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CG Idols - Human Not Required 359
greymond sent in a blurb about computer-generated celebrities in Japan. I'm sure a fair number of you have read Idoru... The Final Fantasy movie didn't do well, but I think it's safe to predict that eventually, computer-generated celebrities will be as numerous as live ones. There are so many advantages for the purveyors of pop culture, ranging from "never gets arrested for drunk driving" to "never demands salary increases", that I think it's inevitable.
Computer animated characters (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Computer animated characters (Score:2, Insightful)
Final Fantasy didn't die for poor graphics, it died from a poor script.
So much money, so little writing.
Re:Computer animated characters (Score:2)
The Final Fantasy movie had absolutely nothing to do with any video game, other than the title (there's not even continuitity between episodes of the video game)
Having said that, though... yes, the script was mediocre. I think that fact that it's an animated film is what killed it in the marketplace, though... outside of Japan, I just don't know if an animated film targeted at an older audience can make money. And this is coming from a huge fan of animation.
Copyright on Body Parts. (Score:3, Insightful)
It is a quick way to try to rip of someone the glamour of a well known star.
Re:Computer animated characters (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, though... I don't think it's any harder to get worked up about animated characters (human or not) than it is live actors. Many people are quite moved by books, and those characters only exist in your imagination (which arguably is a lot richer than much of the animated work being done).
One of the strengths of, for example, a Pixar movie is that the animation does just enough work to get you to suspend disbelief by providing visual hooks to real life, but the strength of the films is in the writing and in the voice acting. A good example would be a film like 'Toy Story'. Without Tom Hanks and Tim Allen doing voices, and without the realistic drama that comprised the story (remember we're suspending our disbelief that toys secretly come alive when we're not looking), the movie would just be a bunch of pretty pictures.
And that's the problem. No virtual celebrity is really anything right now without a well-acted voice. And yes, voice acting could change from real human to another real human, but would still require real humans-- a major drawback. Even so, animators will often take visual clues from the people doing the voice acting. We've got some way to go yet, but Disney has been getting us excited about (often non-human) animated characters for years and some of them are quite celebrities.
Re:Computer animated characters (Score:2, Insightful)
That has to account for some of the people that are turned off of anime by the dubbed audio. I know I have some friends who absolutely hate subtitles, since they don't read that fast anyways.
I'll be happy when dubbed anime conveys the same emotion that a live action show or movie does.
I'm saying all this because I believe that what is happening now, with completely drawn and animated shows, will carry over to the rendered and animated shows.
Perhaps when CG actors are commonplace in 'serious' shows, we will see a better attitude toward other things.
IDENTITY PROBLEM ... (Score:1)
Thus, I'm not sure we'll say goodbye to the star as we know them now so early .
How about Max Headroom? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How about Max Headroom? (Score:3, Informative)
Re: Headroom - Kabuki: CG pop-star (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:How about Max Headroom? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How about Max Headroom? (Score:2)
Re:How about Max Headroom? (Score:2)
But we like scandal! (Score:3, Funny)
box office $ come from movie stars (Score:2)
Sure, get on your high horse and say, "I don't need celebrities. I don't care if my movie stars are real humans or not!" But most people like celebrities. That's why movies are made the way they are these days.
Big studios don't take chances any more. They bet on horses that have won in the past. Some nobody from nowhere comes to them with a script that's great. Do they bank on that script, then fill it with actors? No! They find one or two or three big-name actors with star appeal, and get them in on the project. Then they screw with the script until it makes everyone's egos happy. Then they shoot the film, market the thing, and we all go and see it.
Studios do this because the know that there are millions of people infatuated with Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, et. al.. They're not infatuated with the characters these people play - they're infatuated with the actors themselves.
As long as there are people out there who made it out of Bumfuq, ND and became big-name movie stars, with the strange and unreal trials and tribulations that movie stars have, there will be celebrity fans.
Those celebrity fans dictate the movie business in every major movie-producing country. Without human star actors, there's no movie industry.
Animated celebs... (Score:5, Insightful)
And if they do make real digital celebrities, how long until grey/black market pornographic representations get loose?
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:3, Insightful)
That's a good question - they really have led the way in technology, but I think that's always been more along the lines of distribution media (8mm, VHS cassettes, CD-ROMs, Internet).
