Red Dead Redemption 2: Beginner’s Guide

Red Dead Redemption 2 is an online game that creates a Wild West aura. The players here lead a life full of crime to climb their way up and in the process kill anyone that comes in their way. The online game gives the players a plethora of options to customize their appearance. They can also interact with people from the real world. The players can team up with their friends and go on a mission to collect weapons or money. The game is set in the fictional Southern United States and Midwestern. Read through these Red Dead Redemption 2 hacks to play the online game.

The cores

There are three core things to always keep in mind – your stamina, health, and the dead eye. The HUD represented by a circle with a white outline shows the amount of each core that you have left. See a drop in the health meter when you get shot. Your stamina falls when you hoof up on a mountain. See your dead eye depleting when you slow down for a long period. When the core is low the meter shows a red. So pay attention because your core affects the stat regeneration and an empty core slows down regeneration.

Using the dead eye

The dead eye is the mechanic to slow down the time and let you mark your enemies and kill them in succession. Use this core strategically. You may wish to tag various targets for shorts or aim and shoot your rivals manually. The dead eye also works when you are on horseback. Many missions have chasing scenes and riding and aiming both at the same time can be a task. This is where the dead eye can come to aid.

Caring and bonding with your horse

Your horse stands true to you through the game. Early on in the game, you go on a mission where you buy your new horse. Give it a cute name. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it matters how you treat your animal friend. Your horse also has a healthy and stamina core. If you let your horse take a lot of shots or damage then it can die. Revivers work here, which though pricey comes to your rescue.

Making money and XP

Money is important and to earn money all that you need to do is to use the D-pad to select the story mission on call. It opens up the menu Free roam. You get paired with a random player. The rewards are small in the beginning but grow when you level up.

The players need to complete the mission to work their way up. Doing the same mission over and over again does not earn anything so always try out something new to earn money. Your performance in the mission is vital. The better you perform the more you earn. The missions are random. Story mission help to earn the XP, unlock future mission and new weapons and also earn high rewards. The mission can also be played along with friends so it pays to get a friend group and work on the mission together.

Be prepared with your firefights

You cannot afford to take a lot of damage when you play this game. Stay behind the cover and be planned about where you should head next. Stay still when you pull the shots especially when you are shooting at a long range. Do not fire aimlessly as it will just make you miss and waste your ammunition. Shoot only with intent.

It takes time to loot but do not avoid it

You can kill a lawman, a bandit, or an innocent and can loot from them. People may not have a lot of cash but you definitely may be able to find some tonics or other things to boost stamina and health. Looting lets you save trips to the general store. Looting takes time and this is also when you are highly vulnerable. So stay cautious when you loot but do not forget to loot.

Learn the settings and controls

If you can personalize the settings, then half the task is done. You can get into the settings to turn off the aim assist and alter its sensitivity. Red Dead Redemption 2 also does not want you to sprint. You can also choose to play in the first person when you are on foot and in the third person when you are riding. This is possible too. The setting will automatically switch you into the third person mode when you jump on the horse. Work on the settings and change them to your liking before you are prepared to take over the mission.

Conclusion

With inspiring storylines and the state of the art graphics, Red Dead Redemption 2 does not fail to engross the players for long. You may be tempted to cut through the mission as soon as possible. However, take time, go slow and let everything sink in before you get aggressive. There is enough time and room for every player to grow and play the game.

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Creative Writing: Practice Your Creativity

Creativity is not only for the chosen ones. Even famous writers often face a lack of inspiration and need to practice creativity to improve their writing skills. If you come up with such a problem, do not be obsessed — all you need is to follow some useful tips that can help boost your creativity to the highest level. 

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10 Useful Tips to Boost Your Creativity

Undoubtedly, everything requires practice, and creativity is not an exception. Sometimes, students seek the assistance of writing services — you can read some essay writing service reviews to find out whether it is effective or not. Also, some methods and techniques can improve creative writing. Here you can find helpful advice and some techniques for practicing creativity and improving writing skills. 

Find the Person to Inspire

The first thing to do if you lack inspiration is to find a creative person from whom you can get some insights. If you have a favorite writer, read more of his/her essay samples and literary works. If the author of your book is a modern writer and is still alive, you can watch or read an interview. Writers often share some secrets about how they find inspiration or practice their creativity. All in all, you should learn from the bests but not copy them. 

Create a Person Based on Someone You Know

The next useful method to practice creativity is to create a character based on your best friend’s personality, relative, or just a person you know very well. Writers often create different characters, especially main ones, by choosing a prototype which is a real-life person. It will be easier to describe your friend, as you know how this person acts in different life situations and what personality traits he/she possesses.  

Make Checklists 

The majority of books on how to improve writing skills recommend making checklists to practice creativity. Right from the moment you have an idea in your mind about what to write, start making a checklist of the details you will need to develop a storyline. Think about everything you should consider while writing a story, novel, or something else — do not forget to include the description of the environment, details about the character’s traits of personality, their appearance, and so on.  

