to use instead.

So in conclusion, I enjoyed making this advertisement, I enjoyed working with the client as they were very helpful and very open to letting me make the video and were extremely pleased with the result, I myself am happy with what I made even though I feel as though more could have been done, such as getting more people into the video.

How To Convert MP4 To MP3 On Mac

High-high quality CD converting software, Xilisoft CD Converter converts CD to almost all audio formats MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, OGG, APE and many others, making CDs obtainable on different music gamers. If you solely have a number of small files to transform, we suggest utilizing one of many free programs we reviewed. The good thing about spending $30 on audio conversion software program is the flexibility to convert numerous information rapidly. Audials Tunebite is $forty, which is the costliest software we examined, but it could actually file streaming audio and video companies and converts greater than forty import codecs. No matter format you're changing, and no matter platform you are doing it on, you'll want audio editing software of some kind at some stage of the method. This is perhaps to regulate the equalization of a ripped CD, or to record the contents of a cassette tape. An amazing cda to mp3 on-line converter ensures lossless conversions and quicker operation. We hope the above listed ones have met your expectations. If you're desirous about realizing mp3 to midi converter online, do take a look at our article on it. There's sufficient place for additional music. For audio-transcoder.com instance, on the show shot above, you've got 10 minutes and fifty 9 seconds of free area on a typical eighty minutes CD. Once you make a alternative of your favorites, you could wish to use this area as effectively. Merely repeat the step three and select more MP3 info. This system is portable: it does not use system registry and all settings are stored in INI files. Due to this program might be run from transportable gadgets corresponding to pendrives, detachable drives. Switch is the fastest audio converter software program we tested. To check the speed of every converter software, we timed how lengthy it took to transform a 625MB WAV file to a 26MB MP3 file. Hey I may really use some assist. I attempted all the pieces I may and I additionally tried the chat from Adobe but not getting any outcomes. I attempted importing an MP4 file into a Premiere Pro CC project and as an alternative of it being an MP4 file it became an MP3. I regarded on the property of the file and I saw this. About KeepVid Free On-line Video Converter. KeepVid On-line Video Converter is a 100% free on-line media converter website online, which helps you to convert video and audio recordsdata to most sorts of widespread video and audio information with out the need to set up any third-celebration software program. The info usually is a uncooked bitstream in an audio coding format, nevertheless it's often embedded in a container format or an audio knowledge format with outlined storage layer. This on-line audio converter supports vast conversions embody OGG to MP3 , OPUS to MP3 , WAV to MP3 , MP4 to MP3 , M4A to MP3 or MP3 to AAC and so forth. Further functions together with Forged to TELEVISION, Display Recorder, Fix Video Metadata, VR Converter, and more. You need to use GIF to WebM or GIF to MOV converter as a substitute, if you favor WebM or MOV over MP4 format. It supports a couple of video formats together with MP4, FLV and 3GP. It could actually convert to just MP3 or AAC audio codecs, though. Free obtain AnyMP4 Video Converter ( for Windows , for Mac ). Install and launch the program. I need to do that so that I can take the MP4 information that I created for my Sonos and copy them onto storage so that I can play them within the car. The automobile will only play MP3s. If you go for MP3, it's possible you'll wait round longer than you want, as the program first extracts songs to short-term WAV recordsdata earlier than changing them to the compressed codec. In our checks, the appliance had no trouble acquiring monitor data from the Web. As you would possibly anticipate, the program helps you to set the bit fee and use VBR compression, however the capacity to normalize tracks is a welcome shock. Ditto for the audio-conversion and recording tools, conversion mp4 ogg that are fairly fundamental however nonetheless work simply superb. Complete the installation process and double-click on the Freemake icon to run the MOV to MP4 converter. Convert to a new file format, add processing and results, add metadata together with art work, to multiple files in a single batch course of. That is single file conversion in a menu. Batch conversion handles automatic naming of recordsdata. Just merely get hold of and have a attempt. Right here can also be tutorial about the way to convert CDA to MP3 format. Swap Audio File Converter Software program Convert and encode sound recordsdata shortly. Change is among the most safe, straightforward-to-use, and complete multi format audio file converters obtainable. Youtube To MP3 Converter online cda to mp4 , Free Get hold of Movies To Youtube Mp4 Converter Online, Get hold of Motion pictures & Audios From Youtube In Format MP3 & MP4. Audio information are available a variety of different codecs. Some are lossy, reminiscent of AAC and MP3; they save house in comparison with the original information, but a few of the unique data is misplaced throughout compression. Some codecs are lossless, such as Apple Lossless, FLAC, and SHN; these recordsdata could be converted again to their authentic form without the loss of a single bit. Lastly, some are uncompressed, resembling WAV and AIFF; they characterize the precise information from a CD or a master. While EncodeHD can convert videos to a format supported by many popular devices, there are no enhancing options you should use beforehand. A: You possibly can convert (rip) your Audio CDs to the popular MP3 format. Audio Converter supports as much as 28 widespread audio codecs , like CDA (CD Audio), MP3, MPA, WMA, WAV, OGG, AAC, Apple Lossless M4A, MP4, AC3, FLAC, WavPack, APE, TTA, and so forth. Step 5: Sit again and conversion mp4 ogg loosen up whereas the audio is converted from CDA to MP3. Yow will discover the transformed MP3 recordsdata on the location specified by you in Step 3.

