傑克遜幻影回歸 復活演出或將興起

來源：MJJCN.com 作者：Keen
 

 

2014年5月27日 - 終極的演藝業又回來了，一次電腦製作的復活，將那個永遠沒有長大的男孩從墳墓裡帶回了人間，英國《周日電訊》報導說。

在他去世五年後，一個數字重造的邁克爾·傑克遜（Michael Jackson）在前一周的公告牌音樂獎上奪走了所有人的眼球，他歌唱、他舞蹈、他以熟悉的方式邁著太空步劃過舞臺。

這個4分鐘的表演中，是一個特別讓人信服的幻影在舞動，它或許是用最新的突破性真人動畫製作而成，包括視覺特效和表情建模，並結合了19世紀就有魔術師採用的技藝。

但並非只有流行音樂之王會由此永生。在重造他的技術通過了第一次“現場”大檢驗後，其他很多去世的明星也可能很快將重現舞臺。其他人的遺產委員會也在考慮一起創造一個由過世明星表演和巡演所組成的世界。

“已經有十多個過世明星的遺產管理委員會在聯繫我們，一些世界上最大的場館也非常有興趣用這種技術來開演唱會，”脈衝進化公司（Pulse Evolution）主席約翰·泰科斯特（John Textor）說，正是他的數位特效公司將MJ帶回了舞臺。

他拒絕透露具體是哪些明星，但業內已經在風傳法蘭克·辛納屈（Frank Sinatra）、“貓王”艾維斯（Elvis Presley）等人可能將重回人間。

這樣的巡演，具有巨大的商業潛力。根據估計，數位虛擬的邁克爾·傑克遜舉行為期兩年的世界巡演的話，可能可以賺進5億美元。之前他的哥哥傑梅恩（Jermaine）就曾說過，兄弟們已經在開始為新音樂工作了。這或許是在暗示新的巡演。

代理瑪麗蓮·夢露（Marilyn Monroe）和詹姆斯·迪恩（James Dean）的CMG世界公司的創始人馬克·洛斯勒（Mark Roesler）說，他的公司也在商談幾個類似的項目，包括計畫在拉斯維加斯和倫敦舉辦貝蒂·佩姬（Bette Page）的全息演出。

但是讓傑克遜重現舞臺的新技術，則引領了未來“死人現場演出”的未來。儘管有一些報導將傑克遜重現稱之為“全息”，但這個技術並不真正有全息技術參與，它只是使用了光的投影，在一個二維的表面創造出了一個三維的影像。

脈衝公司的團隊在八個月前就開始為傑克遜幻象工作，創造了一個穿著金色夾克的1991年形象的傑克遜，期間經過了漫長而全面的動畫過程。表情建模專家和之前的傑克遜合作者們攜手，包括哪些曾經和傑克遜一起巡演過的伴舞，以此來打造他的形象，用電腦代碼來複製他的頭髮、皮膚和表情。他們甚至研究了他唱歌時脖子韌帶的變化。

在這個演出中，六個超強投影儀高掛在舞臺上方，向下面一塊傾斜的反射塑膠板上投射“虛擬傑克遜”的高清片段。

從那裡，錄影彈射回觀眾看到的表面，讓他們感覺傑克遜就在他們面前的舞臺上重生。這個技術源自古老的魔術，名為“佩珀爾幻象”，在那種魔術中，玻璃和特殊的光被用來折射觀眾看不到來源的影像。

傑克遜在公告牌音樂獎上的幻影表演，在舞臺上的現場舞者的幫助下得以加強。他們穿行在傑克遜的前後，完成了當晚充滿神奇魔術感的奇觀演出。

“在現場環境中體驗邁克爾·傑克遜非常重要，”約翰·布蘭卡（John Branca）說，他是遺產管理人，並委託開發了這個數字幻影。“我們想要在現場觀眾前呈現現場表演。”

傑克遜已經是世界上收入最高的過世名人，根據最近《福布斯》雜誌的估算，他已為他的遺產受益人又帶來了1.6億美元的收入。

這場演出展現了他經久不衰的吸引力。電視收視率高達1050萬人，是13年來的最高。而且還有無數人在網上收看。在後來的社交媒體瘋狂大討論中，有一些人抱怨說重造這個過世巨星，顯得很“詭異”，舞步也沒有傑克遜當年那麼好，不過，這個演出總體上還是受到了人們的好評。

“當一切彙聚到一起時，真的讓我起雞皮疙瘩了，感覺太真實了，”脈衝公司的首席執行官弗蘭克·派特森（Frank Patterson）說，“我們和那些非常瞭解邁克爾的人一起合作，包括他的親人和他的朋友們，當他們開始哭泣時，我們就知道我們做對了。然後我們也都開始哭起來。”

