The way I'd typically create this effect is duplicating the top image to an upper layer, then adding some scale, blur, and brightness effects to the image on the lower layer. This is such a common effect, though, I imaging there has to be some sort of plugin that will do it for me automatically to speed up my workflow. I know that this weird adjustment layer trick exists, but I'm looking for something even faster - this would be a pain for clips of varying widths.

Does anyone know of a plugin you can just add to a clip as an effect to create this photobox effect? Thanks!

EDIT: Would also be very helpful if anyone knows what this particular technique is called. Photobox maybe?

https://preview.redd.it/ggq4lkmyfi8h1.png?width=658&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9ace602a34acc8cb0794a72d3667944649556fb

Here's what I did, per the documentation:

1. Added the Weather plugin, put in all my data, saved, put it on a playlist, then hid it
2. Created a custom plugin, chose "plugin merge". Not sure what else to do with this, I never specified anywhere which plugin to grab data from.
3. Edit Markup, pasted the official markup from here into the "full" layout. Did all the others too just to be safe.
4. And...it looks like this.

https://preview.redd.it/0om8epjyxp7h1.png?width=1060&format=png&auto=webp&s=aaf13838d26b3949dcc24c5176167d0c9b62e25a

There's a crucial step I know I'm missing here, I just don't know what it is. I see the weather plugin in the "my variables" dropdown, but I don't know what to do with that. Do I need to create custom fields?

EDIT: Alright, seems this was way more complex than I thought. After lots of back and forth, this is the code I came up with. It is not perfect, and does not scale properly for TRMNL X. Replace XXXXX with your weather code from the "my variables" section.

<style>
.weather-icon,
.weather-image {
  filter: grayscale(100%) brightness(0.7) contrast(0.6);
}
</style>
<div class="view view--full">
  <div class="layout layout--col gap--space-between">
<div class="grid">
<div class="row row--center col--span-4 col--end">
<img class="weather-image" src="{{ weather\_XXXXXX.today\_weather\_image }}" />
</div>
<div class="col col--span-4 col--end">
<div class="item h--full">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xxxlarge" data-fit-value="true">{{ weather_XXXXXX.temperature | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">Temperature</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="col col--span-4 col--end gap--medium">
  
<!-- Feels Like -->
<div class="item">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-thermometer.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.feels_like | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">Feels Like</span>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Humidity -->
<div class="item">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-raindrops.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.humidity }}%</span>
<span class="label">Humidity</span>
</div>
</div>
  <!-- Right Now -->
<div class="item">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://tempestwx.com/images/Updated/{{ weather\_XXXXXX.forecast.right\_now.icon }}.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">{{ weather_XXXXXX.conditions }}</span>
<span class="label">Right Now</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="w-full b-h-gray-5"></div>
<div class="grid">
<div class="col gap--large">
<!-- Today -->
<div class="grid">
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="{{ weather\_XXXXXX.today\_weather\_image }}" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.conditions }}</span>
<span class="label">
{%- if weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.day_override != blank -%}
{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.day_override }}
{%- else -%}
Today
{%- endif -%}
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-hot.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.uv_index }}</span>
<span class="label">UV Index</span>
</div>
</div>

<!-- Precipitation Today -->
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-raindrops.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">
{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.precip.probability }}%
</span>
<span class="label">Rain</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row col--span-4">
<div class="item">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-thermometer.svg" />
</div>
<div class="row">
<div class="content w--20">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.mintemp | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">Low</span>
</div>
<div class="content w--20">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.today.maxtemp | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">High</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<!-- Tomorrow -->
<div class="grid">
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="{{ weather\_XXXXXX.tomorrow\_weather\_image }}" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.conditions }}</span>
<span class="label">
{%- if weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.day_override != blank -%}
{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.day_override }}
{%- else -%}
Tomorrow
{%- endif -%}
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-hot.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.uv_index }}</span>
<span class="label">UV Index</span>
</div>
</div>

