More on 3D Facial Projection

This is in response to Tracy's blogpost about Lady Gaga's performance at the Grammy's on Monday. I also thought it was super cool and I was all "OMG HOW DID THEY DO THAT?!?", although I wasn't surprised that Lady Gaga partnered with Intel to use technology in her performance. I did some more research on it and I learned that Intel worked with Japanese artist and scientist Nobumichi Asai to create 3D facial projection. It's basically animation on a person's face in real time.

If you look closely in the video Tracy posted, Gaga has these tiny dots on her face. These are used to make a 3D scan of the face; then they create graphics based on the 3D model. Last, they project it on the face, like a mask. Intel is inside each computer and is involved in each part of the process. Asai says that his work wouldn't be possible without Intel.

About his work, Asai says, "I wanted to focus on the expression of [beauty] and [make-up art] instead of technological gimmicks and impacts. But this demands a higher level of technological precision. A subtle mismatch in projection would ruin the effect."

He also uses his work to showcase his Japanese culture, "When I look around nowadays, it is quite rare to see women with traditional Japanese aesthetics. My intention is not to communicate [make-up] as influenced by other cultures, but to express [kesho (Japanese word for make-up)], Japan’s unique set of aesthetic ideals that have been passed on through generations. I feel that conveying this message is important for the traditional and cultural aesthetic ideals of [kesho] to thrive."

This could take performance art to a whole new level. I'm excited to see other artists use this technology in the future.

Lighting Up Gaga's Face at the Grammy's

The Grammy’s were this past weekend, although I didn’t watch it, I stumbled upon a clip from the Lady Gaga tribute performance for David Bowie who passed earlier this year. The beginning of the tribute starts out with a tight shot of Lady Gaga’s face. Red paint “drips” down her face and makes the infamous Bowie lightning bolt over her left eye. From the same eye sprouts a spider that then crawls around her face. After completing a loop it turns into an orb that glows and stays place on her forehead. The lights go dim and she walks onto the main stage to finish the performance. 

Although this was only a less than one minute long, it’s still impressive they were able to apply animations on to a moving face during a live performance, be it digitally or via projection. Personally I feel as if the motion tracking was done via projection because near the end of the section you could see an extra set of eyes as well as the animation being slightly off while Lady Gaga’s movements gain more momentum. I also feel it was done via projection because for a live audience that would be more exciting than watching a screen. 

The big give away about the motion tracking and the fact that it was done live were the silver dots that were on the upper portion of Lady Gaga’s face throughout the entire performance. As we all know, or should all know by now, these dots act as tracking points in order for the animation to “stay put” on Lady Gaga’s face even while she moves about.

All in all this was a great tribute performance for the late David Bowie, and the animation in the beginning was very nice touch. Check it out!

Born This Way - Lady Gaga

Saying this video is strange is a bit of an understatement.  However, the special effects and what the editors did makes this video very visually interesting.  This video is about Gaga's space utopia.  There is a very futuristic kind of feel with the costumes, lights, sets, and special effects.  There are many mirror effects and x-ray like shots.  I especially love at the end when Gaga is wearing gloves and she turns into a dancing shadow with brilliant white gloves on.  Even though I feel like I need to take an art history class to get all of Lady Gaga's references, I can appreciate the special effects in her music videos.