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The QR code Paramount+ and Giant Spoon used to lead people to a Halo ad during SXSW. (Dennis Hegstad/Twitter)
A QR code serving as an ad for the new Halo series lit up above the Austin skyline Sunday and Monday night.
The purple light creation involved a swarm of drones put together by streaming service Paramount+ and ad agency Giant Spoon. When scanned, it took users' phones to a trailer promoting the new Halo show based on the Xbox video game about a war between humans and aliens known as the Covenant.
To promote the show, which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival yesterday, a display about as big as two football fields towered above the Fairmont hotel, at 300 feet tall and 600 feet wide.
more photospic.twitter.com/mUSVYQTAGj— dennis hegstad \ud83e\udd20 (@dennis hegstad \ud83e\udd20) 1647226405
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the display involved 400 drones was best viewed from Rainey Street and the East Side Tavern. The drones also shifted into other designs like the Paramount+ logo.
The Hollywood Reporter also noted Austinite Dennis Hegstad took photos of the display from his balcony and heard what sounded like a swarm of bees.
Halo The Series (2022) | Official Trailer 2 | Paramount+www.youtube.com
People on the Austin subreddit were quick to make jokes and warn about scanning random QR codes. Some commented that they expected it to be crypto-related. While that wasn’t the case this time, crypto ads are easy to spot throughout Austin.
The show, starring Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, is set to release next Thursday.
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(Moriah Wilson/Instagram)
Austin police are investigating the killing of Moriah "Mo" Wilson after she was found with gunshot wounds inside an Austin home.
Wilson, a gravel and mountain bike racer, was visiting Austin from Colorado in preparation for the Gravel Locos race on Saturday taking place in Hico, a small town 2 hours from Austin.
On Wednesday, her roommate came home and found Wilson unresponsive with "a lot of blood near her,” police said. It is now being investigated as a suspicious death. No further information on the suspect or motive behind the killing are available at this time.
Wilson recently had become a full-time biker after winning a slew of races in the past year.
(Pexels)
Some of your favorite Instagram filters can’t be used in Texas anymore and Austinites are sounding off on social media.
Meta, Facebook and Instagram’s parent company, announced on Wednesday that certain filters would no longer be available in Texas.
The change is a result of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Meta, alleging the company uses facial recognition technology that violates laws in Texas. A release from Meta says it stopped using facial recognition tech in November 2021 and denies Paxton’s allegations.
Some Austinites bemoaned the shift, saying some of their favorite filters were now unavailable.
This was my FAVORITE filter on @instagram and they done removed it cause I’m in Texas ! Like wowwwwww pic.twitter.com/uX60hdIC0Q
— Pinkyy Montana (@inkstar_pinkyy) May 11, 2022
i heard that instagram filters got banned in texas? what the actual fuck y’all better give me my favorite filter back
— lia 🤍 (@liatootrill) May 11, 2022
loved this stupid filter sm i hate texas pic.twitter.com/DXr9mmUc64
— birthday boy jeno 🎂 (@beabtox) May 12, 2022
But more often than not, locals joked about the ban.
Texas women seeing the filter ban on IG pic.twitter.com/yDMcP3Qtsr
— Christian (Anabolic) Flores (@christian_flo24) May 11, 2022
So, the state of Texas has banned filter use on IG? THE END IS NEAR. 😂
— THE FRANCHISE! Франшиза (@NYCFranchise718) May 12, 2022
And some in-between chose to show off some natural beauty.
I live in Texas, but no filter needed. 😉 pic.twitter.com/A6teRgYMKn
— bad and bruja (@starseedmami) May 11, 2022
filter, no filter..texas women still reign supreme.
— 🎍 (@_sixile) May 11, 2022
Finally, some are trying to cash in on the opportunity.
Texas IG users- if you want to filter your picture cashapp me $1.50 $ErvnYng
— Gemini (@ervn_y) May 11, 2022
Meta said it plans to create an opt-in system for both Texas and Illinois residents, who are facing the same issues.