Open the software program that you have put in on your laptop and choose Convert" button on the home display screen. MP3 Toolkit is a powerful Windows app includes MP3 converter, CD ripper, tag editor, MP3 cutter, MP3 merger and MP3 recorder for customers who want to deal with MP3 information simpler. I converted something to Opus yesterday with LameXP however TEncoder and TAudioConverter may even do the trick. Click Rip CD button to start to transform CDA to MP3 or other audio format you desired. A conversion dialog will appear to level out the progress of cda to mp3 conversion If you wish to stop the method, please click Stop button. After the conversion, you might click on the Output Folder button to get the converted recordsdata and swap to your iPod, iPad, iPhone, mp3 participant or laborious driver.

15 + 5 + 5 to watch 121718

TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 17 with Jamie Swimmer & Jacob Aere

A recent report from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” detailed some shocking food violations found at professional sports stadiums around the country. According to ESPN.com, an analysis of more than 16,000 food-safety inspections was compiled from North America’s 111 NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL venues, finding that “violations run the gamut.” At about 28% of the venues, “half or more of their food service outlets incurred one or more high-level violations, the type of unsanitary conditions or omissions that can pose a risk for a foodborne illness.” The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, had the highest percentage of food outlets that incurred one or more high-level violations (92%), while the now-closed Palace of Auburn Hills (86.1%), American Airlines Center in Dallas (83.1%), and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (82.6%) followed as the top violators. The report does not necessarily claim that stadiums are “unsafe or unsanitary,” as Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention Executive Director Patricia Buck said that stadium environments “carry unique risks because of the large number of people being served in a short period of time.” In general, the report found that stadia are no more or less questionable over time than your favorite burger joint or watering hole – it’s stadium food and beverage pricing that can be downright criminal.

In a bid to continue to attract casual fans and widen its viewership net, the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 7 will see ESPN extend its partnership with Interscope Records as Imagine Dragons plays the halftime show live from Las Vegas’ Treasure Island. The special performance will be free for fans and will require passes in order to access Treasure Island. The appearance at the national championship game builds upon a season-long collaboration between ESPN, Interscope Records, and Universal Music Group Nashville that saw artists from the label incorporated into ESPN’s college football programming, promotion, and game coverage. For fans and bettors alike, college football bowl games remain appointment-viewing TV, to such a degree that USA Today notes it "doesn’t even matter that average, per-game bowl attendance has declined for 10 straight years." The "appetite for this bowl bonanza persists, because they’re all getting what they want." In 1996-1997, there were 18 bowl games, and "five seasons later, there were 25." This season, there are 40 postseason games, "including 10 teams with the minimum record necessary to qualify at 6-6." For 2020 and beyond, discussion has recently intensified around a possible expansion to as many as 86 teams in 44 postseason games, including expanding the championship playoff field to eight teams from four.

The AAC is pulling out all stops to keep its member schools part of the conference. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the conference is asking member schools to “sign a grant-of-rights agreement that theoretically would lock them into the conference for the duration of the next media rights deal.” University of Central Florida is the league’s hottest football team, having just completed another undefeated regular season and booked a spot in the Fiesta Bowl, and is the most likely institution to get poached by a major conference. Memphis, Cincinnati, Houston, and USF are other schools with strong athletic teams that might have an interest in jumping elsewhere too. The AAC is currently in the midst of a seven-year, $126 million package with ESPN that is set to run through 2020, with sources noting that the media rights deal could be three to four times higher – but only if the conference’s top schools commit to stay.