Practice Freewriting

Practicing freewriting is also an excellent way to help you master your writing skills and boost your creativity. Freewriting is when you write without any specific structure, notes, outlines, editing, and so on. Thus, all you need is to follow a flow of mind. Stream of consciousness often helps to find words and plot to write about. When you try it for the first time, you may get something that is impossible to read. But if you will continue to practice, you will improve your writing technique and free your creativity. 

Find the Environment that Inspires You the Most

One more helpful piece of advice is to change the environment. Those people, who spent a lot of time sitting and writing at the same place, lack inspiration and creativity. You can try to write in another place; for instance, go to a local cafe, relax for some time, drink some tea or coffee, and then start writing. You will be amazed at how a new place can change your perspective and improve your writing skills.   

Use Mind Maps

Students often consult various useful websites to find out some useful tips or writing techniques to boost creativity. Some of them recommend applying mind maps and flowcharts in the writing process. The main aim of mind mapping is to visualize the idea and main concepts that will be the background for your piece of writing. Draw a bubble in the middle of the paper and write the central topic in it. Then, place subtopics around the main subject and add some details for each. In the end, you will have a clear vision of what you are going to write.  

Try the Snowflake Method

The snowflake technique is the next useful method to practice creativity. It is a type of brainstorming when the writer starts with the basic story summary and then moves to additional elements. Before starting a novel, describe a bid idea in 1-2 sentences. Then, transform these sentences into a finished paragraph by adding some characters and their main personality traits. Continuing writing in such a manner will help you create a storyline and plot and end with the finished novel or other writing pieces.

Get Outside More Often

This advice is very simple and may sound trivial. To enhance your creativity, you should get outside as often as it is possible. Fresh air has a good effect on the brain and process of thinking. Also, you can go for a walk in your favorite place. After your walk, you will be full of positive emotions, energy, and new ideas and insights, which you can apply in writing.

Search for New Emotions

Positive emotions and new experiences are also necessary for improving your creativity. Sometimes, a person needs new impressions to feel the flow of creativity. You can start a new hobby or just travel somewhere. With the arrival of new emotions, the person often feels inspired and full of ideas. That is why do not forget to search for various experiences to improve your creativity.   

Meditate 

Meditation is also a good way to ease the process of writing and find additional inspiration. If you want to have good creative writing skills, it does not mean that you should spend all your time practicing. Of course, you should have enough time for relaxation. You can try to meditate. During this activity, you will free your mind and increase your creativity. After practicing meditation, you will be open to new ideas and insights.

Final Words

All in all, various techniques and methods help one practice creative writing. Nevertheless, do not forget that, sometimes, you just need to have a rest and search for new emotions — all these will definitely help you feel more inspired.

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Top Qualities to Look for When You Hire New Employees

Hiring new employees and turnovers are two of the most expensive and time-consuming tasks for a business. A business needs to make an effort to retain good employees continually and exercise due caution when making a fresh hire. There are certain qualities that you need to check before you bring new employees to your team. Which are these qualities? Let us find out. Here, we will enlist some of the vital attributes you should check in your employees before bringing them onboard. 

Teamwork or cooperation

When you bring in a new individual, you need to examine their personality to know how well they will fit in with the existing employees, comments Moira, an HR manager who works with a company that offers online exam help services. 

See, even though every employee has to work independently, you still need to ensure that they can work well with your team on the team projects, whenever necessary. One of the best ways to ascertain this is by asking questions, such as ‘Give me an instance, wherein you worked in a group project in your previous company,’ in the interview. You can add some follow-up questions to it, such as their role, the role of every candidate, the team’s size, and alike. Do not forget to ask if the project was as successful or not. Alternatively, you can even examine the potential employee’s ability to work in a team by asking, ‘When do you like to handle a project by yourself, and when do you want to work in a group setting?’ 

Self-Starter

There is nothing more frustrating than telling your employees what they need to do every time, especially when it is a small task or something that you expect them to be familiar with already. So, naturally, you want someone who not only successfully does a job that they are assigned but will themselves be able to identify the need and requirement to take a project to good heights. One of the best ways to gauge this skill is by giving your potential employees a task and questioning how they will approach it. This will help you understand whether they are a self-starter or not. 

Emotional Intelligence

It may be a relatively new term, but it is associated with many age-old values. What is emotional intelligence? It is the ability to keep a check on your emotions while still being proficient at handling interpersonal relationships with class and empathy. 

Emotional intelligence involves more than just keeping your emotions in check. You need to simultaneously work towards motivating and inspiring the people who are working with you. A good employee must know how to soothe an agitated client or customer and delegate responsibilities when required.  

 A person who possesses this quality is often level-headed and calm. They will always be in sync with everyone around them. It is the kind of people who must mainly be on your payroll. 

Passion and enthusiasm 

Next, always look for candidates who are passionate and enthusiastic about the things that they do. 