<!-- Precipitation Tomorrow -->
<div class="item col--span-4">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-raindrops.svg" />
</div>
<div class="content">
<span class="value value--xsmall">
{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.precip.probability }}%
</span>
<span class="label">Rain</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="row col--span-4">
<div class="item">
<div class="meta"></div>
<div class="icon">
<img class="weather-icon" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather/wi-thermometer.svg" />
</div>
<div class="row">
<div class="content w--20">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.mintemp | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">Low</span>
</div>
<div class="content w--20">
<span class="value value--small">{{ weather_XXXXXX.forecast.tomorrow.maxtemp | round }}°</span>
<span class="label">High</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
  </div>
  <div class="title\_bar">
<img class="image" src="https://trmnl.com/images/plugins/weather--render.svg" />
<h1 class="title">Weather</h1>
<span class="instance"></span>
  </div>
</div>

First time ever doing standby, thought I'd share how it went down. I've seen similar writeups for trying to get into the live show, so here's one for dress:

---

Thursday

The journey begins. Decided on dress since I assumed there would be a ton of VIPs at the live show, and therefore less seats to fill. The number you get on this day determines how likely you are to get in, but it's really mostly out of your control. The site constantly crashes, so getting through is about luck, similar to calling into a radio station to be their ninth caller or something. Yes, you have to do it at a certain time, but that part's easy, actually getting through is the unpredictable part.

I refreshed the website at 9:59:59 and 10:00:00. The early refresh was just in case, but it wasn't until 10 on the dot that the site actually loaded. Here's how it went for me:

10:00:00am Page 1 loads. This lets you choose dress vs live. I choose dress, but it takes a while for the next page to load.

10:00:09am Page 2 loads. This has a bunch of disclosures, and the goal here is to press the blue "Book Standby Reservation" button. I unfortunately lost a lot of time on this page, because I assumed the button would be at the bottom of the page, rather than the top (remember, this was my first time). I lost a total of four seconds here.

10:00:13am Page 3 loads nearly instantly. I autofill my data, click the button that says "I confirm", and...

10:00:17am I press "submit" on page 3 for the first time. I am notified that the event is full.

I know from reading others' experiences that this doesn't mean it's actually full. From here, I rinse and repeat, going through the three pages, now knowing exactly where to click. It's chaos. Sometimes page 1 won't load, sometimes page 2 won't load, occasionally I get a "gateway error" in between pages. You can watch the whole thing unfold in real time, I screen recorded it and posted it here. Finally...

10:01:24am I get through and the website informs me I have been placed in the queue. A sigh of relief.

10:01:27am I get a confirmation e-mail. I do not yet receive a number. This e-mail includes language that I'll only be assigned a number if one is available.

10:50:29am I'm finally assigned a number. 233. Yikes. Anecdotal evidence says usually around 300 numbers go out, and only 70 go in. As a huge Beatles & Wings fan, I'm determined.

---

Friday

The e-mail tells me I'll need to arrive between 6pm and 7pm. I arrive at 6pm, there is nobody checking anyone in but a small line has formed inside some SNL barricades:

https://preview.redd.it/5mw3jrhk6s1h1.png?width=1172&format=png&auto=webp&s=27170fe25008d128f460502fe875299be7d926f8

I get in this line, the order of which is loose and doesn't really matter because it's going to be re-ordered according to everyone's number.

6:30pm An NBC page begins checking IDs and re-ordering people. This line on 49th street holds all of the dress rehearsal numbers, and live numbers 1-50. Any live numbers above 50, or anyone who showed up without a number, has to line up around the corner.

Don't get too comfortable between 6 and 7pm, because you'll be constantly moved around as more people show up. Once 7 hits and everyone is checked in, it's time to break out the chairs and lock in for the next 5 hours.

These 5 hours are purely a test of endurance. They're an arbitrary hoop to jump through to ensure that the people who get in aren't necessarily the ones who were first, nor the ones that paid the most money (tickets are free), but the ones who were simply willing to wait 5 hours. The logic, I assume, is that those people are going to be the most passionate, and the most reactive audience members. This is a TV show, after all. More on that at the end.

I am very close to the end of the line, the highest number is 239. Some didn't show, there are only four people behind me.

12:01am As promised, standby cards are issued. I have been promoted from 233 to 125. Still, not a great number, but I've come this far. They do not run out of these as far as I know, everyone that waits the 5 hours gets one.

https://preview.redd.it/9rzb693k8s1h1.png?width=659&format=png&auto=webp&s=6df98e8c54e8839f16810660193acd29d59a4b3e

---

Saturday

The card says to arrive no later than 6:30pm, so I get there at 5:30pm. The line is inside the NBC gift shop, a podium is set up right outside for check-in. If you get there early, ask one of the gift shop employees for guidance and they'll get you where you need to go.

