Vocaloid, Miku, and MMD

[samusaran253]

Sup guys? What do you guys think of Vocaloid, Hatusune Miku, and MMD? She's a teenage girl, or rather a virtual representation of one. She's quite popular in Japan. Vocaloid is the software used to create her and other characters. Miku Miku Dance (MMD) is a program that allows people to create videos and animations using Miku and other Vocaloid characters. I was surprised when I discovered that some people at my high school knew who she was. There are also live concerts of her, where they use holograms to create her image and make her dance and sing. Watch the videos, discuss, and share your own in this thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmdUE7EMIi4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsu8vdW6BLg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNlsr9yhYN8

Also, here's a live performance of her:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTXO7KGHtjI

[Megalyth]

That's... pretty awesome. I have Vocaloid, but I haven't had a chance to play with it much. I didn't know it was that versatile.

[esselfortium]

[16:46] it's milli vanilli 2011!!!!! i must expose this hatsune miku as a frad

The three MMD videos are...uhh...heh. I guess this is the new equivalent of Microsoft 3D Movie Maker from the mid-90s. Has anyone remade Grandpa Found The Car Keys in MMD yet?

The live video is an interesting technical achievement, but really, all I can think of is "it's Chuck E. Cheese for weird adults".

[samusaran253]

This one is...odd: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ky-J_e3vzYk

[KwadDamyj]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRd7gOfIS-0

MOMMY I'M SCARED

[Aliotroph?]

First thought: Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.

Second thought: clever technology. Why don't the Japanese ever have good uses for it?

[samusaran253]

Aliotroph? said:

First thought: Whisky. Tango. Foxtrot.

Second thought: clever technology. Why don't the Japanese ever have good uses for it?

Sexually pleasing a bunch of teenagers isn't a good use?

[Aliotroph?]

3D anime girls are not sexually pleasing.

[chungy]

What Aliotroph said. This is... creepy.

[Kore]

If I recall correctly, it isn't a 3d hologram, it is just an image projected into a pane of glass.

[Remilia Scarlet]

I've known about Miku Hatsune and Vocaloid for a while, and have even been doing experiments to integrate Vocaloid into my own music. For me the character is just a mascot that turned into a phenomenon. Though personally, I like it when someone sets Miku's voice to trance music.

[Jodwin]

Miku is overrated.

[Xeros612]

samusaran253 said:

Sexually pleasing a bunch of teenagers isn't a good use?

No. No it isn't.

What a glorious waste of technology.

[david_a]

The natural next step from the current disposable pop divas are fully artificial versions. Probably cheaper in the long run... Don't have to worry about embarrassing stints in rehab and/or Teh Crazy like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, etc.

[gggmork]

In one of britney spears's's's music videos, "sony" and some dating site brands are flashed on screen like they're just part of "coolness" of the video. Its like taking the cap of your skull off, sprinkling AIDS in, then closing it again. Then again, what isn't like that nowadays?

[KwadDamyj]

@david_a: Yeah, until some clueless hotshot programmer decides to give her personality an AI. Then we have an emotionally unstable pop diva who can crash the stock market 10 times a second. :P

[Csonicgo]

gggmork said:

In one of britney spears's's's music videos, "sony" and some dating site brands are flashed on screen like they're just part of "coolness" of the video. Its like taking the cap of your skull off, sprinkling AIDS in, then closing it again. Then again, what isn't like that nowadays?

I POSTED A HUGE ANIMATED GIF IN IMG TAGS AND IT HAS BEEN REMOVED. I WON'T DO THIS AGAIN


Seriously, I saw this nonsense at a con once. It truly is boring, her voice is awful, T-Pain sounds better than this shit. People aren't paying to see this, are they? Judging from the Youtard comments, I feel much hatred for my fellow countrymen right now. We LET THIS HAPPEN.

[Lizardcommando]

People aren't paying to see this, are they?

Oh yes. Yes they are...

[Enjay]

Kore said:

If I recall correctly, it isn't a 3d hologram, it is just an image projected into a pane of glass.

