Late Taiwanese Pop Star Teresa Teng Wows 7,000 Concert Goers at Asia’s first virtual concert
05.09.15Digital Domain’s Ground-Breaking Virtual Human Technology is also filmed for the first time with IM360 Cameras
HONG KONG, 9 May 2015 - Twenty years after her passing, Taiwanese pop diva Teresa Teng, performed Asia’s first virtual concert, thanks to the cutting-edge Virtual Human technologies from Digital Domain Holdings Limited (“Digital Domain”, stock code: 547), a Hollywood virtual reality technology and content provider listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Developed by Digital Domain 3.0, the Digital Domain’s Virtual Effects Production arm based in Los Angeles and Vancouver, the life-size virtual image of Ms. Teng, one of Asia’s most loved singers, dressed in signature slim-fitting dresses, thrilled the audience for over two hours during which she sang a number of her favorite numbers including Sweet Sweet Honey and The Moon Represents My Heart, to 7,000 fans at the Taipei Arena on Saturday night.
The concert, known as the "If a Wish Could Be Made: Teresa Teng 20 Years Anniversary Memorial Concert in 3D", also featured singer Fei Yuqing as a special guest. Considered by many to be Taiwan’s best male vocalist, Fei performed a number of duets with the virtual Teng including: How Would You Say and Wishing We Last Forever. Other artists supporting the event included Teresa Chen, Wang Xin and Tong Yao, three female singers from China.
The Virtual Human process involves a combination of the groundbreaking work of our visual ef-fects artists and our exclusive, digital human technology,” said Daniel Seah, Chairman and CEO, Digital Domain Holdings Limited. “Our award-winning artists worked for months to recreate the facial features, hair, eyes, expressions, body movement and personality of Miss Teng. We have artists with decades of Visual Effects experience who used their skills to shape, model, animate and eventually render photo-real images that resemble Miss Teng.”
In an industry and Greater China first, Digital Domain shot the virtual human concert with their pa-tented 360-degree camera technology from IM360. The technology allows the full 360-degree environment to be shot from multiple angles, enabling the viewing public who couldn’t be there in person to experience the event like a VIP. From cameras placed on the stage, front row seats and throughout the venue consumers will eventually be able to view the concert through all man-ner of 360-degree devices.
A virtual image of the star first appeared in 2013 when Miss Teng’s appeared alongside Jay Chou in concerts in Taiwan, which was seen by more than 100,000 people.
Miss Teng, who died in 1995 in Thailand, remains hugely popular across Asia. Since her death at the age of 42, her brother — Frank Teng, the chairman of the Teresa Teng Foundation — has been active in preserving the legacy of his sister, whose popularity spanned across the Chinese-speaking world.
To keep her image alive, Digital Domain signed a 10-year agreement with the TNT Production Limited to create virtual images of the singer for use in concerts, movies and other media.
"Digital Domain's work is a wonderful tribute to Teresa, introducing her music to a whole new generation, while providing many great memories for her long-time fans,” said Frank Teng, the late singer’s brother who is Chairman of the Teresa Teng Foundation.
“Our goal is to honor Teresa Teng, who touched so many people’s lives,” said Daniel Seah. “Twenty years later she is still revered as we witnessed from the reaction of her fans who at-tended the weekend concert. This trend-setting Virtual Human technology is going to change the production of stage performance, movies, games and advertisements dramatically in a global perspective and Digital Domain leading the way.”
Digital Domain is the creative force behind some of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters, including Iron Man 3, the Transformers trilogy, Maleficent, the X-Men franchise with its cutting-edge visual effects technologies. Digital Domain set the industry standard for virtual humans with its ground-breaking work on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Since then company has continued to push the envelope of what is possible. In 2012 audiences were stunned by the surprise appear-ance of rapper Tupac Shakur at the Coachella Valley Music Festival. This appearance soon went viral and became the talk of the event. The virtual human was so lifelike that many thought he was still alive and performing.
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