‘A lot of times when I have to make a pick from two equally good employees, I see their passion and love for work,’ comments Zara, an HR manager with TFTH that offers online ‘do my psychology homework‘ services. 

Well, it is not only Zara but actually a lot of HR managers worldwide who take your passion and enthusiasm as an essential metric when making a selection. Why? See, someone who is passionate loves what they do, or enjoys working will always stay longer in your company than someone who is only associating with you for the paycheck. Thus, the employee’s enthusiasm is a vital trait to gauge whenever you make a fresh hire. Outgoing and enthusiastic employees are always helpful for a business when it comes to enterprise resource planning, operations management, and healthcare management. 

Listening Skills

Often this skill is overlooked, but that does not make it any less significant. Your employees need to have this skill because they have to listen to their clients’ demands, complaints of the juniors and customers, and a stakeholder and a co-worker’s requirements. 

A good listener is a good relationship builder. How to judge this skill? Do they listen when you ask questions from them or do they have a habit of continually interrupting before even letting you complete?

Good communicator

Next, a crucial skill that you need to check when making fresh hires is selecting someone good at communication. An employee needs to communicate with so many people daily – the clients, the customers, seniors, juniors, investors, and others. Thus, they need to have excellent verbal and written communication skills. Written skills include the ability to produce good emails. This can be examined the very second they send you a resume or CV. 

Leadership skills

Anyone who depicts excellent leadership skills is someone that the employees usually hire and want to associate with in the long-run. A good leader can take you higher on the corporate ladder, lead team projects, train new employees, fill-up management positions in the future, and accelerate workplace productivity.

Believe in life-long learning

An employee that you get on board must be willing to grow and get better in life continually. You know it, change is the only constant in life, and the companies that do not embrace continuous improvement and change will lag while their competitors overtake them. Continuity people will do no good for your company. They will smother the business. 

More so, a new technology comes in every few months, and there are then new things to learn and grow because, with the advancement of the technology, the company systems and organization also changes. So, anyone who does not learn is often left behind, regardless of their position or knowledge. 

‘Regardless of the current knowledge or degrees, if the potential employee does not showcase a willingness to learn, he will never make it through in our office,’ comments Harry, an HR head with a company that offers cyber security courses online.

Willingness to learn does include both the hard skills and the other skills. These are both needed for you to grow as a person and as a professional.

Organizational Skills

At times, it does not matter whether they are natural leaders or not, especially if they are organized. An organized and sincere employee will certainly be able to contribute to your bottom line. Good organization skills ensure better workplace efficiency. It can also help boost the company’s reputation amongst competitors and customers. 

Bottom Line

Did you notice that we have not mentioned experience even once in this article? Why? Is it not important? For higher-level positions, of course, the experience is essential, but it is okay to have even a fresher onboard for most jobs in your office. These are the top nine qualities that you must check in your potential employees before bringing them into your company. Have more such skills to add to the list? Let us know in the comment box below. 

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Famous Celebrities Who Like To Gamble

There’s a link between brilliant actors and gambling. If you consider that many actors go for the all-in method acting style, it’s little wonder that some famous names become professional gamblers.

Celebrities love spending money on their hobbies, which includes gambling. Stars love to play the roulette table and use their acting skills to develop a compelling poker face. Several well-known names have mastered professional gambling skills which go way beyond a hobby.

Whether an amateur or professional, they all have one thing in common: an all-in attitude to everything they do, gambling, drinking; not to mention an addiction to love and marriage. Who would be a celebrity? It’s a hard life.

Here is a list of top celebrities who live life in the fast lane, starting with the original James Bond, Sean Connery.

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Sean Connery

Everyone knows the Scottish actor, Sir Sean Connery (now deceased), as the first person to play on film Ian Fleming’s fictional character James Bond, Agent 007. Connery set the bar high for those actors who followed in the role; creating the persona of a worldly jet-setting spy who enjoys playing high stakes baccarat and roulette.

But what many cinema fans may not realise is that Connery was an accomplished gambler in real life. In 1963 he played roulette at the Casino de la Vallee in Italy, betting and winning on the number seventeen for three consecutive spins at massive odds of 37-to-1. Bond left the casino $27,000 more prosperous – not bad work if you can get it.

Next up playboy and professional gambler, Charlie Sheen takes the chips if we talk about a hard life.

Charlie Sheen

From a young age Charlie Sheen, son of Martin Sheen, has had a comprehensive addiction to gambling. The leading actor in the films ‘Wall Street’ and ‘Platoon’ is known for his acting skills and perfect timing.

In 2003 Sheen was cast as Charlie Harper in the sitcom ‘Two and a Half Men’. For that series, Sheen earned about $1.8 million per episode. So Sheen has more than enough money to spend at any luxurious casino if he wants too.

According to his ex-wife Denise Richards, Charlie spent about $25,000 every week on sports betting alone. Celebrity commentators say that nearly all his gambling losses were through sports betting.

