Dec 13, 2024
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The Future of Holograms in Film
by Doniphan Blair
Princess Leia appears as a hologram in 'Star Wars', 1977. photo: courtesy G. LucasPLEASE support our GoFundMe campaign to cover research expenses for our articles and rebuilding the cineSOURCE site.
FOR THE LAST 46 YEARS, WE HAVE
been searching for holograms, true holograms, the next level to the one of Princess Leia in “Star Wars”. That was when she delivered to Obi-Wan Kenobi a fantastic ethereal message, a glowy phosphorescent image, compliments of the Bay Area’s Industrial Light & Magic.
Today, May 4th, is a big day for punster Star Wars fans—May the Fourth Be With You—and nearly 46 years since “Star Wars” debuted on May 25, 1977. Hence, it is high time to figure out what happened to the hologram, which many of us believed would peppering performances and art galleries as well as films by this time.
In point of fact, hologram-like apparitions have been with us a long time. Indeed, the “Pepper’s Ghost”, using a half-silvered surface to reflect an apparition-like person in a dark room to the side of the performance, was developed in 1862 by the English scientist John Henry Pepper. It was soon deployed in theaters, circuses, carnival side shows and even churches for ghost-themed plays and then movies, where it became a staple trick shot in the early 1900s.
From 1977 to 2023, quite a few films have continued the Star Wars/Pepper’s Ghost technique, showing us amazing footage of sci-fi futures with hover crafts to floating gardens or massive cityscapes. In lieu of holograms, however, they use CGI, light tricks or dynamic props.
Diagram of how a Pepper's Ghost works: the viewer looks into the left scene and sees the partially reflected by the half-mirror, marked by blue, reflecting the scene to the right. illo: courtesy A. BoswellIn the 1983 James Bond vehicle, “Never Say Never Again”, he plays a holographic video game with his psychotic adversary, while in the television show “Star Trek: The Next Generation” (1991) Scotty was trapped in the holograph-like sphere. “Oceans Twelve” (2004) had a holographic Faberge Egg, for the ruse to steal the real one from The Louvre, and other hologram star turns can been seen in “Total Recall” (1990), "Minority Report" (2002), and "Blade Runner 2049" (2017).
Alas, in our ever-changing media landscape, where everyone is looking for the next big thing, holograms have yet to deliver, let alone dominate.
That would disappoint my high school painting teacher and mentor Aaron Kurzen, who was fascinated by holograms. Although the hologram was invented in the 1940s and came of age in 1960, with the invention of the laser, holograms entered popular imagination when Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian-British physicist, finally won the Nobel Prize for it in 1971. Kurzen got into it around 1980 and had shows of his pieces.
Will films shot in 3D soon make their way to holography? Will that be the latest, greatest way to get viewers off couches in front of enormous flat screen televisions and back into theaters, fitted with fantastic holographic projection devices?
Sadly, we are simply not there yet. When you factor in the physical space needed—a desktop holographic device is like a large blender—you notice that currently machines are are best suited for single objects or figures. Even bigger machines generally keep the background black or white and require objects to come in and out of frame.
But, like “Star Wars”’ fans who continue to believe, the hope for holographic optimization remains, for a new canvas upon which artists and techies can paint, sculpt and morph a new form of art.
A desktop hologram device. photo: KeyShare Innovation GroupAccording to longtime cineSOURCE associate Randy Gordon, who was working on Sony PlayStation video games in the ‘90s and is now becoming a holographic media advisor, his moles in the industry say the hologram is due for a major expansion in films, art and performances.
“The immersive nature of the hologram is a compelling,” he says, “It is the evolutionary next step in sculptural visuals. While film and gaming holograms may be lagging, there are innovative and immersive developments that will fill the gap while we patiently await the next leap in holography."
So what is new and exciting right now? Gordon points to Transfix which started in Las Vegas on April 21st and runs through September. Transfix presents large installations by the most innovative artists of our day and is arguably the world’s largest immersive art experience. Its holographic-like presentation features over 50 interactive, kinetic pieces by artists from around the globe. The four-acre space includes artist-designed bars and a multi-level labyrinth filled with sculptures, projections and sonic experiences, many mind-bending.
There is also the nearly complete, billion-dollars project in Las Vegas called the MSG Sphere, a collaboration between MSG (Madison Square Gardens) and The Sands Hotel. Billed as "unparalleled entertainment" and "a revolutionary venue to enjoy immersive shows," The Sphere will soon showcase rock royalty Bono and The Edge of U2, who will take up residency in September . We can assume something spectacularly holographic will happen, like massive holograms emanating from The Sphere.
At the more modest end of the spectrum, a life-size hologram will be deployed as part of the private screenings of the new film “Mayan Revelations: Decoding B'aqtun“. A visually inspiring and archeologically fascinating film, directed by filmmaker and author Elisabeth Thieriot, it covers her research in southern Mexico and Guatemala on end-of-the-world conspiracy theories drawn from the Aztec and Mayan calendars.
