Michael Jackson To Unleash World Premiere Experience At Billboard Music Awards

[qbee]

Im not sure if Kevin is correct on how it was created ( I believe it was stated a different tech was used to create the MJ illusion) but he does gives his review of many aspects of the production.

Michael Jackson hologram performance A tech geek review

Kevin Dingo May 18, 2014 at 11:09pm


For those of you who haven't seen it yet stop here and watch it via this link
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k6lPrpWgMwyeok7FT1m?start=33

Ok so now you've watched it some of the things i'm going to mention may seem obvious.

the first time we see michael what struck me was that it didnt paticularly hold a good resemblance to him. you could see who it was ment to be but that (face on atleast) was where the resemblance ended. when you compaire it to arnie in terminater salvation and megan fox in transformers the likeness was not good.

it appears that the face was built purely in the computer. you may say ok but there was no other way FALSE!. we have facial casts of michael from ghost's that could have been scaned into the computer creating a absolutly perfect likeness but for reasons that are beyond me its obvious that the people behind this hologram have not done that.

Why they didnt baffless me but wait theres more to this. when michael begins to sing you can visably see the computer automation in the face which again is frustrateing because we have again examples of facial motion capture that have been almost undetectable from a real person talking. it appears that motion capture hasn't been used here which is frustrateing given the wait and build up to this moment. Don't get me wrong there are moments mainly side on and distance shots where if that was all you saw you would be hard pressd to say that wasnt michael.
Asides that the movements are perfect which is where this seperates from the tupac hologram.

The tupac hologram had movement that was really obvious as computer generated but with this that wasnt the case. the movements asides a slightly dodgey moonwalk where so flawless it was like watching michael perform live. if you combine the likeness quality with the movement finess we saw in this you would have a virtually perfect michael jackson experience. there where some moves that where slightly off from the perspective of a life long fan (the moonwalk being one) but thats where we have to stop ourselfs from asking to much. if they can get the likeness right and they can it is within our technology and keep up the standard of moves and movements dance wise into more performances then you have a experience as equal to the man himself being there as we will ever get.

i'm gonna step away from the michael aspect of this for now. lets look at the tech behind it.

The hologram has been created in the same way that the tupac hologram was (see image attached).
sadly and to no fault of the organisers at the begining you can see the mylar that is displaying the hologram flex distorting the image and exposeing the digital element of the performance. in terms of physical tech that was the only real fault there and given that this utelises a larger projection then we've ever seen we can forgive this as teething problems with the tech.

my biggest fear going into this was that they would try be clever with the camera's to show off the tech and end up exposing it and ruining the fantasy that michael was really there. but after watching it back sevral times i could not spot the projecter at all. i was however able to spot the mirror reflecting the image on the mylar but this took me sevral replays of specificly looking for it so we can say that they didnt expose it to anyone in a way that was obvious to anyone even tech geeks like me who where looking for it.

Beyond that the physical tech was impressive. it utelises tools that are beyond what we have seen before to create a full stage projection not just a performer which is a huge step forward.

Lets finish off by looking at the digital set..
All around very impressive i initially failed to spot that the set was not real (untill the mylar flexd) which shows great craftsmen ship on behalf of the people behingd this. That said i was disapointed to see that they broke the laws of physics and reality by haveing back up dancers appear and disapear in thin air. that for me was a issue. when you watch a performance like this you dont want to be reminded you are watching a digital performace you want to believ you are seeing a real live performance and sadly that illusion of a real performance was lost when michael's back up dancers began doing impossible things such as turning into plasma and vanishing and materialising out of thin air. that ruined the fantasy for me that i was seeing michael on stage again.

all around it was a amazing first step but there is work that must be done to reach the standard we expect from michael jackson and we hope that the people behind it continue to develop it and ultimately come up with a experience that is realistic to the point it is totally undetectable that michael is not actually there in front of you. however i will give a huge nod to this in that they showed michael performing a song that he had never performed live so they had no preset as to how michael would move to yet yet they accomplish a performance and choreography that michael would have approved of i think at least

the system used to create the performance


https://www.facebook.com/notes/kevi...-a-tech-geek-review/10152176244787462?fref=nf

 

[L.T.D]

I don't know, things such as the sidewalk being the wrong way make me think an impersonator was definitely used, it's just too easy of a thing to miss.