The Oakland Raiders are in need of a new home stadium next season. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raiders withdrew from a tentative deal to stay in Oakland for the 2019 season, leaving the likelihood of relocation a year earlier than expected. News of the withdrawal broke a day after the city sued the franchise over its “impending departure to Las Vegas,” appearing to make good the “team’s threat to find somewhere else to play next year if the city filed suit.” The Raiders could potentially move into Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home to the San Francisco 49ers, play in the NFL-less San Diego for a season, or even move to a university stadium in Las Vegas a year ahead of schedule. While none of the options are without major complications, the team is intent on packing up and moving as opposed to staying at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for another year.

The Phoenix Suns will stay in Arizona for the time being. According to the Arizona Republic, the struggling Suns are in need of renovations to Talking Stick Resort Arena or a new facility, and rumors of their relocation have been floating across the NBA for some time now. Suns President and CEO Jason Rowley indicated that the team “has never threatened to leave the Valley and is committed to making a deal work in downtown Phoenix” following the Phoenix City Council delaying a vote to renovate the Suns home arena. The deal on the table reportedly includes a $230 million renovation and $37.5 million future repair fund with the goal of bringing Talking Stick on par with other NBA arenas. Rowley confirmed his desire to get this deal done in Phoenix, but did not “confirm whether the Suns are currently exploring other cities and instead repeated that a deal in Phoenix is the priority.” Relocation threats produce leverage, but the tactic works much better when the team is winning and revered by their community, which the Suns currently are not.

The LPGA has cemented plans for the 2019 season, lining up a schedule that will include 33 official events, as well as the biennial Solheim Cup. The women’s tour will visit 15 states and 12 countries and offer a record $70.55 million in official prize money, up from $65.35 million in 2018, with the season’s largest purses coming at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, both with $5 million at stake. The 2019 season features four new tournaments, include the inaugural The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America, which will kick off the year January 17-20. “We are in one of the most exciting periods of time in LPGA history,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “One look at our 2018 season shows the breadth of global talent on our Tour, and I have no doubt that 2019 will continue this upward trend. We are not only proud of our Tour growth, but also the growth of our LPGA Teachers, LPGA Amateurs and LPGA-USGA Girls-Golf efforts.” Initiatives to benefit girls both on and off the course continue to be a priority for Whan and his staff, as witnessed by the growth and prestige of the STEM-focused Indy Women in Tech Presented by Group1001 tournament, moving to September in 2019.

As the NCAA celebrates its women’s volleyball championships, the Olympic Channel and FIVB locked in an agreement to collaborate on content for the Olympic Channel global digital platform. With more than 2880 bios of volleyball athletes and more than 230 pieces of video content, fans can get comprehensive coverage of the sport on the Olympic Channel. This is an enormous benefit to both diehard and casual fans of indoor and beach volleyball alike, as we inch closer to the 2020 Olympics and prestigious international circuits such as the Beach Majors, held in Florida and Europe, and the U.S.-centric p1440 continue to take root. According to the NCAA, the 2018 national championship match in Minneapolis’ Target Center was at least the fourth consecutive sellout crowd in a championship match. Last year’s championship match crowd broke an NCAA attendance record with 18,516 people. Thursday night’s crowd was recorded as 17,808. Clearly, volleyball continues to grow globally. And matches like Saturday’s NCAA Division I championship between Nebraska and winner Stanford, now with a record eight titles, continue to help.

La Liga remains optimistic about its North American prospects despite the regular season match between Barcelona and Girona falling through. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the game in Miami on January 26 was called off by Barcelona "after recognizing the lack of consensus around the proposal.” The league issued a statement shortly after the news broke to defend its case: “From La Liga, we regret the disappointment this could cause among our fans in the U.S. To all of them, we want to express that, as soon as possible, La Liga will hold an official match in the U.S., as the top American leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL) have done outside the country.” The top flight Spanish soccer league has a five pillar plan to grow its roots in the United States, with an actual match taking place being just one of them; the four other pillars are TV and media rights, content strategy, youth development, and community-based events in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and another to-be-determined market. Soccer has long been king of all sports around the globe, so it’s quite refreshing to see one of the world’s premier soccer leagues taking a page from the not-as-beautiful American sports’ global brand strategy.

