In watching the first episode, it’s easy to forget that the avatars aren’t actually on stage. While the limited elasticity of the avatars’ faces can sometimes make it look like everyone just got the same bad Botox job, the show is still miles ahead of anything that’s ever successfully been done before. The result: Avatars that can cry if and when the person cries, avatars with shadows and reflections that follow them appropriately, avatars that can appear brighter or darker depending on the lighting they’re in at the moment, avatars that can brush their hair out of the way and blush. Not only have graphics evolved significantly, but these latest versions of different tech pieces were not designed to interact with each other - and that’s what Fox really had to figure out fast to be ahead of the curve. To say that it’s even supposed to happen right now… We’re all blown away.”
“We, collectively on the Fox side, spent at least a year developing the technology. “You probably could’ve done it last year, but it wouldn’t look as good,” Zinman says, adding that it could take up to six months to get through the filming process - as opposed to the three weeks required for this show. Such a mixed-reality spectacle isn’t something production companies could’ve pulled off five years ago. Moreover, the judges won’t learn the true identity of the winner until they’ve already won.ĭasharra Bridges and her avatar, Queen Dynamite. But the judges, along with host Rocsi Diaz and in-person audiences, watch the performances on eye-level monitors placed strategically around the room - so as to appear as if they’re looking centerstage.
In typical music-TV fashion, the winner will get a cash prize ($100,000), as well as mentorship opportunities from celebrity judges: willi.i.am, Grimes, Alanis Morissette, and Nick Lachey. On Alter Ego, which premieres this Wednesday night (September 22nd), the contestants don’t perform on stage, but rather behind a curtain whilst donning motion-capturing suits that control their own highly fantastical, augmented-reality avatars. I was skeptical, a few weeks ago, as I approached the doors to a taping of Alter Ego, Fox’s new singing competition with a high-tech twist, but it felt the same as entering any old sound stage - at least for the first minute or so.