 

[donalb]

Although it is good to see the concern on both sides about this issue, I do feel that some people are taking things a bit far. It was a one-off performance at an awards show. That's it. People didn't pay any money for this. It was done for entertainment purposes only. Was it entertaining? YES Could it have been executed better? YES. DId it do any harm to Michael's legacy? NO. It's best to keep things in perspective

 

[L.T.D]

Although it is good to see the concern on both sides about this issue, I do feel that some people are taking things a bit far. It was a one-off performance at an awards show. That's it. People didn't pay any money for this. It was done for entertainment purposes only. Was it entertaining? YES Could it have been executed better? YES. DId it do any harm to Michael's legacy? NO. It's best to keep things in perspective

Honestly, I'd be completely fine with it if they weren't trying to tell me there was no impersonator involved. If I were trying to do this sort of thing, I'd be studying Michael's dance moves as much as possible and it literally takes a minute to go on youtube and check which way he did the sidewalk. Things like that definitely make me think an impersonator was used. If an impersonator wasn't used and the entire thing is just like a computer game then I am amazed it looks EXACTLY like human movement but at the same time I have to question how they can miss something like the direction of the sidewalk.

I usually trust my instincts on this sort of thing and I'm convinced an impersonator was used for the movements and the dance moves, I just wish they would admit it rather than insult my intelligence again.

 

[Bubs]

I don't know, things such as the sidewalk being the wrong way make me think an impersonator was definitely used, it's just too easy of a thing to miss.

I was thinking mirror image, which could explain it.

 

[LastTear]

I understand what you are saying, but I don't know where the line goes for hyping too much, or not hyping enough?
They couldn't advertise this happening something like this: "History in making, MJ hologram, but "hard core" fans, don't het your expectations too high."
"They" possibly cannot know how much can they release "hype" so that "hard core" fans don't get overly hyped . If people had their expectations too high, it is their own fault, and they cannot handle disappointment in adult manner. This (imo) is not "their"(I assume you meant the estate and BB) fault.

I see your point, I think the making history hype was spot on, I was thinking more along the line to the hype that it was going to be as if Michael was actually there on the stage, maybe it gave some people an unrealistic expectation.

 

[L.T.D]

I was thinking mirror image, which could explain it.

The whole thing was mirror image? That would mean the rest of the performance was done the wrong way around and only the sidewalk was done right, that would further prove my point.

 

[Bubs]

Michael Jackson Google new search gave me result: About 257,000,000 results (0.17 seconds)
Prior BB awards it was about 50,000,000 and crap from Demon was on quite high.
New articles pushed Demon crap out and brought MJ and his music on front.
I say job well done, no matter what you or me think of it.

 

[MJ5]

1,5 Mio Views in one day on youtube

 

[Bubs]

The whole thing was mirror image? That would mean the rest of the performance was done the wrong way around and only the sidewalk was done right, that would further prove my point.

Somebody poster earlier that spinning went to wrong direction, so that made me think, maybe at some stage there was mirror image involved. Don't read too much of it as I'm not tech savvy person.

 

[JEMFTV]

Aren't there Bad-samples in the Dancebreak?
I don't know the name of the instrument, but it sounded like the percussion in BAD.

 

[SmoothMJ]

I've found it very hard not to say this because I'll probably get in trouble a de-rail the thread, but I find that quite a sickening thing to say. One of the things I've learned in my life as an MJ fan is that the majority isn't always right and it takes courage to be in the minority speaking out against the majority, that sounds like the attitude of the mindless sheep I was surrounded with back in 2003/2005 in high school when I had to defend Michael against 'the majority'.

You may think I'm reading too much into you saying that but I do find it an odd thing to say on an MJ forum of all places, kind of bothers me.

Also within the contexts of this thread, it's clearly a sneaky dig at those who don't like it as if we are all wrong because we are in the minority. Even though I'm not quite sure we are in this forum, it's looked about 50/50 for me, I'm not bothered about what the majority opinion across the world is. I'm bothered about what true Michael Jackson fans who have studied his work and know him better than anyone else think and right now it's about 50/50 I would say.

Believe me, when I was around in 1982/83 - Thriller, and 1987-88 BAD album and tour, the 'majority' of people loved MJ.

I didn't find that "odd" at all. I quite enjoyed it.

It's nice that the feeling is returning. I like MJ being appreciated by the world, as I don't feel the need to keep him to myself.

