New Realities
Early head-mounted display device developed by Ivan Sutherland at Harvard University, c. 1967
It’s 2020 and innovation in image creation technology is now at a point where creators and studios can pretty much conjure up anything they want. Coupled with the fact that recent hardware is at its cheapest yet, the quest for photoreal CGI has been reached and the awkward uncanny valley phase, (that look in CG where it’s just off the mark to be labelled creepy) is now considered pastiche. One talented individual with a couple of graphics cards can now achieve what major studios in the nineties took years to produce using giant-scale teams with software and hardware costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Now you have the emergence of open source free software like Blender and Unreal and hardware you can get away with an R10 000 budget. The constraints of the filmmaking process: time, money, and resources are now democratised and accessible like never before.
However, like any new technology, this presents itself as a double-edged sword to artists. Yes, the tech to realise our ideas is accessible but the competition has increased exponentially and high quantities of content is now a necessity to remain relevant. Thus a kind of tech arms race ensues. This all begs the question of what will communications technology look like in 5 or 10 years? How might we explore the deep future and unprecedented ideas?
The one new frontier is the convergence of both the real and hyperreal with the first seeds of AR (Augmented Reality) taking root in the public consciousness through Instagram face filters, CG Influencers and digital fashion.
AR
The limitless boundaries and opportunities presented to artists is also something that now audiences benefit from in the context of portraying their digital personas online. As the boundaries between physical and digital worlds become increasingly blurred. You’re no longer limited by your physical body, born traits or location. In AR you can be whoever you want or express anything you want.
Upon first glance, AR filters and AR, in general, could be seen as merely a buzz word based on a vapid fad, flooded with floral crowns and dog ears but within the last year, people are starting to recognise the true potential and cultural impact that lies within superimposing story elements or ideas within the viewers’ immediate environment. The high accessibility through smartphones allows audiences to engage in AR filters en mass whether it be in the form of some alien makeup or their own face superimposed onto a character within a story when even prolific, well-established animators like David O Reily are crafting entire existential sketches using only the filter software.
With the Instagram filter function only being possible to access by following the creators account, the potential reach is massive and the main example is a face filter pioneer Johanna Jaskowska’s Instagram. Her account had a couple hundred followers when she was just experimenting with the software, but just after her first filter “Beauty 3000” was unleashed earlier last year, she now racks up close to a million followers.
DIGITAL FASHION
This digital reimagining doesn’t just function with the face alone however, it does so for the entire body as well. One industry that will be disrupted by this new tech is the fashion industry and all the constraints surrounding it. With the help of some AI body recognition software, soon people will be able to preview and post any outfit or footwear they desire in the exact same way face filters do. Previously, digital fashion was only really found for use in the game development scene with the design of characters but now more and more fashion designers are grabbing these tools to bring their sketches to life and beyond with the laws of physical constraints, fabric, sewing equipment and access to models no longer a roadblock for them. It’s the democratization of clothing and in the case of this media-savvy generation it appeals to their appetite for digital assets similar to the gaming items and customization marketplace that is highly popular. Not to mention the reduction of emissions attached to the production of non-digital clothing
CG INFLUENCERS
By extension of digital clothing, we also delve into the full-on manufacturing of Instagram influencers themselves. The term “influencer” has been cropping up more and more that it has been considered a profession of sorts by young people and many aspire to become an “influencer” over traditional jobs like a doctor, lawyer or chef etc. Even Hollywood actors have seemingly lost their “aurora” in the age of YouTubers with GoPro’s and unedited raw streams. These influencers are given products by companies with the sole intention of them appearing in the influencers posts and by proxy their followers will want these products.
These shoehorned products are supposed to be cushioned in with influencers “authentic” self when in reality it's mostly all carefully curated.
CG influencers started making waves as a kind of tongue in cheek embrace of that manufactured authenticity. The first of which was one CG character under the name “lilmiquela” who personifies your Insta-fashionista LA girl type. Her whole image is thanks to an entire team of CG artists who texture, composite, model and design her lifestyle and it’s attracted major brands like Prada or celebrities such as Rihana to all take part in this elaborate, larger than life character. Storylines are weaved to keep the audience engaged, drama, Insta beef with other CG model accounts, “getting real” with her audience and even one recent controversial plot point involving her revealing she was sexually abused. In any event, this has all the IRL influencers and models fearful for their future livelihoods.
CONCLUSION:
All of the above have their pros and cons and it's important not to let the tech divert away from the story we want to end up telling. Rather we should remain open-minded and view these new emerging tools as just that, tools. Artists and content creators should always be curious and excited about the possible experiments that could be conducted. If not, then it may be a disadvantage moving into this next, strange new decade.