It currently costs so much money to develop a CG character (vs. paying some morally-impaired folks a few hundred bucks) that I don't see it happening any time real soon.
OTOH, I'll bet there's a point down the road where the technology has matured and it actually does become feasible to crank out virtual smut.
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:3, Interesting)
Sorry, don't have any "real" data, but I tend to catch Howard Stern on the radio quite often. He had Jenna Jamison on (is there a bigger star?). She had mentioned that stars sign package deals, maybe 100K or 150K for 2-3 movies. Figure each star is doing 10-20 movies with maybe a a couple hours of footage for each movie. Not a bad deal....
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
...crank out virtual smut.
Ah, Christian moralising from somebody calling themselves Sid Vicious.
Only available on slashdot!
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
But most people would agree to community standards when it comes to what is or isn't moral or smut. Religion doesn't directly enter into it.
Perhaps where Sid lives such visual delights are taboo. Where I live, I bet I'd be labelled at least a pr0n-hound if I got caught with media like that. Well, in the 'burbs anyway. Downtown, all bets would be off.
See, it's all relative. No big deal. And did Sid actually SAY he was OPPOSED to adult entertainment?
GTRacer
- freaky
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
That's exactly the problem - most people dont have the willpower, nerve, brains or self dignity to bother even having their own moral compass. They just say "Gee, I don't know. What does everyone else think?" and go along with the rest of the sheeple.
And did Sid actually SAY he was OPPOSED to adult entertainment?
Did I say that he did? Do I care? Are you awake? Hellooooo?
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
I'd think it would be hard to live in a group/community for any extended period of time and not have their collective values impress upon you. That's not to say they're all the same; like with any large population, there will be those in the standard deviation and there will be outliers.
Almost by definition, "community standards" are an average of individual beliefs. Some people care more than others what those averages are. As for me, I'd be thrown out of my neighborhood if my neighbors knew what I liked.
I'm still an individual despite living in a community - I just have to watch what I share with whom.
GTRacer
- still freaky
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
GTRacer
- It's the 8th letter of the alphabet
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
You should be. As long as you're paying their wages I assume they're grateful too, even if you are being a complete hypocrite
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
What you seem to have missed is the fact that Christian values, and Christian moralising remain so, even when spoken by Satan himself. It doesn't matter who says it, the words are still the same. Thus, it was Christian moralising. Was it written by a Christian? I don't know, I don't care and it doesn't matter.
Here, have a virtual clue: '*'
ps) As it seemed to have gone straight over your head, my OP was a joke pointing out the irony of the post I replied to.
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
Yeah, except that you can have computer generated characters do any twisted thing you want, even if its humanly impossible or illegal.
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:4, Informative)
There already is legislation making kiddie porn illegal even if it is just given the appearance of kiddie porn. That is, a young looking 18 year old wearing a junior high school shirt and pigtails in a pornographic act could be considered kiddie porn. I'd imagine that CG kiddie porn would fall under that.
However, not to be grotesque, but as of now, there isn't any legislation banning other kinds of CG porn. There's no reason why CG characters couldn't participate in a sexual snuff film, extreme mutilation, etc.
Fantasy/Fiction/Reality.... (Score:2, Insightful)
CG is interesting in that it opens up possibilities for stunts that humans could not attempt due to ludicrous risks. It opens up vistas on scales that can't be done well otherwise. It opens up new realities.
Interestingly, we can write in text about many very nasty things, but if we put them on the screen or on the Internet, all of a sudden they get banned. The difference between images of something or movies of same and a book describing them? Your imagination.
Somehow public standards are offended by taboo images more than taboo text. Interestingly, the CG actors and actresses could be made do things humans wouldn't or that they could be (for instance) slaughtered in stacks without the huge SFX budget that a violent movie requires (and of course, they might get away with a bit more violence because everyone knows it isn't real).
It'd be nice if societies had some sort of consistent and sane ethic. But views differ. Many folk seem to think a naked breast is the work of Lucifer, whereas having 14 year olds with firearms makes sense. Others don't want anyone carrying guns, but seem to think that adults and young teenagers making whoopee is acceptable. CG just serves to once again focus our attention on the differing values of different parts of the world. Some of the things done in a lot of Japanese Manga/Hentai just isn't allowed over-the-counter uncut here in North America.