From what I can see - and I venture outside the MJ forums often (I find it's more 'healthy'), the majority of people who have seen the BB Awards show, have praised the MJ segment.

I will admit though, if I spent all my time of this forum - and one or two threads inparticular, I could convince myself that it was "50/50".

Steady on the insults though. I wouldn't want to have to report you to Gaz. :cheeky:

 

[twinklEE]

Michael Jackson Google new search gave me result: About 257,000,000 results (0.17 seconds)
Prior BB awards it was about 50,000,000 and crap from Demon was on quite high.
New articles pushed Demon crap out and brought MJ and his music on front.
I say job well done, no matter what you or me think of it.

and THAT right there is the most important thing. I will never fault those who try to get Michael into headlines for all the right reasons.

 

[Allusio]

IMO the development of the “hologram” was way more complicated as to make impersonator dance. What I saw in the performance it was not just dancing but also gestures, movements and so on. I doubt it was made with help of impersonator … it was drawn (if I may say so) from Michael, I do see moves from different Michael’s videos and performances. I think they did GREAT job in combining things together and most important in looking through the videos for necessary information. And when it looks “wrong” or “different” it is a result of technical abilities of the “hologram”, IMHO.

 

[Bubs]

Believe me, when I was around in 1982/83 - Thriller, and 1987-88 BAD album and tour, the 'majority' of people loved MJ.

I didn't find that "odd" at all. I quite enjoyed it.

It's nice that the feeling is returning. I like MJ being appreciated by the world, as I don't feel the need to keep him to myself.

From what I can see - and I venture outside the MJ forums often (I find it's more 'healthy'), the majority of people who have seen the BB Awards show, have praised the MJ segment.

I will admit though, if I spent all my time of this forum - and one or two threads inparticular, I could convince myself that it was "50/50".

Steady on the insults though. I wouldn't want to have to report you to Gaz. :cheeky:

The bolded part is something that I myself think quite often. Some fans are like they own Michael and only their opinion of how MJ legacy should be handled matters.
I don't think Michael's legacy would live very long if these possessive (too harsh?) fans were the ones to handle his estate. We would be listening leaked songs that some fan managed to fish out god knows where, in private boards, listening their versions of leaked songs (see footnote) and I definitely would be bored stiff

If MJ left his songs just perfect as some fans here claims, I don't know why these very same fans are even trying to make any other variations of them? Seemingly it is ok for fans to do what ever they like, but when the estate gives songs to La Read to contemporise them, these fans getting all upset for something they themselves are doing and have been doing for years :scratch:
i

 

[L.T.D]

Steady on the insults though. I wouldn't want to have to report you to Gaz. :cheeky:

Didn't insult you at all so there's nothing to report to Gaz :bored: I had a problem with what you said and told you what it reminded me of. I can't say the same about you though 'and I venture outside the MJ forums only (I find it's more 'healthy'), that could very easily be taken the wrong way....I'm sure you weren't intending to say I'm unhealthy for only coming here though right? :cheeky: I know it's eating you alive that some of us don't like it but please lay off the little digs you keep making, you try to say them in a clever way so it doesn't come across as a dig but it's easily noticeable in your posts.

As I said, I value the opinion of all of the MJ fans here way more than anyone outside of the Michael Jackson community when it comes to something Michael related. How could you not? If it's 50/50 here I consider it 50/50. The general public will not be anywhere near as familiar with Michael's look, his movements and dance moves as we are so they don't have much to compare it to.

If I saw a hologram (or whatever it was) of Elvis, I'd probably be impressed to! But then you could have a load of Elvis fans who are not impressed with it because they know his work a lot better than me. Whose opinion are you going to value more, the Elvis fan or mine? I dislike the 'hologram' but would of accepted it had they not lied to us and told us an impersonator was not involved when an impersonator was clearly used for his movements and dance moves. If not, then I dislike the laziness in not doing the necessary research to see the sidewalk was done in the other direction. I don't like being lied to or having my intelligence insulted as a fan who has studied his work since I was 11 years old when they tell me an impersonator was not used. If they can offer me a better explanation I would love to hear it! But so far all I've heard is they are staying 'tight lipped' on how it was done and saying it was 'magic'! Just like Michael eh All about magic! How convenient! It's like something you would tell a child to cover it up, I'm surprised more people aren't annoyed about that.