The talented but tricky Ben Affleck is next.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck is an award-winning actor, screenwriter and director. Despite his success in the movie industry, Affleck was taken to rehab in 2001 to deal with his addiction to gambling and alcohol and regularly attends AA and GA meetings.

Sources say the star loves playing online poker and blackjack and was so good that he won the 2014 California State Poker Championship. He was also honoured with the award for the best original screenplay in the movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ in 1997 and in 2013 won an Academy Award for the film ‘Argo’ in the Best Picture category.

Affleck says that blackjack is his favourite game. So much so that some Las Vegas casinos banned him because of the number of winning hands he played. Sounds like he had the casinos running scared.

Meet the new ‘Rat Pack’, colleagues and close buddies, Damon, Maguire, Affleck and DiCaprio. They don’t sing like the originals, but they are just as dazzling.

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Matt Damon

Paying the lead actor as Jason Bourne in ‘The Bourne Identity’ and five other Bourne blockbusters, Damon is another celebrity who loves gambling and, what’s more, he loves to do it with his friends, Affleck and Maguire.

In 2011, Damon and Maguire took part in illegal gambling in 5-star hotels across America. Damon is a fan of Texas Hold’em and often plays poker with Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck.

Tobey Maguire

Maguire, the star of the Spiderman films, is a serious pro poker player. In 2011 Maguire faced a lawsuit for being part of an illegal gambling ring with his ‘Rat Pack’ friends.

The celebrity learned his poker skills from Canadian Daniel Negreanu, a professional poker player who won the World Series of Poker six times. Our sources say he is good at Texas Hold’em and it’s believed he has won over $11 million dollars in poker tournaments across the world.

Sadly, Maguire’s addiction to alcohol and gambling goes way back to when he was a teenager at just 19.

Tiger Woods

Woods is not an actor but a professional sportsman. Tiger Woods is one of the most successful golfers of all time and one of the most controversial. No stranger to headline gossip, Woods loves life in the ultra-fast lane.

His rollercoaster life has been all over the news. But with a net worth of over 600 million dollars, it should come as no surprise that Woods loves to gamble.

A celebrity lifestyle may be desirable, but it’s also costly and not in the way you imagine.

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Beating the odds: How to improve your chances of winning online casino games

The unfortunate reality of playing casino games is that you will suffer a loss at some point in your playing career. There is no getting around it; even the most highly skilled professional players suffer a significant loss at some point in their playing careers. And this unfortunate reality is equally true of in-person casinos as it is online casino games.

For many players, this is enough to put them off playing online casino games altogether. And for them, the possibility that they might lose is a risk that is simply not worth taking.

However, for the vast majority of casino game players out there, the inherent risk involved in casino gambling does little to dissuade them from indulging in a round or two of their favorite games. In fact, for this demographic, the risk involved is precisely what makes casino games so fun. The thrill they get from placing a bet, not knowing whether it will play out as hoped, is what keeps them coming back to the table.

Even though this risk makes casino games so enjoyable, it would be a far cry to say that as players, we don’t want to find ways of decreasing the risk involved in a particular game or wager. But is the risk involved in a wager or game something that can simply be reduced? And is there anything we can realistically do to improve our chances of winning?

Although there are no surefire betting strategies you can simply implement to ensure you win every round you play—certainly not any legal ones—there are nevertheless several strategy tweaks you can make that will improve your chances of having a positive balance in the long-run. These aren’t so much ‘strategies’ in the sense that they can be implemented to guarantee success, but if you keep these principles in mind, you should be able to protect any winnings you do make in the long-run.

Choose wisely

One of the most immediate steps you can take to improve your chances of winning online casino games is to be very careful when selecting a game to play. There is a vast variation between games when it comes to the probability of a player winning a particular round. Games that are purely randomized, such as roulette and slots, are vastly different from more strategic games like poker.

Know the rules

Although it might sound like an obvious suggestion to make, you would be surprised how often players overlook this advice! Knowing the rules is incredibly important to long-term success when playing online casino games and can have a massive impact on your overall wins and likelihood of success. Having an in-depth knowledge of the rules will give you a sense of what strategies are acceptable and how to take advantage of opportunities that arise mid-game. A good way of getting to know the rules better is to choose online casinos with free play. In this way, you can play as many rounds as possible of a particular game you want, with the usual risk involved. This lets you get to grips with the rules, which will improve your winnings in the long run.

Watch the house edge

One of the most important figures to keep in mind when choosing a game to play at an online casino is the house edge. The ‘house edge’ essentially refers to how much of an advantage—or ‘edge’—the dealer (i.e., the house) has over the player in a particular game. Games based on pure chance such as roulette or slots will typically have a better house edge than more strategic games such as poker. As such, if you want to improve your chances of winning online casino games, sticking to games with a better house edge might help to improve your chances of winning in the long run.