It is still undecided whether or not the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 or 48 teams. According to the AFP, FIFA President Gianni Infantino claimed that a final decision will be made by March, though he stated that “it was not a simple decision.” The 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States will have 48 teams, but the venues are already constructed and host cities have the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the extra teams and fans; the situation could not be more different in Qatar. The 2022 rendition of the World Cup already has a condensed timeline, getting crunched down to 28 days instead of the normal 31-day schedule, “due to soaring summer temperatures” and it being played in the middle of the regular club schedule. Qatar is still in the construction phase for the majority of its stadiums, with two more yet-to-be announced. And still not adequately addressed: the vast infrastructure of hotels, transport, food service, medical care, and security needed to accommodate the athletes, officials, staff, family, fans, and business partners of 32 teams, let alone 48.

European Athletics has signed an agreement with USA Track and Field (USATF) that will see a competition take place between European and U.S. athletes. The event, which is in the style of golf’s Ryder Cup, will take place at Minsk’s Dinamo Stadium September 9-10 ahead of the IAAF World Championships, which begin in Doha two weeks later. The four divisions of the 2019 European Athletics Team Championships in August will serve as the qualifying event for the inaugural match. The Dinamo Stadium, where the clash will take place, reopened in June 2018 with a capacity of 22,000 spectators. European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen said: “There will be a match for the first time since the 1960s. We are going to include every track discipline up to the 3000m for men and women (excluding 4x400m). We will have all the throws, jumps and a 4x100m relay. There will also be mixed medley relay because there will be a mixed 4x400m on the program at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020. There will be four athletes from each continent in every event competing for prize money.” Unlike preparing for the World Cup, both Belarus and Qatar are quite capable of caring for the smaller group of track and field athletes that will compete. In Qatar, however, the autumn heat remains an untamed variable.

music in review..

Sam Smith  |  In The Lonely Hour

Author Bio:

