The Dept 56 Witch Hollow Series is a collection of spooky and whimsical Halloween-themed villages and figurines. This series offers a wide variety of buildings, accessories, and characters that depict a haunted town. Each piece in the collection is intricately designed and hand-painted to capture the essence of a Halloween night. One of the main highlights of the Dept 56 Witch Hollow Series is the attention to detail in the buildings. From the witch's cottage to the haunted mansion, each structure is carefully crafted to showcase a unique and spooky design. The intricate textures and colors used in the buildings add depth and character to the overall display.
Twitter buys Magic Pony Technology to improve video quality
The intricate textures and colors used in the buildings add depth and character to the overall display. In addition to the buildings, the Dept 56 Witch Hollow Series also features a wide range of accessories that enhance the Halloween theme. These accessories include spooky trees, ghostly figurines, and eerie lighting effects.
Seeking to shore up slowing growth, Twitter has in recent months begun emphasizing video on its site
London/San Francisco: Twitter Inc. agreed to acquire a London-based artificial intelligence startup to make tweeted live videos look more professional.
In a blog post on Monday, Twitter chief executive officer Jack Dorsey said he was buying Magic Pony Technology “so Twitter can continue to be the best place to see what’s happening and why it matters, first."
Seeking to shore up slowing growth, the social media company has in recent months begun emphasizing video on its site. Magic Pony uses machine learning, a way of teaching software to perform tasks without explicit programming instructions based on pattern recognition, a technology that’s “increasingly at the core of everything we build at Twitter," Dorsey said.
Twitter paid about $150 million for Magic Pony, according to a person familiar with the matter. The terms of the deal, which were not disclosed by Twitter, were previously reported by Tech Crunch.
Magic Pony’s technology uses artificial intelligence for visual effects. It can be used to clean up pixelated images or create new images. It can be used to improve video streaming—especially in environments where bandwidth and connectivity isn’t ideal—or to automatically build landscapes for computer games.
The company, created in 2014 by graduates from Imperial College London with backgrounds in computer vision, mathematics and neuroscience, trains neural networks to process visual information. The network can be taught to learn what a high-quality image looks like when converted to a lower-quality image and then can reverse this process, taking poor-quality images and turning them into high-quality ones. Magic Pony’s technology can do this using a standard graphics processor, meaning it could be used by all sorts of devices, from desktop computers to smartphones.
Before the Twitter acquisition, Magic Pony was backed by £4.3 million ($6.31 million) in funding, according to public filings, including two investment rounds from London-based Octopus Ventures in July 2015 and May 2016. London venture firm Balderton Capital also was a backer. The company was valued at £21 million in its last financing round in May 2016.
“We are always looking for unusually talented teams and entrepreneurs," said Octopus investment director Luke Hakes. “The guys have built a whole suite of capabilities all around machine learning and visual processing."
Many of Twitter’s competitors, including Facebook Inc. and Snapchat, are also sharpening their focus on video. In an attempt to keep up, Twitter has recently been emphasizing its ability to broadcast live events, including its Periscope video service, and earlier this year made a deal with the National Football League to broadcast its Thursday night games alongside relevant tweets. Twitter has been looking to do similar deals in sports, entertainment and politics.
The acquisition of Magic Pony builds on other investments in machine learning, beginning with the purchase of Madbits in July 2014 and Whetlab in June 2015.
Twitter shares rose 1.9% to $16.40 at 10:46 am in New York. They are down 30% so far this year through Friday. Bloomberg
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These elements add an extra layer of personality and ambiance to the village display, creating a truly immersive and enchanting experience. The Witch Hollow Series also offers a diverse range of characters that bring the Halloween-themed village to life. From witches and ghosts to vampires and skeletons, each figurine adds a touch of charm and mischief to the display. The attention to detail in the characters' expressions and costumes further enhances their personality and contributes to the overall narrative of the village. Overall, the Dept 56 Witch Hollow Series is a perfect choice for Halloween enthusiasts and collectors. The high-quality craftsmanship, attention to detail, and extensive range of buildings, accessories, and characters make this series a must-have for creating a spooky and magical Halloween village. Whether displayed as a standalone collection or integrated with other Halloween decorations, the Witch Hollow Series is sure to delight both young and old alike..
Reviews for "Fall into Enchantment: Dept 56 Witch Hollow Series Collecting"
1. John - 1 star
I was really disappointed with the Dept 56 witch hollow series. The quality of the figurines was poor and they easily broke within a few weeks of having them. The paint job was sloppy and the details were not well-defined. The price tag on these items was quite high, and for the quality I received, it was definitely not worth it. I would not recommend purchasing anything from this series if you are looking for durable and well-made collectibles.
2. Sarah - 2 stars
I had high hopes for the Dept 56 witch hollow series, but they fell short of my expectations. The designs of the figurines were interesting, but they were much smaller than I anticipated. The pieces lacked the level of detail and craftsmanship that I have come to expect from other collectible series by Dept 56. The accessories that came with some of the pieces were flimsy and didn't fit well with the overall theme. It was a disappointment overall, and I wouldn't invest in this series again.
3. Emily - 2 stars
I was not impressed with the Dept 56 witch hollow series. The figurines seemed cheaply made and lacked the intricate details that I was expecting. The paint job was subpar and there were noticeable flaws on some of the pieces. Additionally, some of the characters looked very similar to each other, making it difficult to distinguish between them. The price of the items was also quite high compared to the quality received. Overall, I was underwhelmed and would not recommend this series to collectors looking for high-quality pieces.