In what could be the first projection of its kind in the world, Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu‘s songs will be recorded using volumetric holograms.
Turki Al-Sheikh, Saudi Royal Court Advisor and Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, announced the news on Twitter, tweeting: “On Monday, December 14, God willing, I will attend a rehearsal of 15 out of the 100 songs by the Artist of Arabs using hologram technology, as the first artist in the world to archive his works in this way and this number.”
The Saudi legendary singer expressed gratitude to Al Sheikh over this project.
Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority replied: “You are a stature that deserves to be honored and has your music documented, which you have pleased us and the Arab world for more than 50 years.”
تعميد أبو ناصر لي بتسجيل الهولوجرام تشريف وتكليف حفظه الله ورعاه قائما على اسعاد الجماهير بالبرامج الترفيهية. https://t.co/RHcf795avW
— محمد عبده (@Mohammed_Abdu) December 8, 2020
Hologram technology is a three-dimensional projection that can be seen without using any special equipment such as cameras or glasses. The image can be viewed from any angle, so as the user walks around the display the object will appear to move and shift realistically.
Hologram concerts are going beyond what people have seen before with volumetric capture that involves taking 30 frames a second and then using a computer algorithm to blend them into a video.
It is all still about tricking the eye, just like ‘the ghost illusion’ of the 1800s, creating a set environment the audience can walk through, like a giant ‘holodeck’.
In January 2019, at the Winter in Tantora festival in Al-Ula, a hologram concert was hosted for the first time, featuring legendary Egyptian singer, Umm Kulthum, who was accompanied by an orchestra and bedecked in flowing, full-length gowns as she had when debuting in the 1920s.
Also, the Abdeen Palace in Cairo, one of Egypt’s most famous historic monuments, hosted a holographic performance of Kulthum.
“The Artist of Arabs” marked the 60th anniversary of his singer’s career on December 31, 2019.
He was born in the Kingdom’s Asir province on June 12, 1949. Abdu began his career in the 1960s, as he entered the world of singing at an early age.