At the end of the day, I like to think I'm objective of this entire thing. I like some parts of the album, I don't like other parts but overall I'm happy with it, I'm not someone with an 'agenda' who dislikes everything post 2009. I loved This is It, hated Michael, I love parts of Xscape, I disliked the 'hologram'. I promised myself I would give the estate another chance after Michael and would buy and support 'Xscape' if I liked it, which I have done. I just don't want my intelligence insulted any further is all.

 

[SmoothMJ]

I'm not sure how people can be objective, if they only take the opinion of a few dozen regular posters on one site into account.

Forums attract, in the main, people who are opinionated - yes I am one of them. There are many millions of fans who neve bother to visit this, or any other forum. They like his music, they buy his music. They just aren't interested in discussing everything in minute detail. These people's thoughts and opinions should not be excluded just because they don't want (or have the time) to spend all of their time on forums.

One final note. Forums are a good way of getting an inflated opinion of one's self, and one's views. Again, I know this from experience.:cheeky: They don't speak for everybody though. They don't even speak for the majority of MJ fans.

 

[L.T.D]

I'm not sure how people can be objective, if they only take the opinion of a few dozen regular posters on one site into account.

Forums attract, in the main, people who are opinionated - yes I am one of them. There are many millions of fans who neve bother to visit this, or any other forum. They like his music, they buy his music. They just aren't interested in discussing everything in minute detail. These people's thoughts and opinions should not be excluded just because they don't want (or have the time) to spend all of their time on forums.

One final note. Forums are a good way of getting an inflated opinion of one's self, and one's views. Again, I know this from experience.:cheeky: They don't speak for everybody though. They don't even speak for the majority of MJ fans.

I'm not sure how people can be objective, if they only take the opinion of a few dozen regular posters on one site into account.

I'm not sure I get you. I'm objective in my opinion, meaning I don't let things from the past such as the 'Michael' album affect my opinion of the stuff coming out now......otherwise I'd hate the Xscape album most likely. My opinion isn't based in any way on what others think of it.

If you want to take it outside the forum then I can also say that so far from what I've read from MJ fans outside the forum, it's more negative there as well. That's people on Facebook (not just my facebook but posting publicly), youtube comments, twitter. I don't know what you've been reading but so far from what I've seen it's more negative. More people dislike it than like it from what I've read so far to be honest with you.

I've just looked at the youtube comments from the official Vevo video, and out of all the top comments only TWO are positive and there's about 20 or so on the first page. Take a look at it, and I'd be interested to see where you're reading all of these positive reviews from the 'majority' of Michael Jackson fans. I've personally read a lot of talk about it not looking like him, the dancing isn't that tight etc. etc. Any positive comments I've read are about the other dancers and the illusion in general as opposed to the impersonator.

I've seen positive reports from news sites, and a few people on facebook, twitter and youtube.....but way more negative reviews. To be honest. You can go and take a look for yourself if you really want to, you might say you find a lot of idiots on youtube comments but there's TOO many negative responses to rule them all out as idiots. I'm not sure how you can argue back with this to be honest, I've looked all over social media and I can honestly say it's more negative responses than positive.

 

[Allusio]

I've looked all over social media and I can honestly say it's more negative responses than positive.

We are probably looking on different facebook and YouTube !

 

[L.T.D]

We are probably looking on different facebook and YouTube !

Well as I said, I'm reading through all of the comments on the official Vevo video and the comments on my facebook are just general comments from people that have been posted publicly.

 

[Tony R]

Only seen it once but I loved it.

What were you expecting - another performance from the Bad tour? Sorry, it ain't gonna happen. I thought they chose a great era, reminded me of Black or White at MTV 25.

Much like watching 24 or Finding Nemo, you have to suspend your disbelief for a few minutes & just imagine. Yes, an impersonator may have been involved.

But remember Man In The Mirror finale on the Dangerous Tour? Well, kids, I got news for you...that wasn't MJ flying over your heads at the end and I don't remember any big disclaimer or people complaining!!

MJ = magic. He'd have loved it.

 

[L.T.D]

Only seen it once but I loved it.

What were you expecting - another performance from the Bad tour? Sorry, it ain't gonna happen. I thought they chose a great era, reminded me of Black or White at MTV 25.