I don't realy have a conclusion (wish I did), but it is surely one of the interesting questions about these discussions: Does it matter if the person in an image (or story, if it is text) is real or not as to how what happens to them is judged? Is virtual porn better, worse, or just the same as virtual porn? Is virtual violence better or worse or the same as real violence? Most people would probalby say real violence is worse than virtual violence. But many would probably say virtual porn is as bad as real porn.
If it all made sense, it wouldn't be half so interesting....
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2, Interesting)
However, not to be grotesque, but as of now, there isn't any legislation banning other kinds of CG porn. There's no reason why CG characters couldn't participate in a sexual snuff film, extreme mutilation, etc.
I've always considered myself to be a fairly open-minded person... but that crosses a line, I think. One part of me would vote to make CG kiddie porn as illegal as real kiddie porn... but the other (in a smaller voice) says "Why not? They're not hurting anyone by looking at CG?" Same thing goes for snuff/mutilation/other illegal nasty stuff.
I haven't been this disturbed by a comment on a slashdot story since.. er.. since ever. Thanks a lot, guys!
- dev0n
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
I remember once when I was playing a mud and one of the players said he was looking for models to set up a porn site. I said to him: why don't you try something new and ray-trace them and create a new type of porn? He answered that the thing was not original at all and several sites of that type already existed. And this was some 6 years ago....
I guess that if you're willing to waste some time looking around you can find something.
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
Does Leisure Suit Larry count?
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:5, Funny)
Hopefully, not that long.
Gwyneth, please get off of Heather Graham for a minute and please me.
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:3)
Does the porn industry already have established digital characters like this?
I don't know if they have "established digital characters", but the subject of "virtual child porn" has been discussed [slashdot.org] here before. (unforunately, the LA Times article mentioned is no longer available). Does anyone know if anything has happened in the case referenced?
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
Manips and Poser Art (Score:2)
Re:Animated celebs... (Score:2)
Digitally enhanced pornography based upon the Bladerunner universe.
It was the hit of the Sundance festival:
http://www.i-k-u.com/
A big deal because it's CG? (Score:4, Interesting)
Maybe because the line between what is real and what is not becomes blurred by CG makes this more of a story. Some could mistake Aki for a real person (in a still picture at least), but I don't think anyone would assume Buzz is real. As we head forward into more and more realistic CG, I think an effort should be made to distinguish what characters are real and what are not when blending them with live action--just for society's sanity
PS - on an unrelated note, I read that George Harrison passed away...RIP to an incredibly talented man.
Re:A big deal because it's CG? (Score:2, Insightful)
You've never asked my 2yr old son then *grin*...
Re:A big deal because it's CG? (Score:2)
Hah, true. Let me clarify that--I don't think anyone *over 7* would think Buzz is real.
The 2yr old part is fine, of course, that's the point of animated films. N
Buzz isn't real?!? (Score:2, Funny)
That's it, I am reporting you to Star Command.
Re:A big deal because it's CG? (Score:4, Funny)
Yeah, so if I set this picture [maximonline.com] as my wallpaper, my wife won't mind, right?
*ducks to avoid punch to the head*
Re:A big deal because it's CG? (Score:2, Insightful)
_-_-_
Inevitable? (Score:3, Insightful)
Are computer animated celebrities inevitable? No, I hardly think so. Likely perhaps but not inevitable.
/tangent off
Re:Inevitable? (Score:2)
And taxes, so sayeth BF.
Re:Inevitable? (Score:2)
Nothing like th real thing (Score:2)
Actually this has already happened. Take a look at Mario, Sonic, Duke, Lara Croft, Jar Jar Binks, Earthworn Jim, Buzz Light Year and son on...
But still, people will prefer real idols since most of them represent in a sense what we all want to be. When coming to idols and role models and son on theres nothing like the real thing!
Check her out (Score:5, Interesting)
Real Dolls, anyone? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Real Dolls, anyone? (Score:2)
Yuki! Marry Me! (Score:2)
CG idols have limits... (Score:2)
Re:CG idols have limits... (Score:2)
To me, that sounds like just another aspect of the Turing Test. Instead of having the tester talk with the mystery guest over a teletype, have 'em talk over a videophone. I don't really think nonverbal communication is going to be much of a hurdle, once we have verbal down.
