Last year's computer-generated "hologram" of the late rap star Tupac Shakur for a live performance that was part of Dr. Dre's show at the Coachella Music Festival quickly gained recognition as a breakthrough event in entertainment. Digital Domain created a believable, original digital performance of Shakur. The achievement required intensive research and development and relied heavily on the techniques and tools the studio developed over the years on such projects as TRON: Legacy and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The virtual likeness of Shakur in performance generated 15 million YouTube views, massive media coverage, a 500 percent increase in 2Pac album sales and a 1,500 percent rise in downloads of his song "Hail Mary."
The digital human pipeline developed by Digital Domain on projects like Benjamin Button, TRON: Legacy and the virtual Tupac has since been deployed and leveraged on other varied jobs such as Toyota's U.K. commercial "The Real Deal" from Stink director Adam Berg and Saatchi & Saatchi London. Berg, working with Saatchi & Saatchi's creative team, tapped Digital Domain to tell a story that mimics the car's key value–breaking out of a monotonous synthetic existence with the power, control and excitement of real life. Expertly wielding Digital Domain's deep digital production toolset, Berg worked with artists to create everything from digital characters to a stunning full virtual world.
The commercial promoted the new Toyota GT86, a sports car that puts control in the hands of the driver rather than computerized systems. Led by VFX supervisor Vernon Wilbert, Digital Domain supervised the shoot and helped realize the vision of the Saatchi creative team and Berg. The ambitious project was completed by a team of 18 artists in eight weeks thanks to the efficiencies afforded by Digital Domain's production-proven processes for building digital characters, cars and environments.
Fast forward to today and topping our fall Top Ten VFX/Animation Chart is renamed studio Digital Domain 3.0's next virtual performance which stunned 15,000 fans at a live concert a couple of months ago in Taiwan.
"Virtual" Teresa Teng, a computer-generated likeness of the iconic Taiwanese Chinese singer who passed away in 1995, delivered a surprise performance as part of pop sensation Jay Chou's "Opus 12" shows at the Taipei Arena. Dressed in an ethereal looking white gown, "virtual" Teresa Teng again appeared at subsequent Chou shows.
"Virtual" Teresa Teng performed three songs in an original duet with Chou, his hits "Red Tavern" and "Thousand Miles Away," and her hit "What You Have to Say," at the Taipei Arena.
Rebirth revisted
The performance came together through the Teresa Teng Foundation. Chou and his producers were moved by the unexpected appearance of the Digital Domain-created "virtual Tupac" at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival and the worldwide buzz and excitement it created.
They in turn envisioned a touching performance by a virtual Teng as a fitting tribute to the legendary performer that would also be a perfect fit for the high-tech "Opus 12" show. They approached chairman Frank Teng of the Teresa Teng Foundation (brother of the late singer) to propose the idea. Simultaneously, Hong Kong company Sun Innovation brought the idea of having Digital Domain 3.0, the artists who created "virtual Tupac," create a "virtual Teresa Teng" for the Foundation. The groups came together to produce the performance. (Majority ownership in Digital Domain was recently acquired by Sun Innovation.)
Frank Teng took an active role in the creation of the performance, spending weeks with the artists at Digital Domain 3.0, guiding them on expressions, physicality, mannerisms and other aspects to get the digital likeness to look and perform just like his sister.
Digital Domain visual effects supervisor and animation director Steve Preeg said, "Chairman Teng's guidance was invaluable. When friends and relatives get involved, it's no longer a project, it's family. Our goal was to honor Teresa Teng–as a singer and as a person. If her family and fans feel that her personality came through in the performance, then we did our jobs."
Frank Teng said, "Digital Domain's work is a wonderful tribute to Teresa. It gives her long-time fans a chance to see her perform again and it brings Teresa's music to a whole new generation, through Jay Chou's show and songs."
Digital Domain 3.0 CEO Daniel Seah related, "The huge, positive response to 'Virtual Teresa Teng' in Taiwan demonstrates the global appeal of this type of entertainment. We are honored to have had the opportunity to apply Digital Domain's creative leadership to honor an artist as beloved as Teresa Teng and look forward to bringing new experiences of iconic performers to fans all over the world."
Teresa Teng, born Teng Li-yun in 1953, was an internationally acclaimed Taiwanese Chinese pop singer who achieved folk hero status throughout East Asia and in areas with large Asian populations. Her voice and songs are instantly recognized in these regions.
Known for her folk songs and romantic ballads, and for her sweet, simple and sincere style, she recorded songs in her native Mandarin as well as in Taiwanese Hokkien, Cantonese, Japanese, Indonesian and English. In 1986 she was named one of the top seven female singers in the world by Time Magazine.
She began her singing career in Taiwan at age five, and by age 14 was hosting the television show Everyday One Star. She starred in the TV series Thank You, Manager, the movie Ms. Music Fan, and sang the theme song for the first Taiwanese TV series. She signed with Life Records of Taiwan, Polydor Records and Taurus Records in Japan and PolyGram Records of Hong Kong.
Throughout the 1970s Teng's popularity bloomed. She performed many times for servicemen and in 1979 held her first solo concerts in the U.S. and Canada. She was the first Chinese artist to perform at the Los Angeles Music Center and at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. She studied English at the University of Southern California. In 1981 she earned a record-breaking five platinum records in a single year in Hong Kong and received Taiwan's Patriotic Artist Award.
Teng received the Annual Cable Television Award of Japan for three consecutive years (1984, 1985 and 1986), a feat that has not been achieved again to this day. In 1989 she performed during the Tiananmen Square student protests proclaiming her support for democracy. Her songs also were used in the soundtrack of director Wayne Wang's acclaimed 1993 film The Joy Luck Club released by The Walt Disney Co.
Teresa Teng died in 1995 from a severe respiratory attack at age 42. She has been recognized with many posthumous awards for her significant contribution to the nation of Taiwan and its society.
While continuing its "virtual" groundbreaking endeavors with Teng, Digital Domain 3.0 has also made new inroads on the business front by co-producing a major theatrical feature motion picture. Digital Domain 3.0 teamed with OddLot Entertainment and Summit Entertainment to produce Ender's Game, which was released wide on November 1. Digital Domain 3.0 also created the visual effects for Ender's Game.
By A SHOOT Staff Report
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