Hello music critics, my name is Madison Byrd and I am a Sophomore at the University of Michigan. I would necessarily consider myself “musically inclined” but I do have a knack for calling a hit when I hear one. My love for music started when my sister and I were gifted a hot pink CD player and Hilary Duff CD for Christmas in our pre-teen era. There are songs that we simply enjoy for their jiving beat but more often than not we connect with music because of how it’s story resonates with our own. In my opinion, a good song tells a story that its listeners can latch onto and has a varying degree of intellect found in it’s lyrics. Money On My Mind: This track has an interesting spin on it. Like many artists do, the title of this track is misleading at first glance. An outsider might assume that this song tells the story of a money hungry artist who is hustling all for the dough. But most could gather that Sam is telling us about the heart and soul behind his work. The actual phrasing of the song is, “I don't have money on mind, I do it for the love”, quite the contrary from track title. I applaud Sam for making this the very first song on his premiere album, getting it out there from the start that he is producing music because he has a God given nature to do so. No cash money needed. Good Thing: On this track Sam is telling us about the sort of relationship you get into because it feels good, not because it’s good for you. You're in it for the butterflies you get when you're near the other person, the rush you feel when you brush hands, the tension that rises when you're apart, and the jealousy that ensues when they're flirting with someone else. This all feels good but not for long. Sam says, “too much of a good thing won’t be good for long”, but all the while admitting that it’s not going to be easy quitting something that feels so right; he imagined it would be a relationship that would fade into the background of his life, something he wouldn't have to address head on.Stay With Me: This track soared to the top of the charts, in both the US and UK,  when it was released. This being the first track released from this album, it was also the first time that many had ever heard Sam Smith’s magical vocals. I believe that this song and the debut of such an artist caught people's attention because of his mature male voice and the similarities he shares with Aaron Neville from the 90’s. There had been a drop off since Neville in this category of male vocalists, a category of smooth and soulful singing. Speaking of soulful singing, the background choir that joins Sam in the chorus half way through the song really separated his sound from other artists’ in 2014. But back to its meaning… Sam sings about someone he just met who isn't exactly his soulmate but could very well keep him company for at least a night. Sam sings, “guess it’s true I'm not good at one night stand, but I still need love cause I’m just a man”, in other words he’s not asking this person to fulfill all his sexual fantasies in one night, “it’s not love it’s clear to see”, but rather just stay close to him, stay with him. Leave Your Lover: This track is widely known to be a reflection of a Sam Smith’s personal love life. Because this song can be perceived as Sam asking a girl to leave a guy or Sam asking a guy to leave a guy, this song can relate to all different make ups of intimate relationships. At the release of this song, Sam Smith was said to be in a relationship with a man so many of his fans took this song as Sam singing to his boyfriend. But in any sort of relationship, this song speaks to the girl or guy who is longing for their lost lover to return to them. Life has lead them astray and they wish it to not be so. I’m Not the Only One: Alright… probably one of the saddest music videos of all time. In this song, the stage is set for the picture perfect cheating scandal in a suburban Hollywood marriage. Much of where we, as the listeners, get our take on this song comes from the heart wrenching music video that was released shortly after the track’s debut in the U.S. Starring Dianna Agron and Chris Messina as the couple having trouble in paradise, it becomes alarmingly clear that the husband is cheating on his wife with some saloon girl down the street and the wife knows full well and is shattered by this reality. Like most relationships where the guy is cheating on the girl, there is a certain level of disbelief in the girl at first, not wanting her fairytale to be ruined. But at some point she has to come to terms with the fact that she knows “she’s not the only one.”  I’ve Told You Now: This song describes the sort of toxic relationship that always ends in a brawl but is reconciled by one person who admits they can’t live without the other person. But it’s interesting that the lyric choice for the chorus is “I’ve told you now”, but what is being told is never revealed. It sort of gives the illusion that there is a very stubborn person who finally has to admit they need the other person in their life, not by saying it but by merely reentering their life, uninvited. Like I Can: Continuing on with the theme of “winning back your lost love” Sam has a plead for his lover on this track, to stop looking for someone else to love and realize that no one can love him/ her like he can. Sam admits that other people may seem enticing and could very well be their “saviour” but no one knows the intricacies of their heart like he does. He is making the proclamation for lovers all around the world to not let their truest loves go. Life Support: This could very well be the most intimate track on the album. This song describes the sort of relationship between two people who literally can’t live without each other, hence the title of the song. Every breath and every move comes from their significant other, like second nature. Many listeners have also thought this song to be a marriage proposal, kind of playing off the token “will you marry me?” phrase. Either way, this is a statement within a song saying, don't ever leave me, I need you, you need me, and that’s the only way we can survive. Not In That Way: Talk about a tear jerker. Now, when we're completely honest with ourselves we can all admit to being in a relationship that didn't have a clear title or distinction but we just loved being around the other person, even if they thought things were more serious than they were, and we didn’t want to ruin a good thing. But in those moments, with those people, we know the end is just one awkward question away and we can’t bare to think of telling them, “I love you too, but not in that way.” I know I’ve broken a heart or two in my time, and it’s just the worst and you hate to have wasted what could’ve been a really good friendship if you had just been honest from the beginning. Lay Me Down: This song was the staple Sam Smith song when people really started to pay attention to the power in his vocals, just listen to the first 30 seconds and you’ll see for yourself. Sam sings about someone who has been denied or left or cheated on, it’s not entirely clear, but regardless he wants to be back with that person more than anything. He knows he should be stronger, he shouldn't care so much, but “the feelings are much too strong”, and he just wants to be by their side. No sex, no intimacy, just near their heart, body and soul that he cares so much about.

Sam Smith’s album, In The Lonely Hour, tells every story we’ve ever experienced when it comes to love. Soaring heights of intimacy, heartbreaking tragedy, haunting jealousy, precious friendship that could be more and the unforeseen end to something we thought would last a lifetime. This album is lyrical genius and has a spin on story telling that no American vocalist has yet tapped into. Sam Smith will forever be respected in the musical world and to think he is only just beginning… I foresee many more tear jerkers and heart warmers in the near future.