Re:CG idols have limits... (Score:2)
Remember half the time an actor improvises and more times than not it adds to the scene... I CG character is a one shot deal with no variation in the "acting".
Terai Yuki Home Page (Score:2, Informative)
no human required? (Score:2, Informative)
Already exist - Roland Rat, Emu, Basil Brush etc (Score:5, Interesting)
There have since been many virtual stars already. Ventriloquist dummies are often stars in their own right, but Basil brush, Emu, and Roland Rat are all virtual characters that have not only had their own shows, but been interviewed as stars and so on.
The move from puppets and models to CGI is not that important.
Roland Rat was especially interesting because he didn't have a clearly identifiable human partner, but was very much a creation of the TV company.
At the end of the day, these things are all fiction. I can't really see people getting more excited about a CGI model than a furry puppet. It's also _much_ harder to use the CGI model. An interview with the virtual star would require weeks of computer work and post processing just to fit the CGI model into the normal studio shot of the interview. Not exactly spontaneous and realistic.
At least with Roland rat the guy operating him could ad-lib.
Re:Already exist - Roland Rat, Emu, Basil Brush et (Score:2)
Unless they're appearing on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. At which point they simply appear on that TV screen...
Re:Already exist - Roland Rat, Emu, Basil Brush et (Score:2)
At the end of the day, these things are all fiction.
Like it makes a difference - most of what we see from flesh and blood stars may as well be fictional. I'm as likely to have meaningful interaction with Roger Rabbit as Tyra Banks.
Final Fantasy - A disaster in some ways (Score:3, Offtopic)
"Square's CEO Quits after Poor Showing by Final Fantasy Game software maker Square announced that president and chief executive officer, Hisashi Suzuki would resign after the company reported its worst-ever loss for the first half due to a disappointing showing by its Final Fantasy The Spirits Within mo Square reported a group net loss of $106.8 million for the six months through September 30. The film has generated revenue of about $30 million in the U.S. market, well below the targeted $80 to 90 million, and interest among Japanese consumers has also been weak. The earnings news came as no surprise to the market as the company issued a profit warning last week.
Chief operating officer Yoichi Wada will take the top position on December 1, while Suzuki will remain as the chairman."
from this page. [gamasutra.com]
It's sad to see that people who worked so hard on something that was quite something technically have not succeeded, at least financially.
Technology needs to mature.. (Score:2)
I think the problem is really that the technology needs to mature. I'm a complete geek, so I was able to stay "wow'ed" for an hour and 45 minutes.
But for most folks, the "wow" wears off rather quickly, and then you're stuck with this really bizarre storyline.
Point is, I don't think all-CG movies will work unless the technology matures to the point that it's commonplace. Then, all-CG can simply be a convenient vehicle for a good movie rather than the point of the movie itself.
Re:Technology needs to mature.. (Score:2)
Star Wars is a perfect example. The technology and techniques used to make The Phantom Menace were certainly more mature than the ones that created the original Star Wars. But I haven't heard anyone claim that The Phantom Menace was a better movie.
Or think of Shrek vs. Final Fantasy. One tried for the most realistic graphics, the other had a script.
If all the "virtual celebrities" are look-alike Britney Speares clones (complete with "virtual boob jobs"), I don't think it'll really catch on. Add some variety, some depth, some creativity, and you may have something.
As far as CG stars with "virtual boob jobs," they'll really catch on in porn . . .
In the end, are people that creative? (Score:5, Interesting)
but are we really that inventive?
Starmakers give us Britney Spears. Worse, they give us Britney clone after clone after clone, at least when they're not cooking up another boy band or Country-Western Hat Act or heavy metal lizard band.
Britney Spears, yes. No Doubt, no.
Do you believe that a million CG monkeys at a million CG terminals would ever come up with a Humphrey Bogart, a Jimmy Stewart? Heck, how about an Arnold Schwartzenegger (Give it up man, with that accent, you'll never make it in movies).
Life is more creative than we are.
Thank God for that. It keeps things interesting.
