BigStage.biz

They’re an unlikely couple—Paul S. Otellini, Intel CEO, and Steve Harwell, lead singer of the alt rock band Smash Mouth….Digital Steve Harwell is bald, but he has the real Steve’s eyebrows and goatee, and can wink, blink, and move his mouth. After a little funny business— [Big Stage cofounder Jonathan] