Are you a fan of
2pac? If you are then you have probably come across conspiracy theories that
2pac is still alive... Lets call this the Elvis phenomenon.
If I told you that
2pac performed live in front of thousands of fans at the Coachella music
festival in California last week, would you believe me? Please watch this video
before reading any further.
Many will call this
evidence of a conspiracy. We call it a form of virtual reality.
According to the
Wall Street Journal this virtual
reality hologram of 2pac is actually based on a 19th century visual
effect called “Peppers’s ghost” and was first used in 1862 for a staged
performance of Charles Dicken’s “The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain”.
The Digital Domain
Media Group created this particular case of virtual reality. According to chief
creative officer Ed Ulbrich: "To create a
completely synthetic human being is the most complicated thing that can be
done. This is not found footage. This is not archival footage. This is an
illusion. "In other words they were able to relive 2pac for the fans at
Coachella with a genuinely authentic performance.
When this technology was first used in 1862 a glass was used to reflect
a primitive, holographic figure of an actor. “A piece of glass can be both
transparent and reflective at the same time, depending on how it’s situated
relative to the audience” says Jim Steinmeyer, an illusion designer who writes
about the history of this particular form of deception. Essentially, the angle
of the mirror, if placed correctly, creates the illusion of the person
reflected in a corresponding area.
The holographic image of 2pac at Coachella was developed based on his
physical traits along with previously captured movements. To revive the
deceased rapper the moving image(s) was then reflected on a piece of Mylar
(highly reflective, lightweight plastic). Therefore the man on stage was a 2D
computer generated image of 2pac reflected on plastic (it wasn’t even in 3D!!!).
At the end of the day it was not the technology that mattered to the
fans at Coachella, but rather the lasting impression of a dead icons
performance.
What does this mean for the rest of us moving forward? How can virtual
reality affect our lives now and in the future? Could you imagine “skyping”
with full virtual recreations of your friends? Can we have business meetings
where multiple participants in different parts of the world can be physically
present (or at least the illusion of) in one location? What if we could avoid violent riots at G-8
meetings if they met via holographic images like those of 2pac?
This is just one example of what virtual reality can do for us in
today’s world. In this blog we hope to inform you about various forms of
virtual reality and what it means for us today and tomorrow!
So is it known if they overlaid Tupac on actual person's wireframe movements or was it all his own movements edited from past performances?
ReplyDeleteBased on what we read no one was physically wireframed. The hologram of 2pac was taken from a bank of recorded performances before his death and a completely new and authentic performance was created. This of course is assuming that 2pac is actually dead and there is no elvis type conspiracy involved.
ReplyDeleteAdvances of this kind + artificial intelligence = one step closer to immortality
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that they did this. They played not only to advances in technology but also the tendency of popular culture to proclaim Tupac alive (they probably got all the conspiracy theorists going for a while with this stunt).
ReplyDeleteMy comments regard the Intellectual Property [I.P.] concerns that these reproductions create from a legal perspective.
ReplyDeleteArtists, including those that have past away, have their Life Products Work i.e. their music, art, poems, movies, etc; collectively known as I.P. work; protected from persons that wish to earn a profit out of that life product without approval.
I.P. rights are past through to heirs and can be sold. The question then becomes, who owns the face of 2Pac? The body? How about his dance moves and stage swagger? We can even go further: how about the infamous Thug Life tattoo across his belly?
A former producer, claimed the hologram did not have 2Pac's signature Death Row gold chain and thus not an accurate reproduction.
These holograms, that I think will become more and more popular, open a new can of legal worms for I.P. lawyers.
What do you think?
I think this was straight up creepy...but then again I wouldn't mind getting the chance to see Hector Lavoe live in concert some day.
ReplyDeleteWow this is really cool! You could theoretically bring back anyone with this technology. Personally i would like them to revive bob marley! Maybe he can do a duo with tupac!
ReplyDeleteI think virtual reality is simply amazing but it scares me to where it might take us in the near future. Nowadays, we are always on our smartphones, computers and/or tablets. We are becoming technology freaks and forgetting that life has other amazing things to offer us. Having virtual reality to revive people such as 2pac and to make movie characters like Brad Pitt in The Curios Case of Benjamin Button is truly remarkable. However, I wouldn't what to have a meeting with the illusions of people or having to deal with unreal people.
ReplyDeleteTechnology advances at a pace much higher than us humans can comprehend. Who would have thought that you could communicate with thousands of people in a flash, people that you hadn't communicated with in years!! Social media!! This began only 7 years ago and look how fast it captured everyone!!
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt that as soon as they can perfect Virtul REality, it will also become part of human every day operations.
the video does not work.
ReplyDelete