Tupac Coachella Hologram Was Not A Hologram

Huffington Post UK  |  By Posted: 18/04/2012 17:49 Updated: 19/04/2012 08:22

Shocking news from Coachella: the Tupac hologram that brought the gangster rapper 'back from the dead' was not actually a hologram, but a visual trick using tech developed by a UK-based company.

We'll pause while you raise a fist to the sky in fury.

The Tupac 'hologram' is actually an optical illusion using reflections on glass, known as Pepper’s Ghost. The old magic trick is named for John Henry Pepper, who according to Wikipedia, first used the trick in the 1860s.


Tupac 'in action' at Coachella, courtesy of Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg

The trick is performed by projecting an image up through a pane of glass on the stage.

The company which produced the visual effect was named by Ars Technica as AV Concepts. They use a proprietary mylar sheet called a Musion Eyeliner from UK company Musion.

The clever visual technique brought Tupac Shakur on stage to perform with Snoop Dogg.

The two hip-hop legends appeared to perform Tupac's hits California Love and Ain't Nothin' Like A Gangsta Party after an eerie solo rendition of Hail Mary .

Musion told The Huffington Post that AV used the Eyeliner technology, which was invented in 2000 by the company's director Uwe Maas.

The same technology was used to great effect in the Gorillaz and Madonna performance at the Grammy awards, for the Black-Eyed Peas 2012 tour and during runway shows for fashion label Burberrry.

See how they do it below:

The technology can bring performers from across the world on stage together at the same time, anywhere in the world. Who would you most like to see 'Musioned' together?

AV Concepts was contacted for comment by The Huffington Post, telling us: "we are filled with gratitude on the amount of recognition that is coming our way. Since there is still another weekend of Coachella and we want it to be as magical for those fans as it was this past weekend, we will not be doing interviews or discussing the technology at this time."

Tupac 'in action'...

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Shocking news from Coachella: the Tupac hologram that brought the gangster rapper 'back from the dead' was not actually a hologram, but a visual trick using tech developed by a UK-based company. ...
Shocking news from Coachella: the Tupac hologram that brought the gangster rapper 'back from the dead' was not actually a hologram, but a visual trick using tech developed by a UK-based company. ...
 
 
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
DaveJohnWard
08:35 on 20/04/2012
Yet again we discover there is nothing new, just new ways of doing old things. Still, it was certainly impressive. I guess we'll just have to wait a bit longer befoe we can have Princess Leia giving us a message in mid air.
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Brandt931
23:44 on 18/04/2012
This was absolutely phenomenal and shows the brilliance technology can bring to art. It is through art that we can carry on the legends of the most brilliant performers and minds of our time. What a tribute this was to a legendary hip hop artist. You can see some more 2Pac art on my artist’s blog with a surreal illustration I made in memoriam recently at http://dregstudiosart.blogspot.com/2011/09/in-memoriam-tupac-shakur.html