Orwell was right! (Score:2, Insightful)
Actually Disney is doing this already...
1. Handsome and athletic young male leading character who doesn't resemble his ethnic character.
2. Beautiful, skinny young female love interest who doesn't resemble her ethnic character.
3. Wacky, sarcastic animal sidekick.
4. Ugly and mindless evil antagonist who does resemble his/her ethnic character.
How crappy can tv/movies get before people turn it off? The lower limit seems to be unbounded.
On-screen Personality (Score:2)
A.C. (Artificial Celebs, not Anon Cowards
Further, none of these A.C. have their own personalities.. They're all based on the human. Bart Simpson may have fans, but there's a woman's voice and a writer's words behind that.
Anyone who would see an A.C. as a true celeb is out of touch with reality, and is doing the work of all those fascist freaks who want to define 'acceptible content' for us, protect us from ourselves, raise our kids for us, and tell us what we should be thinking.
If someone can't tell the difference between Dr. Aki and Nicole Kidman, then they just might think that killing 102 people in 30 minutes is OK, since Arnold and Sly do it all the time, and that Ozzy really does think that suicide is a Good Idea.
Holy shit... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Holy shit... (Score:2)
Given the Japanese tendancy to change thier names whenever it suits them, (Hayashibara, Megumi-san, bless her heart, assumed that name near the start of her career), a real person named Kyoko Date wouldn't be that surprising. Especially in the J-pop / Seiyu arena.
The odd part to get used to is that we're talking about legal name changes here. We may be used to people working under pen names or other odd titles in american music, but would any one take "Snoop Dog" seriously of that was his actual name? Yet this tactic is common in the Japanese music inudstry (and japanese society in general) where names change frequently. After all, the name you got when your born is just a convienient lable for your parents until you figure out who you are, ne?
CG characters really that different? (Score:5, Insightful)
Looker (Score:2)
When I saw Final Fantasy, I remembered back to the movie Looker.
Of course, the other major plot element was that now that they could make human actors obsolete, they started killing off all of the humans who looked "perfect". Young women who were "lookers" would suddenly turn up dead. The monopolistic mega corps wanted to have a monopoly on actors, and saw no problem with this.
Up until some years ago I still could find the movie in larger video stores. Haven't seen it on the shelves lately though. (Probably a mega corp conspiracy.)
No salary increases? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:No salary increases? (Score:2)
Your smart meat celebrities, however, should be getting full-body scans so that they can look the same way 40 years from now, if they choose.
The voice is key (Score:2)
Macross Plus (Score:2)
Scandals, Sex and CG idols (Score:3, Interesting)
It's unlikely that CG idols will not be tainted by scandals: I bet lots of popular CG idols will appear in prOn, have afairs with other CG idols, or even real people - they're computer generated, and so they are far more easy to reproducible, duplicate and copy than their flesh-and-bone counterparts.
Scandal and sex sure could sell well, and someone out there is going to try to make money on it, even if it's some CG Idol pirate ripping the Idol copyright owner off.
Options are Unlimited... (Score:3, Insightful)
Salaries. Now, in order to load a film full of stars and make it a high profile deal, one no longer has to fork out obscene amounts of cash to attract big names to take a role in the film.
Versatility. Whereas there are some people we wish we could change, we can't. Pixels on a screen, however, are amazingly easy to change: Directors will be able to create the exact effect they wish, as long as they have the correct software and capable technicians at their disposal. "One Role" actors are definately going to take a hit: when faced with characters who can act whatever their director wishes, they will invariably get the short end of the deal.
While I am definately going to get a lot of people disagreeing with my optimism(?) I think that these actors, in the hands of a good director and staff, will become a cheap and amazingly powerful tool which will produce far better films. However, we'll still see human actors for a very long time, because there's no mistaking that human effect....
Fiction become fact again... (Score:2)
We were asked to bid on such a project... (Score:3, Insightful)
The producers wanted the character to be 'racy' and 'revealing', like Britney -- something that I consider a tragic mistake. Perhaps as her career evolved over ten years or so I would think that she shoul d go that way, but I feel that flashy but modest clothes would be far more appealing over time than the same old skin. Clothes are adornment, not just censorship.
