While many of the primary highlights of this year’s NAB 2024 show so far might have to do with new Blackmagic Design cameras and Adobe generative AI video tools, we’d be remiss if we didn’t share some of the more breath-taking new innovations in computer monitors as well.
If you’ve stopped by the ASUS ProArt monitor booth at NAB this year, you might have seen this gargantuan 135-inch cinema monitor on display—and if you weren’t there in person, trust us, it’s impressive.
So, to explore if “bigger is always better” when it comes to video editing monitor selection, let’s review the new ASUS ProArt Cinema PQ07 monitor with its 135-inch 4K HDR display as well as its advanced panel technologies and features.
Introducing the ASUS ProArt Cinema PQ07 Monitor
Featuring an ultra-small pixel pitch (0.7815 mm) and 1600-nits peak brightness, this 135-inch display is a 4K HDR monitor that features high contrast and a beautiful 97% DCI-P3 color gamut that makes not only for a pristine and clear viewing experience, but also potentially a great video editing monitor—or, at very least, a great preview monitor to review your cinema-quality footage or show off your high-end video edits to your fancy clients.
When compared to a conventional micro LED display which features a 1.2 or 1.5mm pixel pitch, this ProArt Cinema PQ07 should also actually deliver even smoother and more vibrant visuals and is fully scalable for different sizes and aspect ratios.
Pricing and Availability
If you’re interested in trying out the ASUS ProArt Cinema PQ07 Monitor yourself for your editing suite or home studio setups, you can find out more about pricing and availability as soon as it becomes variable on the ASUS ProArt website here.
Some of the best horror movies ever made take something innocent and unassuming and make it scary as all heck. Toys? Chairs? Cars? Or, perhaps the scariest, regular human people? You name it; there's likely a spooky movie out there that's gonna make you afraid of something you never saw coming. The latest on this list of scaries? Why, the act of smiling, of course.
Paramount'sSmile franchise has taken the world by storm, turning one of the purest expressions of human joy into a nefarious act of fear. Where Parker Finn's first Smile followed the laid-back, traumatized therapist Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon), Smile 2 stepped it up a notch on every level with the tortured pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott). Fans of the first Smile were treated to escalation of scale in every way and delivered one heck of an ending to show for it.
The ending isn't particularly vague, but the Smile monster (or "The Entity" as we know them as) works in mysterious ways, potentially leaving the casual viewer with a question or two once the last terrifying frame cuts to the credits. If you were left frowning with questions, we're here for you to break down what exactly happened at the end of Smile 2.
The Rules of the Smile Monster, The Entity
Smile
Paramount
If there's any human notion the mysterious Entity haunting the psyche of our heroes in the Smile-verse knows, it's that trauma begets.
The basic rule of The Entity is that it lingers in its victim's brain, essentially gaslighting them with a false reality that drives them mad. Once you're infected—or, perhaps, possessed—by the entity, the world around you starts to crumble, and you start to more-or-less hallucinate terrible things at every turn. Only The Entity's victim is able to see these haunted images (often times stranges creepily smiling at them), making it super weird and uncomfortable for anyone that might be in their presence freaking out.
In a sense, The Entity is ruining your life up until your final moments.
The "final moments" of it all is a key factor to The Entity's terror. See, the way the entity possesses new hosts is once it's current host is driven completely mad, they take on the "Creepy Smile" (coined by No Film School, LLC) they become suicidal, and anyone that sees their totally F'd up suicide is now The Entity's host.
Scary stuff!
'Smile 2' Premise
Smile 2
Paramount
So, a banger pop star named Skye Riley is possessed by The Smile Entity. How did we get here? Why is our pop diva icon tortured so?
Jumping off from the events of Smile, Smile 2 opens in an expertly crafted one-shot cold open that could work as a standalone short film. At the end of Smile, Kyle Gallner's nice guy cop Joel is possessed by The Entity when he bears witness to his ex-lover Rose committing Creepy Smile hari-kari after her feature-length mental anguish. Poor Joel.
In the opening scene of Smile 2, we check back in with Joel, who is strategically attempting to pass off and ultimately kill The Smile Entity for good in a ring of shady, bad-guy drug lords. His plan almost goes as planned, until Lewis (Lukas Gage) stumbles in and The Smile entity is passed to him.
Cut to our heroine Skye Riley, recovering from a tough time after a tragic accident killing her partner and leaving her to survive and bear the guilt. She is (mostly) sober, chugging bottles of water in one long gulp to curb drinking, but still uses a bit of Vicodin to deal with her trauma and anxiety from both her tragedy as well as the unbearable weight of being a very famous popstar. And guess who she gets her Vicodin from? You'll never guess, unless you guessed Lewis. It's Lewis she buys her Vicodin from.
And while we're guessing, yes. You're right. Lewis Creepy Smile kills himself, passing The Entity to Skye. This induces a terrible time for Skye, seeing visions of her ex-boyfriend who perished in the car accident, as well as seeing fans at shows and her backup dancing ensemble Creepy Smiling and acting super weird at her.
How does it end? What does it mean? Let's talk.
'Smile 2' Ending Breakdown
Now that our inciting Smile incident has occurred, we're in it for the ringer now.
As Skye is processing her previous with the additional baggage of The Entity's gaslighting ways, she finds solace in reconnecting a fractured friendship with her former BFF, the ever-charming and down-to-Earth Gemma (Dylan Gelula). She comes over for a sleepover, they hang out, etcetera, and Gemma pulls through for her bud full-stop.
At least, so we think—it wouldn't be a Smile without some proper gaslighting from the monster behind the smiles.
It's revealed near the end, close to Skye's big concert, that Gemma hasn't spoken to her since their friend breakup. Gemma was in Skye's head the whole time. Dang. This also comes with the reveal that the time passed in Smile 2—which, in Skye's head, was weeks—wasn't so many weeks after all. This takes us to the big concert, where, well...
Yes, you're right. The Smile Entity does not only Skye, but the entire audience dirty, as hundreds to thousands of people watch Skye Creepy Smile kill herself in front of them. And what does that mean? It means that now The Smile Entity has possessed everyone at the show. And that is not good!
With the recently announced Smile 3, we'll inevitably learn more about The Smile Entity's master plan and how the effects of possessing a mass group of victims plays out. Until then, just be safe out there. The Smile Entity is a bad... um... thing, and you never know when it could get you.
