HOW
WE DID IT
(Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production)
To perfect the hologram’s body movements and facial expressions, prior to compositing the 3D model on the body, a detailed pre-production phase took place. This step involved hundreds of hours of studying the singer’s previous performances, visiting the Umm Kulthum Museum in Giza to collect information about her original gowns and jewelry, and conducting extensive talks with her family and associates.
HOW
WE DID IT
(Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production)
The production itself was split into three parts: 3D-modeling, facial motion capture, and body motion capture. Using state-of-the-art 3D technology, we created a photorealistic 3D model and animation of Umm Kulthum’s face, and with the help of Egyptian actress Sabreen, who played her character in a well-known Ramadan TV series during which she became very familiar with the singer’s body language and facial expressions, we were able to capture her movements through an on-set shoot. Keeping in mind that we were producing a live concert, we also had to re-record/remaster the music from scratch in order to deliver high-quality audio that underlined the spectacular visual experience.
HOW
WE DID IT
(Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production)
Finally, we moved on to the most challenging phase – the post-production – which included compositing, editing, VFX and rendering. The project rendering phase took more than 1,000,000 hours from the 3D model render to the final composite. After this, we were ready to deliver a full-fledged Umm Kulthum hologram concert featuring four of her popular songs: Enta Omri, Alf Leila w Leila, Lessa Faker, and Seret El Hob. Using visual effects, we were also capable of making the singer magically appear and disappear on stage in between each song, each time dressed in a different spectacular gown.
The whole project was created by our incredibly talented teams at NDP and MBC in just 30 days, starting from 15 December 2018 until 15 January 2019, pushing our production limits to a whole new level.