Ah, that makes sense. If true, usable 3D holograms "like in teh mooveez" were available, it would have been bigger news.

So, those people are effectively just at the cinema watching a cartoon, right?

[edit typo]

[Snarboo]

KwadDamyj said:

@david_a: Yeah, until some clueless hotshot programmer decides to give her personality an AI. Then we have an emotionally unstable pop diva who can crash the stock market 10 times a second. :P

This was literally the plot to Macross Plus, although in MP's case the AI merely took over a powerful futurist fighter jet. Crashing the stock market or launching a bunch of nuclear bombs probably would have been more effective. :p

The idea of artificial singers, actors and entertainers isn't really that shocking even if Miku is kinda lame. This isn't the first time this has happened, either, given the popularity of characters such as Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse. I'm not saying Miku really compares but the idea isn't new, this is just taking it to the next logical step and having a computer generate her voice. Hell, haven't there been a few movies recently with CGI versions of long dead actors?

[DeathevokatioN]

Geeze, with how the crowd is going, you'd expect that to like a real live show or something.

[deathbringer]

I bet nobody would be calling this "creepy" or "sexual" if it had a Britney lookalike and wasn't invented in Japan.

Anyway I have one of "her" CD's, but I didn't have a clue what it was, I just saw a truck driving around playing some of the songs and thought "that girl's voice sounds wierd". Then later I found one of the CD's in a shop. I didn't even know it was some sort of computer simulation until later.

Dragonforce are still the best, though.

[Aliotroph?]

Kore said:

If I recall correctly, it isn't a 3d hologram, it is just an image projected into a pane of glass.

Yes, and some of the videos show that clearly, but the render is just as wrong looking as any 3D rendered anime girl.

The implications of thousands or millions of teenagers preferring things like that sexually are scary. It's one thing to idolize unhealthy body images, but non-human ones will get you nowhere.

[Shanoa]

The fanbase of Hatsune Miku is very creepy/disturbing

Personally i can't stand vocaloid.

[Jodwin]

Miku fandom should die down so that other franchises would start to get better made figures, too.

Aliotroph? said:

The implications of thousands or millions of teenagers preferring things like that sexually are scary. It's one thing to idolize unhealthy body images, but non-human ones will get you nowhere.

We do what we must to slow down the rising numbers of human population. And who said it's limited to teenagers alone?

[samusaran253]

Enjay said:

Ah, that makes sense. If true, usable 3D holograms "like in teh mooveez" were available, it would have been bigger news.

So, those people are effectively just at the cinema watching a cartoon, right?

[edit typo]

Anime. It's not a cartoon, it's an anime.

[Xeros612]

Anime == cartoon. They're both (mostly) hand-drawn animation. Same shit different name.

[lazygecko]

I remember when Vocaloid first came out, around 2004 or something. It was marketed here in the west mainly as a tool for generating backing vocals. Listened to some of the demos and it was quite good for that purpose, when the synthesized vocals are not in focus it's harder to distinguish from the real deal.

I remember reading comments on KVRAudio or some other production-related community, and the general opinion was that it was a niche gimmick and would quickly end up as forgotten bargain bin material. Which is sort of what happened here in the west I guess, but it's really bizarre seeing it mutate into some kind of meme phenomenom in Japan.

But then again, it's Japan.

[samusaran253]

Xeros612 said:

Anime == cartoon. They're both (mostly) hand-drawn animation. Same shit different name.

Cartoons = Mostly for kids usually American
Anime = Mostly for teens & adults, generally contains a lot more mature content & nudity, usually foreign (especially Japan)

[KwadDamyj]

I'd say it's an even spread for all ages ranges in Japan, but...I digress.

Yeah, sometimes I find Vocaloid interesting, but it quickly crosses the line from strange-but-fascinating to strange-and-alarming when the fans start getting weirdly emotionally invested in the whole thing.

Then again I've seen people get equally obsessed with non-anime franchises.

I blame Asperger's. :P