Digital reflection for Jan. 27th

Way back when we just began thinking about new media, I mentioned Vocaloid hologram concerts. This took us into a discussion about the movie “Pixel Perfect” and how not that long ago, no one was thinking that a hologram singer could be possible but it did make for a nice fantastical movie.

Now, Japan has been hosting holographic live concerts since 2009. Vocaloid originated as a computer program where people can write songs and have it sung by the computer. Each character has there own personalities, voice actor/actress, and style which gave it the perfect opportunity to evolve into something like hologram concerts.

If I were to say anything on whether or not I think this is “good” new media, I definitely think this is a step in the right direction. This is a pretty interesting thing to have created but it’s heavily fan based so unless you’re interested in Vocaloid itself, you probably wouldn’t be interested in hologram concerts starring robotic sounding rainbow haired Japanese girls. But even so, I’m glad to see some “physical” new media.

There’s still much that can be done to enhance this method of performance. As we go into the future, our capabilities in media will inevitably increase to a point where a better hologram system will be possible and perhaps even become a wide-spread thing. I am looking forward to holographic concerts in America but hopefully they’re just as good as the ones in Japan. I feel as though we as a country have been falling behind in the technology department so I’m excited to see the progress we’ll be making to catch up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqJgwYSh4Co&list=PL00gPR4m6gWl2csqBYTrQOBansYzTUvz4