Bankroll management

Although this last tip isn’t necessarily a strategy you can apply directly in a specific game, it is a consideration that should underpin how you play and use online casinos. While knowing how to manage your bankroll won’t necessarily help you win directly, it will nevertheless help you stay in the game longer and, most importantly, protect your winnings in the long run. Success in live online casino games is something that usually happens over time, so it is crucial to make sure you stay active long enough to see the wins add up little by little.

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How to fit gaming into a busy schedule

We are all living increasingly busy lives and this can see us running around like headless chickens most of the time. The impact of this on life can be huge. It is often seen in how most people now have no time for their favorite hobbies or pastimes. For many people, playing video games or casino games online is something they love but rarely get a chance to do, as they are so busy. That is a real shame – as the ‘Goosebumps -Dead of Night’ review shows, games can be a great way to relax and have lots of fun.

The key, therefore, is to find ways to make time for gaming in your hectic schedule. But how can you do that? 

Try mobile gaming

Mobile gaming is a great way to fit some playing time into your busy schedule. That is because it gives the chance to play games when you are free, even if only for a few minutes. Rather than missing out being able to game on your work break, break in family life or daily commute, mobile gaming gives you the tech to play when the opportunity arises. If you find that you do not have time to sit and play for long sessions, mobile games are the perfect answer.

As you can pick up and play via your smartphone or tablet quickly, you can make the most of those spare few minutes you might get in your busy schedule each day. A good tip to help make gaming even easier to fit in is using online gambling apps and mobile gaming apps. These sit on your mobile device and give a fast, easy way to access games to play when you get the chance. To make it easy to find the best apps to use, top independent review sites like NJ Online Casino Apps are a quick way to go about it.

Combine gaming and social time

One barrier that most people find when trying to fit gaming into their busy lives is having to spend time with family or friends. Visiting your parents or heading out to catch up with buddies can mean you have no time left to play games. To help get around this, why not combine the two? Online multi-player titles allow you to meet up virtually and chat, while enjoying a game together. You can fulfil your social responsibilities while also fitting some gaming time in. If you would rather keep it more personal, why not invite family or friends around to game with you at your house?

Set aside some time just for gaming

Another great tip is to simply put some gaming time into your weekly schedule – and stick to it! Just as you might plan to shop on a certain day and time, plan a gaming session in each week. Planning properly for it like this makes it much more likely that you will remember to do it. If you leave gaming to chance, you will usually find you never get around to it. Planning regular sessions also means you can truly focus on the time you spend playing and get the most enjoyment. This is because you know you are not meant to be doing something else instead. When it comes to it, effective time management tips for gaming are key.

Change up your career!

If you find that you simply struggle to squeeze gaming time into your current frantic lifestyle, why not consider a career change into gaming itself? For many people, the long hours we spend at work present a major barrier. By the time you get home, you have 1001 other household jobs to fit in or you are too tired to fire up your console or PC. If you make gaming your job though, you will be enjoying it all day and have no trouble fitting it in. The great news is that there are plenty of roles to consider, from game developer to game tester.

Fitting gaming in can be done

If you currently find it hard to get some time to game in your personal life, then it can start to depress you. Playing games is something many people love to do now and is a great way to unwind after a tough day. This is true whether it is online casino games, mobile games or video games. The good news though is that this can be rectified. As the above shows, there are some simple and effective ways to make more room for gaming in your life.

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Why collaboration lies at the heart of modern media

It might sound obvious to say that successful media work depends on networking and communication, but what a lot of people miss is how much this is true behind the scenes. Even technical specialists who never go in front of a camera or participate in project development depend on it. Whether you work in print, broadcast or online, in a busy studio or out of a home office, nine-tenths of the work you do is generally going to involve collaborations – and that’s just at an individual level. A quick glance at the credits on films and TV programs will show you that it also happens between companies.

Most projects need multiple talents

Take something simple such as an interview conducted in the street. Theoretically, all you need is one person with a camera and a basic directional microphone, plus the interview subject, but it’s hard to guarantee getting professional-quality footage that way. If one person is looking after the camera while another takes care of the sound, then the interviewer is free to concentrate on steering the conversation. Each of those involved can be a specialist with the skill level necessary to get optimum results. Scale up to filming a dramatic production and many more people will be needed, including a director (possibly with assistants) to coordinate them and assorted people (from runners to caterers) to look after them. This is the reality of most modern media work. At a production level, it often involves bringing multiple organizations together in order to ensure that the right talent is involved.

Talent has to combine with expertise

Once talent has been taken into consideration, there’s also the matter of expertise. In some areas, it’s not enough to be skilled – to get good results, whether as a journalist of a creative professional, it’s necessary to have specific expertise. Some people have built their careers around filling that gap – consider Nick Palazzo, who specializes in sports media, providing a point of connection between program-makers and event organizers, athletes and their managers. This type of collaboration enables project coordination to run much more smoothly. For every expert you hear participating in a radio debate, there are five more behind the scenes providing context and background information.

