WARNING, Explicit lyrics. View at your own risk.
WARNING, Explicit lyrics. View at your own risk.
"My only fear in death is comin' back, reincarnated" - Tupac Shakur, from the album 'R U Still Down (Remember Me)'
It is said, “Only the good die young.” Tupac Shakur is arguably one of the greatest rappers of all time, and at 26 years old, he died far too young. His friends and fan base has had a hard time letting go, and almost 16 years after Tupac’s death, they have brought him back.
The company AV Concepts worked alongside James Cameron’s Digital Domain, London’s Musion, and rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg to bring the ill fated Tupac, rather Makaveli, to the Coachella festival stage, live in 3D. Digital Domain and AV Concepts took video samples from Tupac’s past concerts along with CGI to create the “new” stage performance. The company Musion gave the show the holographic effect.
Musion employed a gimmick called “Pepper’s Ghost,” where mirrors are used to reflect an image onto a glass plane in another area. Instead of glass, Musion created a special reflective foil to take the idea to a higher quality level, dubbing it “Eyeliner.” The results were so believable that onstage during a rendition of “2 of america’s most wanted,” the life-size 3D Tupac looked almost real next to Snoop Dogg.
Tupac and Snoop, live at Coachella (via AV Concepts)
AV Concepts president Nick Smith, “This show was by far one of the most exciting yet challenging projects we have ever worked on. A highly choreographed, live, outdoor holographic production of this magnitude with hundreds of thousands of people watching gave us the added incentive, and pressure, to deliver.”
This is the first time that a deceased celebrity was brought “back to life.” Surely not the last time this technology will be employed. It is safe to say, the Tupac projection looks more realistic than Miku.
Cabe