Personally, I don't see this as very different than Britney Spears. Britney is almost as synthetic as Desiree -- and at least Desiree would lip-synch competently.
This project drifted along for a while and finally died, as do 95% of all proposed projects. Still, it will definitely happen, the economics work. Desiree need only 'live' a few dozen minutes a year; and those appearances could be funded at a pretty reasonable rate.
This contrasts to what the poster above commented about porn stars. He commented that this would be an obvious venue, as you could build perfect bodies that would do anything. It seems to me that porn stars already have next-to-perfect bodies, and from what I can tell, there is very little that they won't do. More importantly, they are cheap. The most expensive full-length porn movies don't cost nearly as much as a synthetic music video would cost, say, $500,000. From what I've read, porn stars make most of their money outside of the films by performing live -- they treat the films as advertising for the live shows. Needless to say, this is beyond the capabilities of synthetic characters to this point.
I don't think so. (Score:2)
CG is already overused... (Score:2)
With that said, you can probably figure out how I feel about these computer generated celebrities. I'm not a big fan of human celebrities, so I'm not too excited about the CG kind. Physical presence is the one feature most "celebrities" are reduced to relying on - what will be left when that is taken away? Hopefully this "next big thing" will be the next big flop.
Reality? (Score:2)
Re:Reality? (Score:3, Interesting)
The two word answer: social control.
If people are engaged with how to look like an icon, or how to live like one, they are less inclined to notice what's really going on in the world.
For example, there are now kangaroo military courts [yahoo.com] alive and well in America, because it is "at war". It might give one pause to think about the deeper, underlying issues of what is being done here in the name of "freedom" and "security" if we didn't have the Britney Spears of the world tarting around to remind us what's *really* important: just-legal lust (though Bob Dole's dirty-old-man routine in the Burpsi commercials failed in this regard: too openly creepy for me.)
In _The Republic_, Plato wanted to ban artists--actors, singers, etc.--as being dangerous distractions for the people of the polis; he saw entertainers as a bad thing. However, in the inverted polis that is America, the distraction of the manufactured personality is not only a good thing, it is absolutely required to maintain the power structure.
Bruce Lee! (Score:3, Informative)
Digital idols? How soon 'til giant robots? (Score:2)
pop gluten (Score:3, Insightful)
There are so many advantages for the purveyors of pop culture
Maybe-JUST MAYBE, we could collectively grow up a little and realize that our PRESENT 'pop-stars' may as well be CG. They live scripted, Public-Relations-hyped lives - dating, divorcing, fucking, drinking, clubbing, working, whatever - who cares? Why do I care what Kristina Applegate eats for supper?
The fact that "we" have a pop-culture phenomenon at all is proof of a greater illness in our culture... I am not sure exactly what would cause people to replace a 'real' relationship/knowledge with a real person (family/friend/neighbour) with the 'virtual-reward' of having 'virtual relationships' is mind-numbing.
The 'purveyors of pop culture' are meddling with the human-psyche in a uncontrolled and viscous manner. They purposely seek to build memes and use their vitality for profit, at the expense of the real health of the public, strangers. Like corporate propagandists (marketers and advertisers) these people seek to meddle in your mind, to take advantage of your desires and needs and to give them 'virtual satisfaction' by overwhelming you with a 'reality they create'... this realty is then exploited to create wealth for them. These plutocrats and oligarchies are out of control - I see no difference between the RIAA and Washington in terms of the genuine self-less-ness that would be expected of those who occupy positions of such power.
What does this have to do with CG pop stars? Well, think, what does it mean when people are willing to accept stories - told as fact - about virtual people. What does it say about the overall conditioning of modern people? about their ability to be influenced, as a group, from afar, with motivations completely unknown??? Why would we view a CG 'pop star character' as anything more than a playfull curiosity - why would the scripted existence of such a thing not illicit ire and a sense of being insulted. I can understand small children being mis-lead and accepting the concept of such a thing, but grown people, I believe should be a little more apprehensive to accept a 'CG person-product' in their lives.
Four Words: (Score:2)
Published 1987. About Muzik, Inc., who makes a virtual record star. Videos and everything.
---
CG still looks fake (Score:2)
Fure, they put trackers on human actors for the people in FF, but they didn't walk or move exactly right. There were just too few imperfections for them to be real people. Hell, they walked like robots.