10 to watch: Mayor’s Edition 121719

TO WATCH/5 SPORTS TECH/POWER OF SPORTS 5: RICK HORROW’S TOP SPORTS/BIZ/TECH/PHILANTHROPY ISSUES FOR THE WEEK OF DECEMBER 17 with Jamie Swimmer & Jacob Aere

A recent report from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” detailed some shocking food violations found at professional sports stadiums around the country. According to ESPN.com, an analysis of more than 16,000 food-safety inspections was compiled from North America’s 111 NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL venues, finding that “violations run the gamut.” At about 28% of the venues, “half or more of their food service outlets incurred one or more high-level violations, the type of unsanitary conditions or omissions that can pose a risk for a foodborne illness.” The Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, had the highest percentage of food outlets that incurred one or more high-level violations (92%), while the now-closed Palace of Auburn Hills (86.1%), American Airlines Center in Dallas (83.1%), and Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (82.6%) followed as the top violators. The report does not necessarily claim that stadiums are “unsafe or unsanitary,” as Center for Foodborne Illness Research and Prevention Executive Director Patricia Buck said that stadium environments “carry unique risks because of the large number of people being served in a short period of time.” In general, the report found that stadia are no more or less questionable over time than your favorite burger joint or watering hole – it’s stadium food and beverage pricing that can be downright criminal.

In a bid to continue to attract casual fans and widen its viewership net, the College Football Playoff National Championship on January 7 will see ESPN extend its partnership with Interscope Records as Imagine Dragons plays the halftime show live from Las Vegas’ Treasure Island. The special performance will be free for fans and will require passes in order to access Treasure Island. The appearance at the national championship game builds upon a season-long collaboration between ESPN, Interscope Records, and Universal Music Group Nashville that saw artists from the label incorporated into ESPN’s college football programming, promotion, and game coverage. For fans and bettors alike, college football bowl games remain appointment-viewing TV, to such a degree that USA Today notes it "doesn’t even matter that average, per-game bowl attendance has declined for 10 straight years." The "appetite for this bowl bonanza persists, because they’re all getting what they want." In 1996-1997, there were 18 bowl games, and "five seasons later, there were 25." This season, there are 40 postseason games, "including 10 teams with the minimum record necessary to qualify at 6-6." For 2020 and beyond, discussion has recently intensified around a possible expansion to as many as 86 teams in 44 postseason games, including expanding the championship playoff field to eight teams from four.

The AAC is pulling out all stops to keep its member schools part of the conference. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the conference is asking member schools to “sign a grant-of-rights agreement that theoretically would lock them into the conference for the duration of the next media rights deal.” University of Central Florida is the league’s hottest football team, having just completed another undefeated regular season and booked a spot in the Fiesta Bowl, and is the most likely institution to get poached by a major conference. Memphis, Cincinnati, Houston, and USF are other schools with strong athletic teams that might have an interest in jumping elsewhere too. The AAC is currently in the midst of a seven-year, $126 million package with ESPN that is set to run through 2020, with sources noting that the media rights deal could be three to four times higher – but only if the conference’s top schools commit to stay.

The Oakland Raiders are in need of a new home stadium next season. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Raiders withdrew from a tentative deal to stay in Oakland for the 2019 season, leaving the likelihood of relocation a year earlier than expected. News of the withdrawal broke a day after the city sued the franchise over its “impending departure to Las Vegas,” appearing to make good the “team’s threat to find somewhere else to play next year if the city filed suit.” The Raiders could potentially move into Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, home to the San Francisco 49ers, play in the NFL-less San Diego for a season, or even move to a university stadium in Las Vegas a year ahead of schedule. While none of the options are without major complications, the team is intent on packing up and moving as opposed to staying at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum for another year.

The Phoenix Suns will stay in Arizona for the time being. According to the Arizona Republic, the struggling Suns are in need of renovations to Talking Stick Resort Arena or a new facility, and rumors of their relocation have been floating across the NBA for some time now. Suns President and CEO Jason Rowley indicated that the team “has never threatened to leave the Valley and is committed to making a deal work in downtown Phoenix” following the Phoenix City Council delaying a vote to renovate the Suns home arena. The deal on the table reportedly includes a $230 million renovation and $37.5 million future repair fund with the goal of bringing Talking Stick on par with other NBA arenas. Rowley confirmed his desire to get this deal done in Phoenix, but did not “confirm whether the Suns are currently exploring other cities and instead repeated that a deal in Phoenix is the priority.” Relocation threats produce leverage, but the tactic works much better when the team is winning and revered by their community, which the Suns currently are not.

