Holograms! (Well... not really)

There is a lot of buzz these days over a variety of 2D projections that are referred to as "holograms".

A hologram is a device commonly used in science fiction stories. It is a sort of projection into space of a three dimensional object, making the object seem as if it actually exists in the projected space. The one familiar to most people would be the hologram of Princess Leia projected by R2D2 in Star Wars (the original).

In 2011, projections referred to as "holograms" were introduced into the Manchester Airport. Dulles is among American airports that currently use them.

In 2012, Snoop Dogg performed live on stage at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur. The projection was referred to as a "hologram". Warning, explicit language:

As impressive as all this is, I can't help but smile to myself a bit, and think "parlor tricks".

I have a long time interest in hologram and holograph technology. In 1984, on a visit to my childhood neighborhood in Brooklyn, I asked my cousin Louis if there was anything in the city (Manhattan)  he recommended I go see. He suggested the Museum of Holography which closed in 1992 due to lack of funding. It makes me sad to see the popularity of these gimmicks today, when a brilliant place like that museum couldn't survive.

You may be sensing a bit of dismissal on my part of these "new" technologies. If so, it is because these fall disappointingly short of "real" holograms, and in fact much more interesting (and believable) illusions of holograms have been around for a long time. (I say illusion, because genuine 3D hologram technology is something that is still not possible on anything other than perhaps a very small scale.) The images promoted as "holograms" are merely two dimensional images projected on to unexpected surfaces. You have to look at them from a specific angle (in line with the projector) for them to look right. If you view them obliquely, their 2D nature is betrayed.

As it turns out, the concept for the Tupac idea is a variation on a 19th century stage illusion, the Pepper's Ghost. Except John Pepper didn't use projections, he used reflections, and his ghost was not just two dimensional, but truly three dimensional. The great thing about this effect is that since it is genuinely three dimensional, changing your viewing angle does not change the effect. Disney used the concept to great effect when they built the Haunted Mansion in 1969.

I first learned how to create a "Pepper's Ghost" when I worked for Morris Costumes in 1981. Morris is one of the worlds leading suppliers of "haunted attraction" props, costumes, and effects, and I have utilized the concept in several of my past projects. One such use was in a theatrical production of Willy Wonka, where I used the effect to make Mike TV "teleport" across stage. The actor started out in the left hand chamber, and melted away into nothingness before the eyes of the audience. He was "reincarnated" as a small puppet in the right hand chamber.

I've used variations of it to make ghosts appear outside of windows, and to transform a skeletal corpse into an actor portraying a zombie in a riff on the classic carnival "girl to gorilla" trick.

There is a great deal of potential in applying new technologies to classic concepts. New school meets old school is where it is at!