BigStage.biz

For those of you who’ve dreamed of staring in a blockbuster movie or TV show alongside their favorite actor, or perhaps you’ve wanted to save the world in a video game or rock out on a music video, BigStage.com offers you the opportunity to do so in less than 30 seconds. Sound like fun? Well this seemingly innocuous idea turns out to be big business. This completely new entertainment vertical will be a big win for advertisers who are constantly looking for creative new ways for people to interact with their product. Read More

Big Stage Entertainment on Wednesday announced the official launch of its service that lets users create animated 3D avatars of themselves for posting on social network sites and other locations. The “@ctor” is created by uploading a digital photo, which is then digitally mapped, and a 3D model is then created. The model can then be customized with hair, glasses, hats and clothing, and inserted into movie scenes, TV clips, music videos, virtual worlds, social networks, video games and other media. Read More

Pasadena-based Big Stage Entertainment, which provides technology to create 3D avatars, said today that it has partnered with Stephen J. Cannell Productions, the firm behind “The A-Team” and “The Greatest American Hero.” According to the firms, Stephen J. Cannell productions will offer a collection of short clips from classic TV shows on BigStage.com’s site. Big Stage’s technology will be used to insert users into video clips and photos. Read More

Have a digital camera on hand? More likely than not, I think. If you’re free to experiment, and feel up to demo, take three photos of your mug and send them the way of Big Stage. There your profile will be displayed in three-dimensional form as part of a custom, automated design called “@ctor.” The reason for this is to create an avatar to use “through a diverse array of online media, networks and communities.” Read More

The payoff will be when the company goes into its next phase: Partnerships with virtual worlds, gaming companies, social networks and other companies. The plan is to eventually make your avatar ubiquitous, so that you can use it anytime you want. Read More

Like Slinkies and Silly Putty originating from flubbed technology, some of the cooler Web services have originated from tech originally intended for government agencies.  Big Stage is definitely one of those services. It uses three photos of your face to map your features onto a virtual head using technology developed for the CIA. Read More

“As a gamer, I quickly understood the power of the USC-based research and how it could impact all forms of media and entertainment,” Big Stage founder and Chief Creative Officer Jonathan Strietzel said. “From day one, I could easily envision a world where everyone was truly part of the entertainment they consumed, from simple images to video games and virtual worlds. It is why I chose to build a company around this extraordinary technology and why we are so excited about the less obvious applications in the future that will surprise us all.” Read More

We did a live piece of video at Intel Headquarters today for a sneak announcement from our friends over at BigStage.com. And your favorite demo guy has all the goodies for a new hot web and content tool that internet users can really get their heads into. Read More

Imagine replacing Michael Jackson’s head with your own in the Thriller video, and hearing the King of Pop’s falsetto come out of your mouth. Thanks to computer scientist Gerard Medioni, such hyper-video karaoke stunts are now feasible, and thanks to the USC Stevens Institute for Innovation, they are already making waves on YouTube. Earlier this year, thousands of music fans uploaded their own versions of Thriller, starring themselves, in a promotion involving media company Big Stage Entertainment, the startup born of Medioni’s technology. Read More

In a video interview, Jonathan Strietzel talks about how Big Stage will continue to improve the fidelity of your 3D “Digital You” @ctor to make it walk and talk like you in hard-core video gaming and immersive entertainment experiences. Read More