The Emperor Climbs Down From The Golden Throne

[jimmy olsen]

Damn has hologram technology improved over the years. Way better than that shitty Japanese idol. Also, that song was pretty damn good. Classic MJ.

http://www.theverge.com/2014/5/18/5729866/michael-jackson-hologram-at-billboard-music-awards

A hologram of Michael Jackson appeared tonight at the Billboard Music Awards, almost five years after the singer's death. Jackson's hologram was materialized sprawled on a shimmering golden throne amid a host of backing dancers both real and ethereal. Stepping away from the incorporeal backdrop, Jackson's hologram threw out a host of his signature shapes, moonwalking its way through pyrotechnics as it performed the singer's recently released Slave to the Rhythm. The song comes from Jackson's posthumous Xscape album, released this month, which is made up of unreleased material remixed by artists such as Timbaland.

Jackson joins a growing list of musicians — both living and dead — who have had their images projected onto stage for "live" performances. Janelle Monae and M.I.A were able to share a stage in April, even though the artists were 3,000 miles apart, while deceased rappers Ol' Dirty Bastard and Eazy-E made hologramatic appearances at concerts in 2013. The practice of resurrecting dead artists for posthumous performances was popularized by the appearance of Tupac Shakur's hologram at 2012's Coachella festival. The likeness was created by visual effects studio Digital Domain, who reportedly took four months to create the projection of the rapper, at a cost of up to $400,000.

Digital Domain filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The companies that purchased the studio's assets had attempted to halt the performance of Jackson's hologram at tonight's awards. Hologram USA and Musion Das Hologram argued that the show violated their patents, but the show went ahead after a Las Vegas judge agreed that the technology was in the public domain.

The technology to project apparent holograms on stage has existed since the sixteenth century, and was given a name by British chemist John Pepper in Victorian Britain. But while the "Pepper's Ghost" illusion is not a new invention, the advent of lifelike CGI has only recently allowed us to resurrect celebrities and musicians, and to make them sing and dance for us on stage once more.

[Phillip V]

When will hologram projections become ubiquitous all around us?

[garbon]

When will hologram projections become ubiquitous all around us?

Tomorrow.

[jimmy olsen]

When will hologram projections become ubiquitous all around us?

In what way? As advertisements? Star Trek style Holodecks? 

[Sheilbh]

Never forget

[Habbaku]

Was kinda hoping this was a development in the Warhammer 40k universe.

[Ed Anger]

Was hoping Tim was ripped apart by Gregor Eisenhorn.

Best Fan fiction ever.

[jimmy olsen]

Was kinda hoping this was a development in the Warhammer 40k universe.

Given the undead nature of the performance and the fact that it starts with him sitting on a gilded throne I couldn't resist making a WH40k reference.

[Eddie Teach]

But Jackson was merely the King of Pop, never Emperor.

[garbon]

searching that gave me this as the first hit

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/neilmccormick/100054567/if-michael-jackson-was-the-king-prince-is-the-emperor-of-pop/

[The Brain]

...And Steps Into The Golden Shower?

[Syt]

It appears this projection technology dates to the 19th century (Pepper's Ghost) and is merely the illusion of a hologram?

[The Brain]

What, it's not a true hologram?

[Syt]

At least none with hard light.

[jimmy olsen]

Are holograms supposed to be hard? I thought that was just sci-fi bullshit and holograms were supposed to illusions made of light.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2458271,00.asp

Get Ready for the Hologram Revolution

    By Seamus Condron
    May 20, 2014
    2 Comments

Dear Elvis Presley impersonators, your days might be numbered.

I don't typically watch music awards shows, but on Sunday night I tuned into the Billboard Music Awards to catch a performance from Michael Jackson. You know, the music legend and kinda creepy guy who died five years ago? Well, he's back...in hologram form! If that sound scary enough, the scarier news was how eerily flawless the whole thing was, at least from a technology standpoint.

Geeks everywhere have had a quiet fascination with holograms and their evolution through pop culture and in real life. Our first holographic experience was probably when we all saw Princess Leia plea for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. Then it made a giant leap on Star Trek: The Next Generation with the Holodeck, a fully immersive environment that felt as real as true life, where you could visit and interact with any time in history. But up until last night's Michael Jackson resurrection, real-life iterations have been pretty disappointing. There was that time CNN tried to deliver election news via hologram (which wasn't really a hologram), as well as another musical resurrection, namely Tupac Shakur at the Coachella festival, which also was CGI, and not a true hologram. Which begs the question, where are the damn holograms?

Last night's hologram, or whatever technology was powering it, was something entirely different than anything I'd seen. Not only did we see Michael Jackson moonwalk, we saw a precisely choreographed, four-minute act that was virtually no different than if Jackson was there in the flesh. I say virtually because it was not perfect; there was that face that reminded you of the first time you saw The Polar Express, albeit vastly improved, and the hologram, while agile, didn't seem to have the elasticity that Jackson possessed when he moved and danced.

All that said, how will something like this look in a year, or in five? It reportedly took six months to put the Jackson performance together, for four minutes of payoff. But how long will it be before we can push that to 60 minutes, or two or more hours? While watching the performance last night, I could imagine executives from Disney and show promoters from Las Vegas salivating at the prospect of fully immersive holographic theme park rides, or the triumphant return of Elvis Presley for three shows a night.

You're probably thinking that the prospect of entertainers returning from the dead is a morbid one. However, talk to me in five years and tell me how you feel. You still may not like it, but it will be so present that it will be as normal as walking down the street and following directions by a robot that lives in your phone. You probably wouldn't have expected that either.

And if you still can't stomach the idea of the hologram of a dead singer performing in front of you, pick your own passion/poison, because pretty soon the holograms of famous writers, scientists, and ancient philosophers will be at your disposal. Think about sharing a glass of stout with a fully aware holographic version of your favorite writer, Oscar Wilde, and tell me if you're still creeped out.