Author: Tony Ling

Tony is a versatile writer, video editor, and photographer with a robust creative foundation from AFTRS and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. His journalistic love of the arts spans almost a decade complemented by a freelance portfolio that includes NSW Health cooking videos and countless event and concert photography. In film and TV post-production, Tony’s recent credits include two TIFF premieres this year (The Deb and Eden), Shane Black’s Play Dirty starring Mark Wahlberg, Last King of the Cross Season 2, and Aussie staples like Home & Away and Masterchef AU. Follow his journey on Instagram @tonydalingling and don’t be a stranger!

Interview: Yan Chen and Dell’s Alex Timbs discuss AI’s role in VFX for Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga and the future of filmmaking

In the closing months of 2024, the following has happened: Ridley Scott revealed that AI can now achieve what used to take 10 people 10 weeks, in just one week, and he plans to integrate it into his process. Robert Zemeckis credited generative AI for making his latest film, Here, possible within a $50 million…

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Norby the Robot: The Personal Touch You Need in Language Learning

With AI making headlines everywhere, robots have had their biggest growth spurt in years, fueled by rapid advancements in machine learning, deep learning, and large language models. Countless AI developments have allowed us to accelerate the wider applications of what robots can do sometimes to uncanny effectiveness. Of course, our capitalist overlords want a piece…

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NPU in Snapdragon: Powering the ARM-Based Dell Latitude 7455

Steve Jobs once said, “People who are really serious about software should make their own hardware.” That very well became the case with the quantum leap advent of the ARM-based Apple M silicon that now, in its latest 4th generation, has its architecture built for Apple’s own AI cheekily named Apple Intelligence. But on the…

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Our SXSW Sydney 2024 Screen Festival Panel Highlights

From the ICC to multiple UTS venues, the Palace, and beyond, the energy of Australia’s film industry was unmistakable at SXSW Sydney 2024’s Screen Festival. Here are some of our highlights from panels, interviews, and sessions featuring indie pioneers and industry giants alike. Creative folks talking candid shop What better way to open a festival…

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Our SXSW Sydney 2024 Games Festival Highlights

Whether you’re a seasoned gamer, industry veteran, or somewhere in between, SXSW Sydney 2024’s Games Festival delivered and injected sweet fuel and fire into the Australian and Sydney side of our beloved games industry. With the dust now settled, here are some of our personal highlights and standout moments from the week that was. 3…

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Spotlight on Talent: Sony Catchlight Film Festival 2024 shines

2024’s Sony Catchlight Film Festival awards night was a vibrant celebration of filmmaking talent, held at Sydney’s iconic White Bay Power Station. Now in its fourth year, the festival recognises filmmakers from Australia and New Zealand who tell their stories using Sony cameras. The 2024 edition was nothing short of inspiring, with awards given across…

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Showcasing Reality: Our highlights from Sony’s Scene Tradeshow 2024

Back in 2018, I got my first full-frame mirrorless camera: the Sony A7 III. The hype and acclaim for this camera blew everyone away, offering an unprecedented jam-packed performance package and an unbeatable value proposition. It was hot off the heels of its previous unique Alpha brethren including the sorcery see-in-the-dark, low-light sensor of the…

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Sony reveals the winners of the 2024 Alpha Awards

On a glorious Friday night of creative festivity at the White Bay Power Station, Sony’s prestigious annual photo competition brings on its moment of truth. Needless to say, the excitement was palpable as Sony announced the winners of the ninth annual Sony Alpha Awards, celebrating creativity and talent in photography across Australia and New Zealand….

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SXSW Sydney 2024 unveils Games and Screen Awards Shortlist

With less than two weeks until SXSW Sydney 2024 descends on Darling Harbour, its Games Festival has released its highly anticipated 2024 Games & Screen Awards shortlist. As one of the festival’s marquee events, the awards recognise standout indie games from the festival’s showcase, celebrating the best in mechanical design, gameplay, narrative, and creative direction….