Much like watching 24 or Finding Nemo, you have to suspend your disbelief for a few minutes & just imagine. Yes, an impersonator may have been involved.

But remember Man In The Mirror finale on the Dangerous Tour? Well, kids, I got news for you...that wasn't MJ flying over your heads at the end and I don't remember any big disclaimer or people complaining!!

MJ = magic. He'd have loved it.

That's a bit different, MJ had just been performing for real for 2 hours before that. He used an impersonator for the end of Thriller on tour as well but he performed for real, before and after that.

I don't like that people keep saying Michael would have loved it either, he didn't even love his own performance on Motown 25 so I doubt he would like an impersonator performing all of his moves terribly and being passed off as him when it's an impersonator.

 

[Allusio]

Well as I said, I'm reading through all of the comments on the official Vevo video and the comments on my facebook are just general comments from people that have been posted publicly.

Don’t worry, I believe youProbably I was lucky to see more positive ones on the pages I've read.

 

[Tony R]

That's a bit different, MJ had just been performing for real for 2 hours before that. He used an impersonator for the end of Thriller on tour as well but he performed for real, before and after that.

I don't like that people keep saying Michael would have loved it either, he didn't even love his own performance on Motown 25 so I doubt he would like an impersonator performing all of his moves terribly and being passed off as him when it's an impersonator.

He didn't use an impersonator on Thriller & MITM cos he was tired! He did it for the illusion, for the spectacle, for the showmanship, for the disbelief, to see that shocked look on people's faces that means 'I can't believe what I am seeing'.

Sunday night got the same reaction.

And yes, he'd have loved it.

 

[Allusio]

That's a bit different, MJ had just been performing for real for 2 hours before that. He used an impersonator for the end of Thriller on tour as well but he performed for real, before and after that.

I don't like that people keep saying Michael would have loved it either, he didn't even love his own performance on Motown 25 so I doubt he would like an impersonator performing all of his moves terribly and being passed off as him when it's an impersonator.

That is a bit different too. Michael is gone and can’t perform. Yes, he didn’t like his performance on Motown 25 … But IMHO it is not like if Michael was in the audience he would love it … NO WAY !!! The result would be totaly different, I guess.
But IMHO from somewhere wherever he is now – he loves the IDEA!

 

[L.T.D]

That is a bit different too. Michael is gone and can’t perform. Yes, he didn’t like his performance on Motown 25 … But IMHO it is not like if Michael was in the audience he would love it … NO WAY !!!
But IMHO from somewhere wherever he is now – he loves the IDEA!

I don't think he'd want the whole thing done with an impersonator but that's just me, or he would at least want a better impersonator used.

He didn't use an impersonator on Thriller & MITM cos he was tired! He did it for the illusion, for the spectacle, for the showmanship, for the disbelief, to see that shocked look on people's faces that means 'I can't believe what I am seeing'.

Sunday night got the same reaction.

And yes, he'd have loved it.

I didn't say it's because he was tired. What I mean is it didn't matter that he used an impersonator then because the people had seen him perform for real for 2 hours before that.

I disagree he would of loved it, please don't tell me that as if it's a fact because it's not.

 

[Tony R]

I don't think he'd want the whole thing done with an impersonator but that's just me, or he would at least want a better impersonator used.



I didn't say it's because he was tired. What I mean is it didn't matter that he used an impersonator then because the people had seen him perform for real for 2 hours before that.

I disagree he would of loved it, please don't tell me that as if it's a fact because it's not.

99% stuff written on forums is opinion. We don't have to precede every message with 'in my opinion...'

But if it makes you feel better...'in my opinion, he'd have loved it'.

 

[Pimboli]

i think Michael would have loved the idea of the hologram and the magic it could create. However, being the perfectionist he was, i dont think he'd be satisfied with the finished stage show.

 

[L.T.D]

99% stuff written on forums is opinion. We don't have to precede every message with 'in my opinion...'

But if it makes you feel better...'in my opinion, he'd have loved it'.

Yeah I've heard people say that a lot, but still sometimes certain things people say come across like they're stating it as a fact. That was one example.

 

[Allusio]

I don't think he'd want the whole thing done with an impersonator but that's just me, or he would at least want a better impersonator used.

Yes, he would love it ALL to be better, no doubts. With impersonator or without.

The result is not the best of the best but it is just a start … they will improve it.

Even the result we see now – is fine for the audience, IMO.