Working together cuts costs

As technology continues to advance, the cost of entry-level gear for freelancers is falling, but top-of-the-range equipment gets ever more expensive. Most independent productions now hire gear or collaborate in order to pool what they have and make savings. Large studios tend to have their own equipment but have additional overheads related to their premises, security, insurance and so on, whether or not they’re active. This means that whenever there’s a gap in their schedule, and they’re not using their facilities to produce their own content, it benefits them to collaborate with production companies that can pay for the use of the space. Many popular locations also have media collaboration strategies to support this kind of arrangement.

Funding depends on trust

When trying to get together the money to cover the costs of a production, reputation is everything. Sometimes, a single individual or company’s reputation isn’t enough, but partnering with another company can make all the difference. In other cases, such partnerships provide access to bankable stars, and in still others, one company has everything it needs to put a project together, but the other has valuable contacts among potential funders. Collaboration can also open up access to different sources of local and national funding in order to get struggling projects off the ground. Often, partnerships built on this basis prove to be enduring and generate multiple projects.

Collaboration maximizes promotional opportunities

The more individuals or companies involved in the project, the more people there are available to promote the finished work – sometimes to very different groups of people. It’s important to coordinate this so that everybody respects the agreed marketing schedule and stays on message, but it can be very valuable, especially on smaller productions where there’s no big-budget publicity or in cases when collaboration means access to different big names with large, well-established followings. Doing all promotional work in-house is now fairly rare even for big companies, so collaborations with specialized media marketing companies are commonplace.

As in any industry, bringing in too many people has the potential to lead to disaster. It’s essential to make sure that everyone is on the same page and that there are no competing interests. With this in mind, however, collaboration in media is generally the easiest and most effective way to bring projects to fruition, from one-off radio plays to long-running television current affairs series. It’s a way of working that enhances creative energy and tends to bring out the best in all concerned.

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What should you do before switching to a new games console in the coming weeks?

To say that it is an exciting time for gamers right now is an understatement. With both the new Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 ready to drop soon, all gaming fans are getting revved up. Each machine boasts more power, better graphics and better features than before – this sees them set to make a real splash. However, if you are planning to make the switch to one of these new consoles over the coming weeks, you should first think about what you need to do beforehand.

Of course, for some, this could be trying out online gambling Florida wide or enjoying fun casino games in other states while they wait. Just remember to check out the BonusSeeker site first to find the most reputable sites to game at with the best bonuses. As well as playing online games, you could pass the time waiting to enjoy your new console with music, sports, exercise or movies. While this is fine, there are actually some key tasks related to gaming and your old console to sort out.

What are they?

Enjoy the last few weeks with your current console

However long you have had your current machine, why not spend the last few weeks before you switch saying farewell in style? For some users, this could actually be quite a big thing, as they may have had their current console for many years. Even someone who purchased a PS4 when it came out in 2013, for example, will have spent seven glorious years gaming on it.

The Xbox 360 launched in 2005, and if you still game on an older machine like this, you could have been playing on it for even more years! With this in mind, take some time to go through your favorite games on it and relive some of those memories you spent years building up. This will leave you ready to move on when the new console arrives.

Clear your diary

If you are planning on picking up an Xbox Series X or PS5 (or both!), then you will naturally want to have plenty of time gaming on it. You cannot do this if you have a lot going on in your life in the weeks after you have brought it home.

A sensible thing, therefore, is to clear your diary, tell your friends that you will not be out for a while, and unplug the phone. This will mean that you get to enjoy your new console fully and in peace. Of course, if you want to arrange an online gaming session with friends on the new machine, then that is entirely acceptable!

Think about making your old console safe

Whether you plan to simply put your old console in the loft, sell it, or trade it in for the new one, you must make it safe. Modern consoles contain a lot of sensitive, personal data. You do not want to leave it on there for other people to steal. Most consoles now will make formatting the hard drive and wiping off your personal details pretty easy.

The PS4, for example, lets you delete any data stored via the Initialization option in System Settings. Once you’re in this, you just select Restore Default Settings to make it safe. If you own a different console, then a quick search online will throw up how to go about it.

Consider sorting out your storage and saves

One key thing is making sure that any old saved games make it over to your new console. You do not want to lose any saved progress that you have spent many hours, if not years, building up when you make the switch. Luckily, this is also pretty simple for most consoles now. If we stick to the PS4 as an example, it is wise to check that Online Storage is where saves go. This means that they are then easily accessible if you upgrade to a PS5.

It is also worth making sure that you have gone through what is stored on your old console if you plan to transfer the data over to your new machine. In simple terms, the more data you transfer, the longer it will take. It is worth clearing out any screenshots your console has taken over its lifespan that are not really needed.

Getting ready for your new console is key

There is currently much speculation about what to expect from the latest Xbox and PlayStation. This level of excitement means that you might be eager to get playing as soon as you buy one. Making the switch to a new machine is best done with some planning in place though. This will ensure that you are fully ready to make the move and that the whole process does not take too long.

