海角大神

When slain rapper Tupac Shakur turned up聽alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog at the Coachella Music Festival聽this weekend, he stunned fans with his rendition of 鈥淗ail Mary,鈥� and 鈥�2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.鈥�

Many聽wondered how this rapper, gunned down in Las聽Vegas in 1996, could be brought to such convincing life in what is not merely a projection of a previous performance, but a new creation.

The act, which will be reprised this upcoming weekend, is the fruit of 19th century聽mirror聽tricks 鈥� much like the type used in s茅ances 鈥� combined with state-of the art, 21st century motion capture and hologram projection technology. It was powered by聽Hollywood special effects聽giant, Digital Domain, which聽aged Brad Pitt 蹿辞谤听鈥�The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.鈥�

This moment and the resulting publicity frenzy is the shot across the bow聽for this technology moving forward, says Renaud Skalli, head of artist and label relations for My Love Affair,聽an international agency dedicated to pairing artists and brands. 鈥淭his is聽just the beginning of many more things like this to come,鈥� he says, adding, 鈥淭his just聽begins to give an idea聽of what is doable.鈥�

From London to Las Vegas,聽the inanimate and the no-longer-living聽are joining the completely digital creations in real-world 鈥渁ppearances.鈥� Grover, the furry character from聽Sesame Street, popped out on the dais at this year鈥檚聽Consumer聽Electronics Show聽to help the Qualcom聽team deliver聽a keynote address.

Across the pond,聽the East London聽firm聽responsible for resurrecting聽Frank Sinatra to sing for Simon Cowell鈥檚 50th birthday party聽also brought a legendary, deceased聽ad-man, Paul Ardin, to life in Cannes, where his company聽Saatchi聽& Saatchi held its annual New Directors鈥� Showcase.聽He walked onstage, squinted at聽the lights, then said, 鈥淲ell, I鈥檓 glad to see Saatchi鈥檚 New Directors鈥� Showcase is still alive and well. Unlike me.鈥�

After a short speech, he evaporated in a poof of smoke, leaving his microphone to drop to the ground, according to London鈥檚 Daily Telegraph.

Airports in both London and聽Paris have begun experimenting聽with digital boarding agents that materialize out of聽thin air to guide passengers to their gates, both amusing and confusing children聽and adults alike.

This intrusion into the real world is beginning to happen all over,聽says Jason Yim, CEO of the marketing firm, Trigger,聽adding that 鈥測ou are going to begin seeing things like characters jumping off cereal boxes and crawling around the breakfast table and creatures coming down from movie posters.鈥� Right now, he says, 鈥渆very poster, every bus shelter or聽kiosk could initiate this kind of digital experience.鈥�

For now, says Mr. Yim, the human eye can still discern what is fake and what is聽real. But within five years, he suggests, 鈥渢hat line will begin to blur.鈥�

Beyond that, he points out, with so many modes of communication available now, the possibilities for being fooled by a digital creation are expanding exponentially. 鈥淗ow do you know who or what is behind an instant message, an email or an SMS?鈥� he asks.

The reality of a character, he says, is determined by so many levels of communication, adding, 鈥渢hat line is going to blur more and more.鈥�

Look聽no further than the world of online dating for evidence that this blurring is well underway, says online relationship adviser, April Masini. She says emotionally vulnerable Internet users already聽take chances with digital connections.

鈥淢ultiple, daily texts, e-mails, phone calls, and Skype sessions make people feel like the relationship is real,鈥� she says via e-mail, adding that while they may be real, 鈥渋t鈥檚 just not real serious. Hologram infusion in these relationships are going to change the nature of relationships.鈥�

Ms. Masini says it may sound crazy. 鈥淲ho would allow themselves to invest in a relationship with a hologram,鈥� she says, but adds, based on聽her experience as a relationship advice expert, 鈥渢here will be plenty of men and women for whom a hologram is better than a broken heart.鈥