Why is it so fun to see holograms in movies?
Filmmakers love to use holograms in movies almost as much as audiences love to see them. Holograms are eye-catching technology that capture our attention and also our imagination. They muster inside us worlds of possibility with their hyper-cool design–3D images etched in light–and their seamless interactivity that allow their on-screen users to zoom in, out, and around with intuitive ease. Eventually, real-world holograms will cross that threshold of viability making holographic movies an option. The online science news service Science X believes this barrier will be broken sooner rather than later, pointing to the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology’s (TUAT) recent breakthroughs in holography as proof. TUAT’s helium-neon laser can project convincingly realized red-light motion holograms onto their ultrathin metasurface material in what could be termed a holographic movie of sorts. In July 2021, IKIN debuted its own holographic projection system, IKIN ARC, at ITEXPO in Miami, where it wowed attendees with its 3D full-color renderings in ambient light. Holographic technology like these are threatening to make holographic movies a reality. When exactly holographic movies will officially premiere is still unclear, but modern evidence indicates its eventuality. Until then, holograms in movies invite us to consider a multitude of applications for holograms–some of which are currently available to us and others that are still on the horizon of present holographic capabilities.
Through The Camera Lens: Holograms in Movies
Just about every article written and public statement spoken about the allure and promise of holograms namechecks Star Wars and its famed holographic moment when the adorable droid R2-D2 projects a 3D rendering of Princess Leia pleading for help from Obi-Wan Kenobi. It’s an easy reference because it’s universally known and conjures an almost magical depiction of what hologram technology can be. Since then–and in a few examples before–movies have presented a breadth of possibility for holograms.
Marvel, Iron Man, and Holograms
For many, some of the most recent and abundant depictions of on-screen holograms have come in the slew of Marvel movies, which are set in most cases in a near-present future that looks much like the world of today, though with notably glitzier technology. In particular, the playboy tech billionaire turned iron-clad superhero Tony Stark/Iron Man embodies this glitz in his suits and surroundings. Holograms are regularly the shorthand Marvel filmmakers use to mark their characters and films with a sense of neo-futurism. In Iron Man 2, Tony uses a holographic model of the 1974 Stark Expo to discover a hidden message, unlocking knowledge of a new life-saving element and leading him to a more efficient version of his central power source, the Arc reactor that powers his suits and buildings. In this pivotal scene, holograms are the visual centerpiece.
We are Iron Man: Tony’s Hologram Technology Today and in Real Life
With sweeping cameras that pass through the holographic light and rapid rotations of the 3D model manipulated by Tony’s fingers, holograms are presented as a technology of the future. And, they are. Although, this approach of using models for architectural structures is already in use. IKIN currently has a contract with the Department of Defense to fashion holograms into a smart warehouse that can track warehouse inventory through holograms. Additionally, IKIN has identified engineering and architecture as two fields uniquely positioned to benefit from their interactive volumetric holograms, allowing users to magnify and manipulate holographic structures with ease and track the user’s perspective without the need for goggles. Similarly, the Australian computer software company Euclideon has developed a hologram table that utilizes similar conceptualizations using a large, stationary table and similar head tracking, though requiring glasses in their case.
Harry Potter’s Holographic Magic
In the first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry orders a box of Chocolate Frogs from the Hogwarts Express snack cart, while en route to his first year of wizarding school. The chocolate frog escapes through the train’s window, but Harry receives a consolation prize in the form of a Famous Witches and Wizards holographic-style trading card, which comes one in every box. These eye-catching trading cards are technically accomplished through magic, but their 3D depictions look and act just like real-world, muggle holograms. Comic book trading cards have been using holograms of notable superheroes since the 1990s. It’s a low-fi version of the hologram technology that makes credit card security holograms possible. Hard-core Potterheads will be overjoyed to learn that holographic versions of those very same Chocolate Frogs Cards are available to purchase in the real world, allowing fans to experience a bit of the wonder that Harry did on that fateful train ride.
