The Future of Entertainment Could be Its History
As a young teenager in the early 1980’s, I embarked on a European trip with a school group one summer. The 3 week trip was to spend a majority of time in our ancestral homeland of Croatia (part of Yugoslavia at the time), along with stops in Italy, Austria and Slovenia. My preparations were mainly confined to the usual types of activities for a trip of this sort… getting a passport, buying a brand new Samsonite suitcase, and stocking up on lots of extra socks and underwear. I did however allow myself one indulgence that was reflective of the time: a brand new Sony Walkman! My Walkman was to be an essential companion on this trip, allowing me to listen to the myriad of Rock and Roll cassettes I was stuffing in my Samsonite.
As musical tastes go, I had just started listening to the music of the late 60’s…Classic Rock, as it is known now…and I was particularly drawn to the music of Jimi Hendrix. In my eyes, Hendrix was (and still is) the ultimate “Rock God.” His guitar playing was sublime and ground-breaking. His live performances, such as at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 and Woodstock in 1969, are legendary. One of my favorite cassettes at the time, was in fact, The Jimi Hendrix Concerts, a double album of live tracks that captured Hendrix at his transcendent best. I remember listening to the songs, wishing I was born 20 years earlier, so that I could have had the opportunity of experiencing Jimi playing live. (Hendrix died in Sept 1970, the same year I was born).
Fast forward from the cassette age (pun intended) to the present and I still find myself listening to the same music and still wishing I could experience the music live. So when I recently heard about a company called BASE Hologram, that is creating “live” music performances using holograms of long dead music icons, my interest was naturally piqued. These holograms are not like the blue tinted, shimmering Princess Leia from Star Wars. BASE Hologram and other hologram companies like it, use body doubles and archival footage, coupled with state-of-the-art digital technology to painstakingly produce incredibly life-like, natural 3 dimensional holograms. So life-like in fact, that several of these hologram companies have been sponsoring tours of dead celebrities, where the holograms “perform” with a real band or orchestra for a live audience. Even rappers are getting into the act, with Tupac famously making an appearance at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival…15 years after his death!
To me, these holographic tours and shows have only a limited allure. While the concept of seeing long-dead entertainers “performing” may be novel, these shows are still delivered through a concert-going experience with all associated costs and (some might say) inconveniences. Ticket costs for an upcoming Roy Orbison Hologram Tour in the UK cost over $75! That cost is inline with an actual, live concert. Will consumers pay that to see a hologram? Sure, some fans may, but probably only once. These performances may have a very limited shelf life. Other hologram companies are embracing the theater model, challenging traditional movie theaters for our entertainment hearts and dollars, with hologram based shows.
While hologram events represent an interesting evolution of an augmented reality experience, I can’t help thinking the idea is somewhat unoriginal. The coupling of live music events, with a high tech 3D hologram performer is an anachronistic mashup that reminds me of the old, silent movies that used a live orchestra to provide musical accompaniment. Once the technology of the time evolved to talking movies, the silent film / live orchestra events essentially died out. The same could happen with these hologram shows.
The concept of merging concerts with virtual reality, however, offers a more tantalizing appeal. It should be no surprise then that events like these are already happening, with VR providing enhanced experiences to current, live events. Imagine, however, a virtual reality experience, transporting a user to a past event. An immersive experience, replicated from a historic concert, could put users in the front row or backstage to events long since passed. Through VR, the sights, sounds and emotions look and feel real. This transforms the concert experience for music lovers, all from the comfort of home…or wherever they chose to watch.
Don’t like the virtual concert concept, then what about a hologram, rendered through an augmented reality device, coupled with a soundtrack, that performs at your next house party or picnic? A portable 3D holographic performance, reproduced exactly from video footage, adds a level of depth and realism needed to take this technology, and possibly the music industry, to the next level. Obvious legal hurdles, such as a recent lawsuit around the Roy Orbison tour, would need to be addressed. But, as these legal questions and licensing conflicts get resolved, the technology will trigger all manner of prospective uses.
Admittingly, not everyone has the same level of interest in music. On top of that, viewing historical concerts and classic performers will most likely have even less of an audience (pun, once again, intended). Music has become a “mobile accompaniment” that we listen to while we work, exercise or drive, often in snip-its. So, the attraction and entertainment value of holographic and virtual replications may only be limited to those of certain age ranges and generations. However, for those of us with an emotional attachment to music, this opens the door to a new experience that hasn’t been possible before.
As the current hologram and virtual reproduction processes mature, it will become less time consuming and less costly to create these historical replicas. This, in turn, will extend the possibilities to all sorts of other spectator events. For many people, sporting events create visceral responses that people fondly member and, often time, yearn to relive. Want to experience what it was like to be on the sidelines for Super Bowl I, sit ringside for Ali vs Fraser, or see Hank Aaron’s 715th Home Run from the dugout? As long as video footage exists, the exact event will be reproducible in virtual or holographic reality. The NBA is already exploring ways to use augmented reality to make games more engaging. Likewise, the recent NCAA Men’s Basketball provided the ability to watch the action in virtual reality. Given the nascent nature of this merger of sports and mixed reality technology, it’s only a matter of time before compellingly realistic reproductions evolve.
Mixed reality technology is also being utilized for all manner of significant historical or cultural events. With these historic replications, the implications of this tech extend beyond just the entertainment value of spectator events. For example, in August 1963, the March on Washington featured Dr Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, a pivotal point in American history. How amazing would it be to create a virtual experience that could transport classrooms of children into the crowd on that day? Or, what about seeing President Ronald Reagan imploring Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” on your next vacation to Berlin? By combining the real and the virtual, past events can be brought to life with a vibrancy and relevance not previously imagined! History could be augmented by reliving it.
Virtual and augmented reality are now only beginning to reach into our lives. As these technologies become more mainstream and omnipresent, they will not only impact entertainment, recreation and education, but will undoubtedly change society and our perceptions of it. Those of us from the Cassette Generation may recall the question “Is it live, or is it Memorex?” The question now might very well be “Is it real, or is it virtual?” As VR goggles and AR devices become the Walkmans of the future, they may end up transforming the definition of reality itself.
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