The Elvis Hologram Experiment (Test video)

This video is an early test created as part of an experimental project using AI face-swapping technology. Please note that this video was always intended as a rough draft for illustration purposes only, and was never intended to be the final product.

The end goal would have been to fully recreate Elvis Presley as a hologram for the Scottish Elvis Festival, allowing him to perform alongside a live band. However, due to hardware issues with the hologram projector which would not be resolved in time for the festival, the project was unfortunately scrapped at an early stage before we could complete it. This video was a preliminary test intended to allow us to see what Elvis may have looked like on the hologram projector, itself not a polished or finalised recreation.

For this initial experiment, we recorded 2010 World Champion Elvis Presley Tribute Artist Johnny Lee Memphis lip-syncing to an Elvis track. We then removed the background and mapped Elvis Presley's face onto Johnny's. The intention was to reshoot this once we had worked out how it looked on the hardware but due to the hardware failure, the project was never to be.

This test was designed to be viewed on a fan-type projector, all black areas would become transparent, creating the illusion of Elvis as a hologram. Unlike the Pepper's Ghost method, using a fan-type projector meant that Elvis could not move around the stage, remaining stationary and part of his feet cropped due to the projector's limitations. This would potentially would have been covered up by a prop of some kind.