Sharon Apple of Macross Plus is now a reality!

[Ral Partha]

I remember back in the mid-90s when Macross Plus first came out, I was intrigued by the concept of a holographic singing idol superstar. Fast forward to 2010 and I came upon this article:

Hatsune Miku: Japanese HOLOGRAPH Plays Sold Out Concerts; Science Fiction Comes to Life

In what is surely a terrible omen not only for musicians but also the continued existence of the world as we know it, holographs are now playing sold out concerts in, where else, Japan.
Holographic idol Hatsune Miku is the creation of the group Crypton Future Media, using software from Vocaloid, and the group has put the avatar on tour with a live band. The sight of thousands of screaming fans waving glow sticks while the the holograph "performs" on stage is straight out of a science fiction novel.

The avatar is huge and incredibly realistic. Check out "her" concert performance below.

More videos can be found here.

I saw this on Huffington Post but make sure that you check the link above for the original article. Not quite the type of music I listen to (though I still appreciate some J-pop) but color me impressed by the way they pulled it off. I guess they were going for the more anime-ish look than a more realistic one.

 

[setabkcin]

That's pretty awesome.

 

[TheHow7zer]

Wow, That's actually amazing! Made my night. I've had holographic concerts like this on my mind since I first saw the Arthur (cartoon about the aardvark...) episode YEARS ago.

 

[GunGryphon]

Its pretty freaking awsome, from what I hear is that its a projection onto special plexiglass. Still, if they came out with the the ability to not require any physical object, the world as we know it would change. None the less, its definatly one awsome concept.
-Gryphon

 

[OptimusWang]

That's pretty freaking cool, even if it isn't a true hologram.

 

[Jester1014]

Wow, leave it to the Japanese.
I followed this story for little while. So far that I know of there are 9 different characters and each one has their own wardrobe they come onto stage with. They're moving in full 360 degrees. no plexiglass here. The four towers surrounding them are the sider projectors and above them are 8 individual projectors. The lights are being crossed at a super frequency and it generates an images.
My physics class held a small conversation about this. mainly about the wavelength of light needed and at what frequency. also notice the smoke. That's what the light is being bounced off of. If you notice when they move around you see them fade until they get back into the more smoke or vapor filled air.
Neat Idea really. you have pop star who can perform and do all their coriograghy right with out too many mishaps. and they can't get drunk and screw up the song or get caught lis sinking or in a scandal. Unless however like in Macross, they get hacked. Or they have an actual AI they learns and adapts.

Sorry just a tidbit of info I thought to share about this. thank for sharing Ral.

 

[Jester1014]

This does have the plexi glass frondrop, my bad.

 

[sonic sod]

has eny of you seen the gorrilaz play live

 

[Ral Partha]

has eny of you seen the gorrilaz play live

No but it's been suggested that if any band would try this, they would be a logical choice.

 

[mkshane81]

I remember when they actually performed "live" a few years ago on MTV video awards. Pretty impressive.

 

[Liq]

Who listens to this crap? it gives me a headache. Aside from that the concept is neat.

 

[SchizophrenicMC]

Please, please, don't compare the glory that is Sharon to this Vocaloid hype T_T

It's just a midi-sequencer that's been so hyped, some of the songs are being jammed on stage. Maybe someday it'll lead to AI (like Deja, yes) singing better than this, as though they were Sharon... They'd better name such an intelligence Sharon Apple. xD

 

[RadioactiveMicrobe]

I could picture Daft Punk doing something like this for "One More Time" with the blue guys from the anime.

 

[CoolC]

It's amazing and how real the avatar is. She looks so 3Dimensional. Just imagine the possibility of having a hologram in your home checks your mail and report news to you in the next several years - science fiction come true...

 

[sirnaut]

Wow thats kind of impressive