Japan’s newest singing sensation is a… Hologram. No, that’s not a typo! It’s amazing where technology is headed these days! Over in Japan Cryton Future Media is actually starting projector concerts using a actual live band to compliment their virtual vocaloid idols like Hatsune Miku. Regardless of being a Hatsune Miku fan or not, just seeing what technology can accomplish is just amazing. While this technically isn’t a ‘true’ hologram (one where light actually takes up volumetric space rather than just a planar surface) like the one we’ve all seen of in Star Wars, it is still nevertheless quite impressive how real this appears!
According to SingularityHub, Hatsune Miku is a based off of the singing synthesizer application developed by Crypton Future Media. Miku’s voice comes from Yamaha’s Vocaloid synthesizing technology and is sampled off of a real person’s voice–Japanese actress (but not singer) Saki Fujita. Regular, technologically-inclined users (such as yourselves) can purchase the Vocaloid software with an avatar (such as Miku) for 15,750 yen (about $190), and create their own songs to share with others. The software is reportedly rather in-depth and allows users to connect vocals note-by-note.
Amazing!
This is just the next logical step for the Japanese seeing how many Japanese really do not want real world relationships.
Why would they want physical flaws in their idols and watch them age and then have to adopt new ones when they can just make them and they stay between 13 and 19 forever?
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The robot came and left us without a job and now a hologram is going to leave us speechless.
Didn’t Disney perfect this exact same thing in their Haunted House back in to 1950’s or 60’s? This is just Pepper’s Ghost (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepper's_Ghost) driven by a computer animation.
Ya, but it’s real cute.
An “entertainment industry” corporate fantasy. Lots of adoring fans, no human-needs artists. It’s the execs’ plastic fantastic lover.
I don’t get the whole J-Music thing. Lot of extraordinary musicians playing perfect music with absolutely no emotion at all. This just kicks it up a notch.
Off topic some maybe, but; this is the future of many “christian” churches too.
New “Christian” churches now look more like concert amphitheaters, putting on a performance with theatrical lighting and many now just have a big TV projection of a virtual “pastor” extolling how connected he is to his flock.
No point to going out of you house any more except to work.
Prince Charles was the first to do it during a speech in ’08.
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky-News-Archive/Article/20080641301500
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmSoLpzhqUk
The technology is cool but using it to replace people, seems very Asian and as typical, very conformist. Although American’s also have their own cartoon idols, Walt Disney, Macy’s Thanksgiving day parade; it doesn’t seem to be on this level.
This is just another part of the whole “idol” system Japanese music has – a lot of style but nothing real. There are some real artists (Gackt, Ali Project, etc.) that have found success, but the system of cranking out girls who look good singing and dancing on stage for a few years then swapping them out has worked pretty well for them. This is just replacing a level of unpredictability, the human element.
The book ‘Little Heroes’ by Norman Spinrad takes this concept a bit further. Recommended read.
Best part of the whole video is the modified Charlston that “She” breaks into at about 1:46
What would be cool, if it glitched and window blue screen of death appeared!