The LPGA has cemented plans for the 2019 season, lining up a schedule that will include 33 official events, as well as the biennial Solheim Cup. The women’s tour will visit 15 states and 12 countries and offer a record $70.55 million in official prize money, up from $65.35 million in 2018, with the season’s largest purses coming at the U.S. Women’s Open Championship and the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship, both with $5 million at stake. The 2019 season features four new tournaments, include the inaugural The Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions presented by Insurance Office of America, which will kick off the year January 17-20. “We are in one of the most exciting periods of time in LPGA history,” said LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan. “One look at our 2018 season shows the breadth of global talent on our Tour, and I have no doubt that 2019 will continue this upward trend. We are not only proud of our Tour growth, but also the growth of our LPGA Teachers, LPGA Amateurs and LPGA-USGA Girls-Golf efforts.” Initiatives to benefit girls both on and off the course continue to be a priority for Whan and his staff, as witnessed by the growth and prestige of the STEM-focused Indy Women in Tech Presented by Group1001 tournament, moving to September in 2019.

As the NCAA celebrates its women’s volleyball championships, the Olympic Channel and FIVB locked in an agreement to collaborate on content for the Olympic Channel global digital platform. With more than 2880 bios of volleyball athletes and more than 230 pieces of video content, fans can get comprehensive coverage of the sport on the Olympic Channel. This is an enormous benefit to both diehard and casual fans of indoor and beach volleyball alike, as we inch closer to the 2020 Olympics and prestigious international circuits such as the Beach Majors, held in Florida and Europe, and the U.S.-centric p1440 continue to take root. According to the NCAA, the 2018 national championship match in Minneapolis’ Target Center was at least the fourth consecutive sellout crowd in a championship match. Last year’s championship match crowd broke an NCAA attendance record with 18,516 people. Thursday night’s crowd was recorded as 17,808. Clearly, volleyball continues to grow globally. And matches like Saturday’s NCAA Division I championship between Nebraska and winner Stanford, now with a record eight titles, continue to help.

La Liga remains optimistic about its North American prospects despite the regular season match between Barcelona and Girona falling through. According to SportsBusiness Journal, the game in Miami on January 26 was called off by Barcelona "after recognizing the lack of consensus around the proposal.” The league issued a statement shortly after the news broke to defend its case: “From La Liga, we regret the disappointment this could cause among our fans in the U.S. To all of them, we want to express that, as soon as possible, La Liga will hold an official match in the U.S., as the top American leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL) have done outside the country.” The top flight Spanish soccer league has a five pillar plan to grow its roots in the United States, with an actual match taking place being just one of them; the four other pillars are TV and media rights, content strategy, youth development, and community-based events in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and another to-be-determined market. Soccer has long been king of all sports around the globe, so it’s quite refreshing to see one of the world’s premier soccer leagues taking a page from the not-as-beautiful American sports’ global brand strategy.

It is still undecided whether or not the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will feature 32 or 48 teams. According to the AFP, FIFA President Gianni Infantino claimed that a final decision will be made by March, though he stated that “it was not a simple decision.” The 2026 World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States will have 48 teams, but the venues are already constructed and host cities have the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the extra teams and fans; the situation could not be more different in Qatar. The 2022 rendition of the World Cup already has a condensed timeline, getting crunched down to 28 days instead of the normal 31-day schedule, “due to soaring summer temperatures” and it being played in the middle of the regular club schedule. Qatar is still in the construction phase for the majority of its stadiums, with two more yet-to-be announced. And still not adequately addressed: the vast infrastructure of hotels, transport, food service, medical care, and security needed to accommodate the athletes, officials, staff, family, fans, and business partners of 32 teams, let alone 48.

European Athletics has signed an agreement with USA Track and Field (USATF) that will see a competition take place between European and U.S. athletes. The event, which is in the style of golf’s Ryder Cup, will take place at Minsk’s Dinamo Stadium September 9-10 ahead of the IAAF World Championships, which begin in Doha two weeks later. The four divisions of the 2019 European Athletics Team Championships in August will serve as the qualifying event for the inaugural match. The Dinamo Stadium, where the clash will take place, reopened in June 2018 with a capacity of 22,000 spectators. European Athletics president Svein Arne Hansen said: “There will be a match for the first time since the 1960s. We are going to include every track discipline up to the 3000m for men and women (excluding 4x400m). We will have all the throws, jumps and a 4x100m relay. There will also be mixed medley relay because there will be a mixed 4x400m on the program at the Olympics in Tokyo 2020. There will be four athletes from each continent in every event competing for prize money.” Unlike preparing for the World Cup, both Belarus and Qatar are quite capable of caring for the smaller group of track and field athletes that will compete. In Qatar, however, the autumn heat remains an untamed variable.