Clone Yourself! Because Now It’s Easy
Where are selfies headed in 2018? So far, we’ve had “planned candid” natural shots and selfie sticks. The pouty ‘duck face’, #iwokeuplikethis, belfies (butt selfies) and even divorce selfies have been fads. Now, the Doob company, has a new take on selfie culture that’s seeping into our real-world lives. They are making it possible to create real life ‘3D selfies’ you can hold in your hand.
Straight Out Of The Wax Museum?
Most millennials (and more of their parents) feel empowered glamming up digital portraits. They are doing this on apps like Facetune 2. Why not add the eyes you should have been born with? Bring back the white teeth you had before coffee became a habit. Vanish wrinkles and blemishes too. But why not take selfies to the next level? Go and photograph yourself from many angles to create a 3D selfie. Freeze yourself as you are today, forever.
This desire has early adopters commissioning “creepily accurate” 3D replicas of themselves, much like the celebs at Madame Tussaud’s. People are stepping into “dooblicator’”photo booths in 10 major cities all over the world. These machines photograph their face and body from 60 angles. The result? A mini-clone looking authentically like them. You can go in clothed or unclothed! Turn into a mini-statue alone, with friends, or even take pets on your trip to 3D-printed glory.
Reincarnated By Technology
A photographic technique borrowed from film and video gaming helps create these ‘selfie figurines’. Doobs first appeared in Germany, in 2014. Then, software experts were working on 3D-printed custom facial implants for stroke patients. They only branched out into 3D selfie figurines on a whim. Doob uses “photogrammetry” technology to stitch images of clients into high-resolution 3D files. 3D printers then build a statuette from the bottom up.
Although Doob’s creators want to distance themselves from selfie culture, the similarities stand out. Commissioning 3D replicas of yourself feels like an extension of selfie editing. Both are about controlling how you present yourself to others. We want approval from others and this drives interest in better selfies and 3D ‘selfie models’ too.
Narcissism, But Art
Paying for self-statuettes is a dream for narcissists who want to feel like art for US $100. Serious egocentrics with money to burn can even get a life-sized art version. But Michael Anderson, Doob CEO, disagrees. “On the superficial level, doob seems like a product for a narcissist. But the brand is the exact opposite of what is happening now in photography. I am thinking of filters and retouching software. Doobs offer an unexpected level of realism. The authenticity delights and surprises people, eliciting real emotion.”
Celebrities have caught the bug. Heidi Klum filmed a visit to a doob studio as part of Germany’s Next Top Model.
The company understands that people want their doppelgangers to be just right (self love is part of the equation after all), so clients can have their pictures redone until they’re satisfied.
What does the future hold for selfies? Will we soon be able to play ourselves in our favorite video games? How about sending our clones to medical check-ups while we go out for coffee?
Where do you want to see your selfie go next?
Michael Leon