他們並非是那天晚上唯一被感動的人。當晚在公告牌音樂獎上有20個活著的A級巨星表演，但只有去世的傑克遜讓觀眾臣服。傑克遜“表演”的歌曲，恰好叫做《節奏奴隸》（Slave to the Rhythm），來自新專輯《逃脫》（Xscape），一張用之前未發行素材打造的遺作專輯。

（編譯：Keen 來源：MJJCN.com / 電訊報）

Michael Jackson's 'return to life' puts dollar signs in the eyes of concert promoters

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/michael-jackson/10854134/Michael-Jacksons-return-to-life-puts-dollar-signs-in-the-eyes-of-concert-promoters.html

 

By Philip Sherwell, New York

Michael Jackson's "return" last week – a remarkably convincing illusion made possible by the latest breakthroughs in human animation, visual effects and facial modelling – dazzled the audience, writes Philip Sherwell. But it is not just the King of Pop who may now live on forever

 

It was the ultimate showbusiness comeback, a computer-generated resurrection that brought the boy who never grew up back from the grave.

Five years after his death, a digitally-recreated Michael Jackson stole the show at last week's Billboard music awards as he sang, danced and moonwalked across the stage in familiar fashion.

The four-minute performance was a remarkably convincing illusion made possible by the latest breakthroughs in human animation, visual effects and facial modelling, combined with techniques first pioneered by 19th century magicians.

But it is not just the King of Pop who may now live on forever. With the techniques that recreated him having now passed their first major "live" performance test, numerous other dead stars may soon be on stage again as the executors for their estates eye up a world of posthumous performances, shows and tours.

"We have already heard from about the estates of about a dozen iconic performers and some of the biggest venues in the world who are interested in staging concerts and shows using this technology," John Textor, chairman of Pulse Evolution, the digital effects company that put Jackson back on stage, told The Sunday Telegraph.

He declined to identify particular celebrities, but the industry is already abuzz with speculation that the likes of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley could appear in lifelike form once again.

The potential revenues for such tours are huge. It is estimated that a two-year world tour featuring the digital Michael Jackson could rake in half a billion dollars. In a sign that a tour is already in the works, his 59-year-old sibling, Jermaine, said that the brothers who once formed the Jackson 5 were working on a new music together.

Mark Roesler, the founder of CMG Worldwide, which represents late celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and James Dean, said that his company was also in discussions about several similar projects, including plans to stage a show in Las Vegas and London featuring a hologram version of Bette Page, the former American model known as the "Queen of Pinups".

"This is an incredibly exciting time," he said. "We are talking about bring back to life some of the greatest personalities we have known, people who had an enormous impact on the world."

Technological gimmicks and holograms have increasingly been used to resurrect dead stars in films and commercials, while computer-generated imagery has been used to complete filming when actors die during a production.

But the new technology that brought the crowd to their feet for the virtual Michael Jackson heralds a future for onstage "live" performances by the dead. Despite several reports referring to the re-creation as a hologram, the technique does not actually involve holography, which uses projections of light to create the appearance of a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional surface.

Instead, the team at Pulse began eight months ago with a computer-generated version of a gold-jacketed Jackson circa 1991 which was then the subject of a lengthy and comprehensive animation process.

Facial modelling experts worked with former Jackson collaborateurs, including the choreographers who toured with him, to develop the likeness, writing computer code to replicate his hair, skin, and facial expressions. They even noted the patterns of the ligaments in his neck as he sang.

For the show, six high-powered projectors hung were over the stage to direct the high-resolution footage of the virtual Jackson down to a tilted piece of clear reflective plastic.

From there, the video bounced off the surface towards the audience, giving the impression that Jackson was on stage in front of them. The technique is drawn from an old magician's trick called Pepper's ghost, in which plate glass and special lighting is used to reflect images for viewers who cannot see the source.

The Jackson illusion for the Billboard show was reinforced by the use of live dancers on stage, apparently passing behind and in front of the star, completing a spectacular night of smoke and mirrors.

"It's so important to experience Michael Jackson in a live setting," said John Branca, the estate executor who commissioned the digital illusion. "We wanted a live performance in front of a live audience.''

Jackson is already the world's highest-earning dead celebrity, bringing in an $160 million for his beneficiaries, according the most recent Forbes survey.

The show illustrated his enduring appeal. The television broadcast attracted 10.5 million viewers, its highest rating for 13 years, and millions more have watched online. In the subsequent social media frenzy, some complained that the re-creation of the late star was by its very nature "creepy", and that the dance moves fell short of the real thing, but the performance was generally well-received.

"When this all came together, it really gave me the chills, it felt so real," said Frank Patterson, Pulse's chief executive. "We worked with people who knew Michael really well, his family and friends, and when they started to cry, we knew we'd got it right. And then we all started to cry."

They were not the only ones moved that night. There were nearly 20 living A-list stars performing at the Billboard awards, but it was the dead Jackson who brought the audience to their feet. Appropriately, the performance included Slave to the Rhythm from Xscape, a new posthumous album of previously unreleased recordings.