Michael Jackson, Tupac and Roy Orbison make holographic comeback

New technology sees rise of holographic music performances

                                   Kevin Winter/Getty images

The laws of nature had it seem that death was an inevitability. Musicians live performances were exclusive to the said musicians lifetime and when this lifetime ends, the possibility of seeing these artists being no more, with it being left to memory and video footage in getting a taste of what these artists were about.

…That is until now…

It is thanks to developing hologram technology that our music idols are being reanimated and given new life, allowing dedicated fans to experience their idols once more, whilst also being reintroduced to a new generation. Although holograms had been used in concerts in the preceding years before the re-emergence of big stars (through the likes of Hatsune Miku in Japan and with Damon Albarn’s virtual band Gorillaz), the trend took off in 2012 when a hologram of Tupac performed alongside Snoop Dogg at Coachella (being the first ‘performance’ by Tupac since his death 16 years prior).

Following this unforeseen comeback, an increasing amount of stars have also seen digital rebirth, from the likes of Elvis, Roy Orbison, Michael Jackson and Black Sabbath’s Ronnie James Dio.

The holograms initially start as animations where the said artist have their movements/facial expressions carefully studied to be digitally recreated. From this at the given venue, a pane of glass in placed at an angle on the stage that reflects a projector image onto a transparent Mylar screen (this being invisible to the audience, whilst the hologram is visible on the screen).   

Although the outburst of holographic performances has divided opinions from fans and industry figures alike, the continued conflict of this love and lament is sure to continue. A holographic world tour of Roy Orbison are set in motion whilst conversely, Amy Winehouse's hologram tour postponed.  According to the company overseeing the tour: BASE Hologram's chairman and CEO Brian Becker "encountered some unique challenges and sensitivities". One thing for sure is this technology isn’t going away any time soon.

                             BASE Hologram, Twitter

(In the style of 'The Guardian')