Beta Release Makes Big Stage’s Realistic 3-D Avatars Talk on Skype. Marks Debut of Voice Engine Enabling Big Stage Users to Insert Their Expressive Voice and Face
Into Video Games, Virtual Worlds, Social Networks and More.
LOS ANGELES, CA — June 25, 2009 — Big Stage Entertainment, Inc., the leading platform for consumer projection of self into digital life, today released a beta version of Blabber for Skype, a free plug-in to the Skype Internet phone system that animates your photo-realistic, Big Stage 3 D avatar (called an @ctor) and automatically lip synchs spoken words as part of real-time virtual character conversation. Users can accessorize their @ctor with hair, glasses and cool backgrounds, as well as conveying moods through a dashboard of animated gestures and expressions.
“Through the launch of a Big Stage-enabled Skype plug-in, we’re extending our advanced 3-D avatar technology into the realm of real-time expressive communications and further advancing our goal of projecting ‘self’ into digital life.” said Big Stage CEO Phil Ressler. “The estimated 450 million people using Skype can have fun speaking as an ultra cool version of themselves instead of using chat, or substitute Blabber for video when for any reason they aren’t ready to face their web-cam or need to conserve bandwidth. Blabber debuts our voice-sync engine, which we intend to leverage as we extend a similar capability into video games, virtual worlds, virtual conferencing, and social networks like Facebook.”
Users download and install the Blabber for Skype plug-in from www.BigStage.com/Skype . Skype users who have already created an @ctor simply enter their logins and click to place a 3 D avatar call to another Blabber user. Those without an @ctor simply take and upload one to three photos of their face to get started.
“Blabber’s advanced facial modeling and real-time animation makes voice over IP lots of fun,” said Tom Keating, CTO, VP, Founder of TMC Labs. “It’s a compelling example of the role the animated digital version of people will play as ever more advanced virtual world capabilities converge with voice and video in the connected online world.”
About Big Stage Entertainment, Inc. Big Stage Entertainment, Inc. is a media technology company that enables the projection of self into digital life. With Big Stage Entertainment products and services, consumers can create a photorealistic, 3-D, animated @ctor to represent themselves in virtual worlds, video games, video clips and online communities. Through its PortableYou program, Big Stage Entertainment enables third parties to seamlessly integrate its 3-D facial modeling system into video games, virtual worlds, virtual character conversations, Web sites, mobile apps, kiosk-based systems and more to personalize everything from entertainment to communications. At BigStage.com, anyone can generate a free, animated 3-D @ctor from a few digital photos and save it to use in any Big Stage-enabled media. Headquartered in Sherman Oaks, CA, Big Stage Entertainment investors include Mission Ventures, Selby Ventures and Tech Coast Angels. For more information, please visit www.bigstage.biz.
Legal Disclaimer: @ctor, Blabber for Skype, BackStage, iStage and PortableYou are trademarks or registered trademarks of Big Stage Entertainment, Inc. All other trademarks or trade names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.
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