So fantastic!

Elvis on 'Idol:' How It Was Done
April 27, 2007 - Those who say Elvis Presley is dead must have missed "American Idol" this week.


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The late king of rock 'n' roll performed a hip-shaking duet with Celine Dion on Wednesday's show. The images of him seemed so real, many people were left wondering how "Idol" was able to bring him back from the dead.

Fans can thank technology. Last week, Dion spent hours on the stage singing her part of the song several times without an audience or anyone next to her, looking to her side on cue.

Then she did the routine again with a Presley body double who lip-synced Presley's song and matched his moves from his 1968 performance.

Finally, all three elements - Dion by herself, Dion with the body double and the original Presley performance - were combined through editing and a technique called rotoscoping, which traced Presley from the original footage by cutting him out.

"Rotoscoping allows you to take one image from a pre-existing piece of video and puts him a whole new environment - completely new use of that same piece of video," Disney digital media designer Joe Husung said.

Similar technology has been used before. It brought Natalie Cole and her late father, Nat King Cole, together to perform "Unforgettable," and allowed Forrest Gump to talk to former President Nixon.

A new British show puts the technology to use every day in "Duet Impossible," in which stars perform with their late idols. If the concept crosses the pond, American audiences may soon see late legends like James Brown and Sinatra rocking the stage again.

Thanks for posting. Very interesting

Your very welcome. I thought it was interesting. I was wondering how they were able to accomplish it...neat to read...

beyond interesting!!!
on the one hand, it was like actually seeing elvis again, so realistic, on the other hand, it was kinda scary, cos it wasn't 'really' him, but seemed to be.... sure did bring forth a flood for me tho!
thanx for sharing this chica!

That is exactly what I was thinking, it had an eerie quality to it...would have been freakier to me had they used later 70's concert footage...
Your very welcome chicklet.

Thanks so much for the info. My almost 10 year old daughter was in awe. She looked at me with her jaw hanging on the floor (while watching Celine and Elvis) and said, "mom...........I thought Elvis was dead". She was blown away, as was I. Creepy but so cool.

Your very welcome..my pleasure, I was thrilled to read this.
I was in awe too...it gave me goose bumps...
Awe "mom........I thought Elvis was dead"...breaks the heart.
Yes I think it was eerie/creepy but incredibly cool.

Thanx for posting this.

quote:

Originally posted by Unique Dog:
Thanx for posting this.

Your very welcome.

It gave a younger audience a view of why we older folks love Elvis! I thought the duet was fantastic and the technology was amazing. The song lyrics alone have always inspired me to stop and think. Once again I could feel and appreciate the magic of Elvis.

Wow Suz thanx for posting this!! I thought it was stunning I love it! it made my hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up! it looked so real like he was really there singing with her..

Well said tennessean The lyrics to that song are very powerful and then to have Elvis' voice to them, there are no words that I can say that would bring it justice, I hope that it reaches many many many of the younger fans so that yes, they see what we've all seen and known for decades.

I know Collette friend, it was sooooo eerie yet beautiful...I think Celine did a fantastic job, I don't think I would have been as composed as she was, I think my instinct would have been to reach over and try to touch him. And your very welcome, it was my pleasure to post this...

me too SUZ!! me too! I would have to touch him!! and I would be CRYING!!

Yes def...good thing some of us fans aren't in the biz rof...

me too, collette! i was crying on my couch, dunno how i would've managed if i had been closer and could see 'him'... my daughter kept say, 'it's an impersonator, it's not really him', cos 'he' looked so real! i told her there were no impersonators who looked like that, only resembled him.... eerie and hair-raising on the neck and amazing technology! thanx for posting chica!