6pm I'm checked in. A page tells me they're letting 120 (!) people in tonight. I ask if that includes VIPs, I'm told it doesn't. Huge news, that means only 5 people need to not show up in order for me to get in.

Everyone with a number under 120 was lined up inside the gift shop, everyone over 120 lined up outside the shop.

About 150 people total are in line. The extra 30 or so people were the ones who showed up Friday without a reservation. I didn't get to meet them last night since they were on a separate line around the corner.

7pm A security officer makes what he calls "the first cut." They tell everyone with a number higher than 130 to go home. Hope absolutely spikes.

7:30pm I watch as the line inside the gift shop dwindles. I try my best to calculate my chances.

7:40pm 20 minutes to showtime. The group of people over 120 are finally brought into the gift shop, and through a door that leads up to the studio (yes, that door is in the gift shop, that surprised me too).

We're ushered through a TSA-style security, we have to empty our pockets. Shoes stay on but belts come off. For this reason I recommend not wearing one, as I was floundering to put mine back on while being encouraged to run up the stairs as quickly as possible. We wait in a line just outside the door to 8H. The room looks like a lounge you might find inside a spaceship. Screens several feet long encircle us, gently fading through the photographic history of SNL. It's incredibly cool.

I am feet away from the legendary studio. A page gets on the microphone. "Okay, guys, we're just waiting for some updates, and we're gonna continue handing out wristbands and letting you guys in. Stand tight and we'll keep you posted!" Just 9 people in front of me. This is really it. This is really gonna happen, I think to myself. I'm going to see Paul McCartney on SNL.

...but a security guard, really nice guy, brought us back down to reality. "What are you gonna do when you don't get in?" he said to the people in the back of the line. "I'm not being sarcastic. Genuinely, I mean it. Start thinking about it now. I've been doing this for over 30 years. I've never seen them bring this many people through security, they shouldn't have. They can't fit this many people in there."

"But that girl just said they're gonna let us in," a lady behind me said.

"She's a page, that's her job. She's supposed to keep the mood light and keep people happy."

7:48pm "Okay guys, so we've just got the announcement that the studio is full, but thank you all for coming and have a great night!" The entire room is crestfallen. Just as quickly as we were rushed in, we are rushed out. It felt like the end of a white house press briefing when the press is being hurriedly chased out to a cacophony of "Thank you press!" Incredibly unceremonious, and downright depressing, but expected given that this is a TV show, not a concert.

By my count, they let 116 people in. I was number 125.

---

Conclusion

I got way closer than I ever expected to given the number I started with. It's amazing I even got a chance to see the "spaceship" room. It's true what they say though, that you're not guaranteed to see the show until you're sat in a seat.

The most important thing to remember if you attempt this is that SNL is a TV show, not a play or a concert. I've worked in television for several years now, I know a bit about how the industry works. The production does not see you as an audience member, and owes you nothing. Background actors aka extras (a job I've done on the side a few times) are often referred to as living furniture on television productions. That's essentially what you are. A laughing, cheering piece of furniture. If they have use for you, they will pick you up and place you in a place they need you. If not, you're out. Nothing about the process is about your experience, it is about doing what is best for the multi-million dollar production happening around you. If you go in with this in mind, you will be less likely to be disappointed.

Will I try again? Probably. At least I got to keep my standby card, and will definitely be proudly displaying it. The SNL Standby line, much like life, is what you make of it.

So, I've come to understand Lenovo's ThinkPad screen terminology as follows:

• Anti-Reflective: Glossy
• Anti-Glare: Matte
• Anti-Reflective Anti-Glare: Matte that kinda looks Glossy from a certain angle

But then there's anti-smudge. You can get Anti-Glare Anti-Smudge (AGAS), or Anti-Reflective Anti-Smudge (ARAS). I've seen an ARAS and regular AR screen next to each other in person, and they look no different - they just both look glossy. What is the "anti-smudge" doing?

Furthermore, I can't tell the difference between an Anti-Reflective screen and a "Glare" screen (which exists for some rare ThinkPads and Lenovo's other laptop lines), which further adds to the confusion. The so-called "anti-reflective" screens sure do show a ton of reflections. Not that I'm complaining about that, I personally love glossy screens. But the names are confusing for sure.