Until it is easy to mistake a real human and a CG person, they'll only be really good for having around other cartoon characters.
It might, however, be a good idea to use CG people in pornography. Snuff flicks, kiddie porn, etc DO have a fairly big market, and the main objection to them (aside from the obvious thoughtcrime problems) is the exploitation, torture and probable death of the victim.
If you can get CG people to act like they're in real pain (and liking it) they'd be useful in all sorts of kink, custom-built fanasies, etc. You wouldn't have to worry about the privacy problem associated with going to the pr0n store either.
In general, porn applications would probably be the only place they're handy right now.
Voice Acting is the Key (Score:2)
The voice acting is the main element. It is very reminiscent of Diamond Age (Neal Stephenson) in which the computer industry could create very accurate visual simulations, but had a much harder time with generating voices. People used to adore various radio celebrities without any CG visuals at all.
I'm sure all these CG celebs have 1-2 voice actors associated with them at most, and they can certainly demand large salaries, get into scandals and so forth. They might even be able to move into regular acting roles (cf Hank Azaria from the Simpsons). You can see that Kermit has no longer been the same since the death of his creator and voice. Good voice actors/singers are not interchangeable.
Automatic speech generation is very primitive. The fall of Lernout and Hauspie has certainly impacted the whole speech community. A look at Victor Zue's work at MIT helps to illustrate how the field is just getting to the point where they can create a realistic sounding voice. The best techniques use concatenated phonemes from real speakers. They are nowhere near the point of being able to convey emotion or being able to sing...although research continues.
CG character animation is still hard (Score:2)
If you've watched a professional CGI animator at work, you realize the level of talent required to do this. It takes really good 3D visualization skills to draw in 3D. A competent pro can draw a head by drawing, freehand, a few cross-sections in 2D and skinning them. This takes about 30 seconds. There are very few people who can do that. Training doesn't help if you don't have the talent. Go to any of the animation schools and look at the student output, most of which sucks. (Note to budding animators: never put a spaceship or a robot on your demo reel.) This is why 3D animation tools don't go mass-market.
Until somebody figures out how to make this stuff usable by non-artists, it's going to be expensive. Poser is a step in the right direction.
Foo! (Score:2)
Final fantasy... (Score:2)
Also, you still have voice actors behind the scenes... granted, you can get unknowns that are for all practical purposes as good as the hunk of the month for this job, but there are still people behind the scenes to pay.
-Restil
If only NSYNC were CG.. (Score:2)
I can't wait for the next stupid bubble-gum-and-badly-choreographed pop sensation to be 100% CG. Then I simply break into the systems used to produce him/her/them and voila, dead pop icon.
And I don't even get prosecuted for murder. What could be better?
Old old old (Score:2)
Pac Man was 1st (Score:3, Insightful)
D
Re:Lara Croft? (Score:2)
Derby, the backwaters of england? Now now...
Re:The same could be said for Video Games characte (Score:2)
//rdj
Re:Macross??? (Score:2)
How long until one of these CGI "Idols" gains sentience and decides to kill it's real-life voice actor/actress?
Re:But my Lego mindstorms needs someone to look up (Score:2)
Granted, they are Remote controlled rather than AI, but they should suffice as Lego Mindstorm idols..
The Slippery Slope (Score:2)
Virg
Re:Pioneered by Walt Disney (Score:2)
1. Ironically enough the South Park characters have been completely CG since their first budgeted episode (I think). The pilot was done with paper cut outs in a stop motion style. The other episodes and the movie (fourth fully CG movie of all time after Toy Story, Antz, A Bug's Life) were done with Alias|Wavefront's Maya.
2. Games, and most notably nintendo have been doing the virtual Celebrity thing for a long time. Look at how many games Mario has been in. Super Smash Bro's is coming out in three days and it only has one orignal character in it.
3. Virtual Celebrities are the stupidist thing I have ever heard of. The cool thing about real celebrities is that you can identify with them even though they are larger than life because of their popularity. Try having a virtual sports player. It doesn't work because their performance would be arbitrary. Granted acting wouldn't be 'against' anyone, but people aren't stupid, they would fall for something so shallow.