Following a performance by Tupac Shakur at the recently concluded Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in the United States via holographic projection, industry players locally are considering having reggae legend Bob Marley perform again in a similar fashion.

The Weekend STAR contacted Youth Ambassador for entertainment Graham Rowe to get his opinion on the possibility of creating a holographic Bob Marley, and according to Rowe, such a move would have both negative and positive implications.

"A holographic Bob Marley would have been both beneficial and negative, this technology could restimulate global interest in reggae music. People would get a chance to see a Bob Marley performance and that is magnificent. However, some things can get played out easily and you don't want to play out one of Jamaica's biggest icon. There is a concept that scarcity increases value, so perhaps if a holographic Bob Marley was allowed to go on a tour, that could reduce his legendary status, but nevertheless, I would love to see Bob Marley performing again. We could also include current reggae artistes to improve their international exposure," Rowe said.

holographic image

Media personality and technology writer Carlette DeLeon believes a holographic Bob Marley would be a good venture to honour deceased performers.

"I saw it (Tupac Shakur's performance) and I thought that it was a nice thing for the fans that had never seen him perform before. It would be a good medium to honour Bob Marley and not just for him, other legends that have passed away," DeLeon said.

The Weekend STAR contacted lighting director John DaCosta to get a better understanding of the technology that was used to execute Tupac's highly publicised performance, and according to him, the technology was not directly a hologram.

"It is not a hologram it is a projection called the Musion Eyeliner which is a highdefinition video projection system designed to create the illusion of three-dimensional moving images, using a high definition projector to throw the image on a reflective surface which bounces the image back on-stage. This system makes it possible for real people and virtual persons to share the same stage," he said.

According to DaCosta, the lighting aspect of the projection system is simple, however, designing Bob Marley's image and mimicking his movement would take time as well as professionalism. The cost of production he said would be an estimated US$100,000.

The Weekend STAR made several attempts to get a comment from the Marley family, however, efforts were futile.

A correspondent for the Marley family who identified herself only as Doreen, told The Weekend STAR via email, that the Marleys were not thinking about a Bob Marley holographic display at this point.

According to a representative from Nytimes.com, (responsible for the Tupac Shakur holographic projection performance), they were in talks for a nationwide tour.

Today marks the 31st anniversary of the death of Bob Marley, and the global icon is still the most celebrated reggae artiste to ever grace the international platform. Bob Marley currently holds over 38 million likes on facebook.com more than any other Jamaican artiste dead or alive.

'I saw it (Tupac Shakur's performance) and I thought that it was a nice thing for the fans that had never seen him perform before. It would be a good medium to honour Bob Marley and not just for him, other legends that have passed away.'