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Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: coming, console, games, switching, weeks

Win It All Movie Review

Win It All is a compelling movie that showcases Jake Johnson’s acting range brilliantly. Although it’s essentially a comedy, it does feature some great dramatic moments throughout. The main character, Eddie Garrett, spends his evenings playing poker — and, sadly, losing. Even though it’s a modern movie, Eddie doesn’t play at online casinos, and uses the old-school method of finding poker games around town instead.

Jake Johnson Shines

Jake Johnson is excellent as Eddie. Anyone who’s seen New Girl will know just how good he is, and he brings some much-needed sympathy to the character. This is vital as, throughout the movie, you’ll find yourself rooting against Eddie.

He ignores the good advice offered by his friends, family and even GA sponsor, and continues to get himself into trouble. This could be why Johnson was chosen to play him, because without his natural charm, Eddie would definitely be the villain of this movie.

This makes it extremely hard to root for him, and the viewer ends up becoming more sympathetic towards the various people that he hurts instead. However, Johnson is so charming and such a likeable actor that it’s easy to connect with him at times, even when his behaviour is so questionable.

Doesn’t Break New Ground

The movie’s storyline is relatively easy to follow. Eddie Garrett is a habitual loser. Everything that he touches goes bad. This includes his poker playing. One night, a local criminal drops a bag off at his house and asks him to hold onto it until he gets out of prison. He tells him that as long as he doesn’t look in the bag, he will give him $10,000 when he gets out. Eddie agrees, and of course, looks in the bag. He finds piles of money in there, and as he’s a gambling addict, he uses some of it to wager with.

The movie takes him on a journey of highs and lows that are generally quite cliched. There’s nothing unexpected to be found in the film. That doesn’t mean it’s not entertaining, it’s just not quite as good as the previous Joe Swanberg and Jake Johnson collaboration, Drinking Buddies. But if you were a fan of Drinking Buddies, Win It All is definitely worth a watch.

There’s of course the obligatory romantic storyline that underpins everything, but Johnson plays it with such charm that it feels natural. It might be a familiar trope, but it’s not overbearing and doesn’t take away from the enjoyment the film offers.

The undoubted highlight of the movie is Keegan-Michael Key. He plays Eddie’s Gamblers Anonymous sponsor, Gene, and brings a lot of energy to the part. It also helps that he has the best lines of all the characters, but his delivery of those lines is excellent. You’ll find yourself looking forward to seeing Gene on screen more than Eddie.

Entertaining but not Spellbinding

On the whole, the movie has a lot going for it, yet there are just too many flaws for it to be heralded as a classic. The cast are all likable and play their parts well. The writing is sharp and funny, with some excellent lines that will have you laughing out loud in places. But, sadly, the story is a little too similar to so many other movies and generally cliched.

If you’ve seen one romantic comedy, it’s fair to say you’ve seen Win It All. This doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie, not by any stretch, but it does mean that it’s nothing new or original.

If you’re a fan of Jake Johnson or want something to watch for a lazy evening in, Win It All is a great choice to watch. If you want something that has some depth or originality to it, maybe this isn’t the movie for you. It’s definitely an entertaining film, but it’s been done before many times in the past.

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Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: movie, review, win

Are these the Top 5 Casino Movies of all time?

Throughout cinema history, the role of the casino has been an important one. Setting the scene for power struggles, deception, intrigue and of course, winning big. Here are some of the top 5 casino movies of all time.

Casino

The epic crime drama Casino is the leader of the pack when it comes to the top ranked casino movies. Directed by Martin Scorsese, the film teams Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Sharon Stone as we follow De Niro’s character Ace through his career running the Mafia fronted Tangiers Casino in the ever-evolving gambling industry of Las Vegas. The film has been a fan favourite since 1995 when it also won critical acclaim on release, seeing Stone secure the Golden Globe for best actress for her role as Ginger McKenna along with an Academy Award nomination. Inspired by real people, the Casino story continues to mesmerize and thrill.

Casino Royale

Nothing brings to mind a casino setting more than a James Bond movie and Casino Royale is top of the list when it comes to 007 casino show-downs. This 2006 film sees the famous MI6 agent come face-to-face with terrorist financier and money launder Le Chiffre, played by the mercurial Mads Mikklesen, who Bond must bankrupt in a high-stakes poker game. Poker expert Thomas Sandbrook was on hand for filming and the scene is shot with meticulous accuracy and detail, so if you are looking for some No Limit Texas Hold’Em tips, this is the movie to watch. With all the excitement of a real-life poker game, Casino Royale really brings to the big screen the adrenalin rush of gambling in a lavish casino setting. The scene is the epitome of casino chic and Bond girl, Vesper Lynd, brings more than just money to the table, providing a rarely seen meaningful female love interest for Bond, which continues the Casino Royale story arc into Quantum of Solace.

