Tupac Shakur Illusion a Hit Online, but Tour Uncertain

4:53 p.m. | Updated

Reports that Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg have plans to do a tour featuring a holographic image of Tupac Shakur on stage are premature, a spokeswoman for Dr. Dre said Tuesday.  “There is nothing to confirm,” the spokeswoman, Lori Earl, said. “As far as I know there haven’t been any discussions like that.”

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Dr. Dre had been talking to Snoop Dogg about a tour using the same spooky visual effect they unveiled at the Coachella music festival on Sunday. The dancing and rapping image of Shakur, who was fatally shot in Las Vegas in 1996, created a stir at the festival, and a video of the performance quickly became an online sensation. The effect made it appear that Shakur was performing his hits “Hail Mary” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” alongside Snoop Dogg. He also seemed to talk directly to the crowd. A second performance is scheduled for this weekend, as Coachella’s promoters have decided this year to repeat the entire event to sell more tickets.

Though described as a hologram, the image is actually a two-dimensional, computer-generated projection on a clear piece of Mylar – a reflective, lightweight plastic. The technology goes back to the 19th century, when the reflection of offstage actors on a tilted piece of glass was sometimes used to create the illusion that a ghost was onstage.

On Tuesday, a spokeswoman for the company that produced the illusion, Digital Domain Media Group, confirmed that Dr. Dre had never approached the company about doing a tour after the festival. “This was just a stand-alone project,” said the spokeswoman, Julie Miller.

Ed Ulbrich, the chief creative officer of Digital Domain, told The Journal that a computer was used to manipulate filmed images of Tupac Shakur. “This is not found footage,” he told The Journal. “This is not archival footage. This is an illusion.”

Mr. Ulbrich said Dr. Dre had hired his company to create the effect a year ago, and the project came together over the last four months. “This is just the beginning,” he told The Journal. “Dr. Dre has a massive vision for this.”

 

Source & Image : New York Times