Back to the Future 2: Holographic Advertising
In Back to the Future 2, the beloved sequel that takes Marty McFly into the future this time to clean up some business related to his children, Marty encounters an oversized hologram of a shark while walking about the Hill Valley town square that is a staple locale throughout the franchise. Still acclimating to the mind-blowing technology of 2015, McFly is set upon by a holographic advertisement for Jaws 19. Distracted by an automated Texaco station, Marty doesn’t initially notice the looming shark that emerges from a nearby cinema marquee that dons the tongue-in-cheek tagline for the film “This Time It’s REALLY REALLY Personal” and the film’s easter egg of a directorial credit that attributes Jaws 19 to Max Spielberg, real-life son of the film’s producer/original Jaws director Steven Spielberg. Marty turns as the famed Jaws theme ramps up and cowers as the shark’s virtual mouth devours him. Marty regains his composure once the hologram disappears and quips: “[The] Shark still looks fake.”
The Hurdle of Realistic Holograms
This biting retort, while a comical line, points to a recurrent hurdle of holography over the years: the challenge of generating realistic-looking holographic images. The 3D hologram depicted in Back to the Future 2 is anything but realistic, looking more like a cartoon shark in a kid’s show than a threatening apex predator. Today, however, convincingly real holographic images are a requirement of the times, and visual fidelity is advanced regularly as part of the ongoing development process for hologram technology. IKIN has invited developers from around the world to participate in this ongoing process, making available the SDK for their signature RYZ holographic system. The goal: to push volumetric 3D holograms to their limits and expand the possibilities of applications as well as the quality of holographic content.
Blade Runner 2049: Holographic Humans
When the long-gestating follow-up to the sci-fi classic Blade Runner, titled Blade Runner 2049, hit screens in 2017, its environments were dense with holograms illuminating otherwise dim corners of a future world that seems plagued by darkness. In a key sequence set in the abandoned city of Las Vegas, we see a handful of hologram entertainers playing to an empty lounge. Holographic versions of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Pressley, Marylin Monroe, all make appearances in the nigh-abandoned hotel, as do a slew of backup singers and dancers. These visages of deceased icons can’t help but conjure memories of the pseudo-holograms used for similar purposes starting at Coachella in 2012 to bring about posthumous performances some of the biggest names in music from the past century.
At other points in the picture, we see giant holograms of a beautiful nude woman walking the night-time avenues of a cyberpunk-styled Los Angeles. Like the Jaws 19 hologram in Back to the Future 2, this illuminated lady is an enormous advertisement for Joi, a commercially available holographic companion AI that serves as a primary love interest in the narrative. The mind-bending combination of CG and camera effects used to realize Joi in the production make her one of the film’s most memorable elements, resonating with possibilities for holograms not yet achievable in the real world.
Total Recall’s Realistic Renderings
Equally memorable is the enjoyable use of hologram technology in the original Total Recall from 1990. Total Recall sees its hard-bodied protagonist Douglas “Doug” Quaid (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) embark on an action-packed mission to infiltrate and liberate the draconian labor colonies of Mars in what may or may not be a technologically-induced dream. After battling his way through various sectors of the colonial outpost, Doug finds himself backed into a corner and turning to a clever bit of technology, a holographic watch that allows its wearer to project a convincing rendering of his full-length body into open spaces. He uses a hologram of himself to face off against an armed security force when left with few alternatives. The hologram walks right into the foot soldiers’ crosshairs, takes a hail of bullets, and meets it with laughter.
This subterfuge gives the real Doug the opportunity to return in kind, opening fire on the distracted gunmen, and it gives us viewers one of the most enjoyable bits of comeuppance in a film full of effecting reversals. It also touches upon that quintessential concern of holograms already addressed: the need for convincing holographic reproductions. And, it points two decades into the future at current efforts to use holograms for realistic volumetric reproductions of people. For example, the HoloPod, by Canada’s ARHT Media, uses a 3D display system to holographically project a user’s full body into meetings and on stage for conferences. Similarly conceived, Google’s Project Starline, employs a video booth with 65” 3D displays to connect users in a convincing face-to-face experience. This latter example, however, may not technically fit the strict definition of a hologram, perhaps better described as photorealistic 3D video, but it hits at the same end goal to connect and represent people realistically.
Holograms in Movies Equate to Holograms in Real-Life, Given Enough Time
For the curious thinkers, the tinkerers, and the innovators, it is an enjoyable experience to see holograms in movies. One, because they promise to incorporate hologram technology into various corners of lives given enough time. And, two, because holograms are a cool technology that is as versatile as it is impressive. They bring light into darkness, allow us to think differently about the otherwise mundane, and can even go as far as to connect people. As companies like IKIN continue the march forward toward holographic films and other holographic applications, we will continue to see even more of our favorite holograms in movies step off the screen into the real world.