The Hangover

Unlike the previous two films on the list, The Hangover doesn’t quite bring to mind the same level of casino sophistication and high rollers. Instead, the film focuses on a group of regular joes and what happens when a night of bachelor party casino fun goes awry. Outrageous, slap-stick and unapologetically crude, The Hangover is a great casino movie for those after the more hilarious side of Sin City. Featuring unexpected cameos, a missing groom, a bizarre baby subplot and even a tiger, this comedy became a star vehicle for the then relatively unknown Zach Galifianakis as well as one of the highest grossing film of its release year, 2009. The first of three films of the same name, The Hangover is the perfect gross-out comedy and has a plot that will keep you guessing.

Ocean’s Eleven

The original heist franchise began all the way back in 1960 before being revived in 2001 by director Steven Soderbergh. The 1960’s film cast the Rat Pack, synonymous with casinos and Las Vegas, in this high-speed caper about a group of friends trying to steal millions from an unsuspecting casino boss. George Clooney and Brad Pitt star in the remake and their natural onscreen chemistry helps to create a film that is both light hearted and technically sound, satisfying critics and fans alike. Since then, Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven followed up with two sequels, creating the Ocean’s Trilogy, and even brought an all-female ensemble cast together for the 2018 release, Ocean’s 8.

The Sting

Following on from their success in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting sees Paul Newman and Robert Redford bring their incomparable partnership to the screen once more as a pair of grifters looking to outsmart the Mob. Inspired by real-life con artists, Fred and Charley Gondorff, The Sting is as exciting today as its 1973 release. The title pays homage to that pivotal moment when a con cashes in and takes money from his unsuspecting target or mark. Although the plot may be a little complex for some, all the twists and turns give rise to plenty of jaw-dropping gambling moments with stakes staying high until the very last frame of the film.

Conclusion

Casinos have always been and will most likely be forever an exciting and popular element for movies. But actually, it is also the other way around, meaning that Casino-Software Developer more and more create games which are based on popular movies and/or franchises, just like for example Batman: The Dark Knight. This Casino-Slot has literally gone through the roof targeting the fans of the Batman-Franchise. If you want to know more about the Slot, you can read an in-depth review about the game on www.top10-casinosites.net.

As you can see, the movie- and the gambling-branch kind of synergize with each other. Hollywood knows to use the exciting and kind of mysterious atmosphere of Casinos for their movies, just as casino businesses target fans of movies with slot games which are much more interesting than the usual classic casino slots we all know, because of implementing movies.

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Filed Under: Commentary Tagged With: 5, casino, movies, time, top

“Cashing Out” Movie Review

Cashing Out
Starring: Tyler Mills, Michaela Lichvanova, Tremont Turner
Directed by: Alex Srednoselac
Running Time: 1 hr 58 mins
AWS Films

Alex Srednoselac is the man behind the newest movie about gambling. The director hopes to move away from all the tired casino clichés and show the world of gambling in a more raw or realistic way. Sresnoselac, who had worked at the Portage 16 movie theatres for almost a decade, shares a deep love for films and cinematography. Over the years, his desire to direct or shoot his own films has only got stronger. Having lived around films, and interacted with viewers on a daily basis, Sresnoselac managed to learn a fair bit… Despite never attending a film school or receiving any formal training.

Cashing Out follows the main character, Allen. Allen wants to play casino games with high stakes and work on his skills as a professional gambler. He pursues his love for gambling, but he finds himself tangled up in organized crime. During one of his high stake games, a group of robbers disrupts the game, stealing everyone’s cash. Later, the protagonist reveals that he was also involved in the robbery and actively helped to make it happen. The plot thickens. We follow Allen as he tries to disassociate himself from the messy crime scene, manage his love life and family affairs, all while keeping his “special relationship” with poker. The movie is relatable, exciting and feels fresh. It is rare to surprise or impress anyone with a gambling move… It has been a while since we saw anything this original, offering an interesting take or angle on gambling and casino-style games.

Besides the intriguing plotline, the main appeal of the story is that it takes gambling in a completely different direction. We are used to bland portrayals of casino games as tropes and set-ups for other more important storylines. Unfortunately, movies tend to show a completely one-sided view of what it is like to be a professional gambler. What sets this movie apart is the director himself, Alex Srednoselac. Srednoselac has been an avid poker player for as long as he can remember. The Portage 16 movie manager has a first-hand experience of what it is like to enjoy professional gambling. While the director is definitely the main hero of the story, the movie was only made possible thanks to the active involvement of the local community in Chicago, where he is based.

As we mentioned before, the director has been working in the theatre since 2007. All of his co-workers, as well as the local residents, were more than excited to help him out! The whole movie crew was made up of “just” 60 people. The budget was minimal. The Portage 16 also offered to screen Srednoselac’s movie in the theatre. This already is a “tradition” that the cinema follows every year, in order to help those young creators gain more exposure or wider recognition for their work. The years spent serving movie-goers have not gone to waste. In fact, they helped Srednoselac achieve his dream. The film is already in line for multiple awards and has attracted all-positive reviews on the leading movie ranking sites.

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Filed Under: Movies Tagged With: cashing, movie, review
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