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Film Review: Bonnard, Pierre And Marthe is as much a love story as it is a character study

Behind every great man is a great woman. Especially if that man is as shrouded in mystery and as reclusive as post-impressionist French painter and printmaker Pierre Bonnard. Bonnard, Pierre & Marthe is as much a character study as it is a love story about the decade-spanning romance between famed painter Pierre Bonnard (Vincent Macaigne)…

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Science and Art Collide: Beaker Street Festival 2024 Ignites Hobart

In a world grappling with complex political and economic challenges, there’s something that continues to drive progress, hope and helps bring people together… SCIENCE! The Beaker Street Festival in Hobart just wrapped up its eighth year, and it’s clear that the city was buzzing with excitement. This annual celebration isn’t just your average science fair—it’s…

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Film Review: The Instigators dares great heights to escape familiar genre territory

We’ve seen buddy heist comedies before, especially when the perpetrators are a fair bit on the amateur side, but that doesn’t make them necessarily less enjoyable. There is a beauty to the comfort of familiarity, and not every film needs to have something profound to say or gut-wrench you to emotional oblivion, especially in this…

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Final Fantasy VII Rebirth shows promise, but lacks the punch of its predecessor

When the Final Fantasy VII remake was initially announced, you could say it broke the internet. That original 1997 game changed the gaming landscape forever and hearing that it would be released to a new generation on a new platform made you feel like you were witnessing the second coming of Christ in gaming pop…

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Film Review: The Zone of Interest makes for a cruel and profound questioning of humanity’s dark underbelly

An idyllic family life juxtaposed with the genocidal holocaust horrors next door has made for one of the most gripping and intellectual cinematic gems in years.  The Zone of Interest is by far the most haunting and arresting depiction of Nazi family life and Holocaust bureaucracy you’ll get all year.  Directed by Jonathan Glazer, his…

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Film Review: Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese at his boldest

In many ways, Killers of the Flower Moon is a celebration of everything we love about Martin Scorsese, whether it’s the flawed gangster charm of Goodfellas or the arresting psychological nuances of Taxi Driver. Though with a budget of between $200-250 million for this epic crime western, you cannot fault this film on being a…

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Food Review: Calle Rey fuses Peruvian, Mexican and Japanese influences into an ambitious plant-based feast

It’s been a while since I last ventured into a fusion restaurant, let alone one that skillfully harmonizes not just two, but three distinct culinary traditions into a symphony of flavors. Calle Rey has masterfully achieved this feat, exuding both confidence and finesse through its plant-based and gluten-free menu. The abundance of exquisite diversity in…

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Game Review: Pikmin 4 provides some charmingly unique strategy

Nintendo’s sequels are somewhat known for how long they take to brew. Pikmin joins the ranks of Metroid, Fire Emblem and Zelda as one of Nintendo’s most iconic yet elusive properties, to the point you’d be forgiven for forgetting the Pikmin franchise even existed. The last numbered title was released way back in 2013 back…

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Theatre Review: Miss Peony tells a courageous fun-filled tale of family and pursuit of one’s true self

At the tender age of five, my life took a remarkable turn as my family migrated to this sunburnt Australian land from Northern China. Little did I know that this journey would shape the very core of my identity, transforming it forever from the days of my humble industrial neighbourhood in Shenyang. As the years…

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Film Review: Streets of Colour is a rough untamed gem of Aussie suburban unrest

The impact of drugs, violence and racism has always gripped the hearts and minds of audiences the world over. It’s quite a refreshing coat of paint to see that in your own Aussie backyard helmed by a writer-director with unquestionable lived experience in the matter: Ronnie S Riskalla. Yet after I left the Orpheum world…

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Perfect Days examines the beauty of living life one day at a time: Sydney Film Festival Review

There are few films as meditative and rhythmic as what Wim Wenders managed to achieve here with Perfect Days. Known for his past documentaries and dramas, this German auteur presents a celebration of living a beautifully present life that is fresh out of Cannes and was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or, where it…

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Theatre Review: Driftwood the Musical presents a timeless story of love, courage and survival

It’s an exciting time for the Australian arts when we get to see an ambitious, personal, and original Australian musical take the stage. Driftwood the Musical presents a captivating tale of hope and perseverance which delves into poignant themes involving the Holocaust, inter-generational trauma, sacrifices in times of war, and the perseverance of art. Created,…

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