In between, there will be increasing hologram use, for surprise, novelty, branding and storytelling. But it will be mostly around the edges and in novelty acts until the next hologram technology, featuring the abilities my art teacher Aaron Kurzen dreamt of, emerges and drives it to center stage.
Posted on May 04, 2023 - 11:47 PM
by Doniphan Blair
Princess Leia appears as a hologram in 'Star Wars', 1977. photo: courtesy G. LucasFOR THE LAST 46 YEARS, WE HAVE
been searching for holograms, true holograms, the next level to the one of Princess Leia in “Star Wars”. That was when she delivered to Obi-Wan Kenobi a fantastic ethereal message, a glowy phosphorescent image, compliments of the Bay Area’s Industrial Light & Magic.
Today, May 4th, is a big day for punster Star Wars fans—May the Fourth Be With You—and nearly 46 years since “Star Wars” debuted on May 25, 1977. Hence, it is high time to figure out what happened to the hologram, which many of us believed would peppering performances and art galleries as well as films by this time.
In point of fact, hologram-like apparitions have been with us a long time. Indeed, the “Pepper’s Ghost”, using a half-silvered surface to reflect an apparition-like person in a dark room to the side of the performance, was developed in 1862 by the English scientist John Henry Pepper. It was soon deployed in theaters, circuses, carnival side shows and even churches for ghost-themed plays and then movies, where it became a staple trick shot in the early 1900s.
From 1977 to 2023, quite a few films have continued the Star Wars/Pepper’s Ghost technique, showing us amazing footage of sci-fi futures with hover crafts to floating gardens or massive cityscapes. In lieu of holograms, however, they use CGI, light tricks or dynamic props.
Diagram of how a Pepper's Ghost works: the viewer looks into the left scene and sees the partially reflected by the half-mirror, marked by blue, reflecting the scene to the right. illo: courtesy A. BoswellAlas, in our ever-changing media landscape, where everyone is looking for the next big thing, holograms have yet to deliver, let alone dominate.
That would disappoint my high school painting teacher and mentor Aaron Kurzen, who was fascinated by holograms. Although the hologram was invented in the 1940s and came of age in 1960, with the invention of the laser, holograms entered popular imagination when Dennis Gabor, a Hungarian-British physicist, finally won the Nobel Prize for it in 1971. Kurzen got into it around 1980 and had shows of his pieces.
Will films shot in 3D soon make their way to holography? Will that be the latest, greatest way to get viewers off couches in front of enormous flat screen televisions and back into theaters, fitted with fantastic holographic projection devices?
Sadly, we are simply not there yet. When you factor in the physical space needed—a desktop holographic device is like a large blender—you notice that currently machines are are best suited for single objects or figures. Even bigger machines generally keep the background black or white and require objects to come in and out of frame.
But, like “Star Wars”’ fans who continue to believe, the hope for holographic optimization remains, for a new canvas upon which artists and techies can paint, sculpt and morph a new form of art.
A desktop hologram device. photo: KeyShare Innovation Group“The immersive nature of the hologram is a compelling,” he says, “It is the evolutionary next step in sculptural visuals. While film and gaming holograms may be lagging, there are innovative and immersive developments that will fill the gap while we patiently await the next leap in holography."
So what is new and exciting right now? Gordon points to Transfix which started in Las Vegas on April 21st and runs through September. Transfix presents large installations by the most innovative artists of our day and is arguably the world’s largest immersive art experience. Its holographic-like presentation features over 50 interactive, kinetic pieces by artists from around the globe. The four-acre space includes artist-designed bars and a multi-level labyrinth filled with sculptures, projections and sonic experiences, many mind-bending.
There is also the nearly complete, billion-dollars project in Las Vegas called the MSG Sphere, a collaboration between MSG (Madison Square Gardens) and The Sands Hotel. Billed as "unparalleled entertainment" and "a revolutionary venue to enjoy immersive shows," The Sphere will soon showcase rock royalty Bono and The Edge of U2, who will take up residency in September . We can assume something spectacularly holographic will happen, like massive holograms emanating from The Sphere.
At the more modest end of the spectrum, a life-size hologram will be deployed as part of the private screenings of the new film “Mayan Revelations: Decoding B'aqtun“. A visually inspiring and archeologically fascinating film, directed by filmmaker and author Elisabeth Thieriot, it covers her research in southern Mexico and Guatemala on end-of-the-world conspiracy theories drawn from the Aztec and Mayan calendars.
In between, there will be increasing hologram use, for surprise, novelty, branding and storytelling. But it will be mostly around the edges and in novelty acts until the next hologram technology, featuring the abilities my art teacher Aaron Kurzen dreamt of, emerges and drives it to center stage.
Posted on May 04, 2023 - 11:47 PM
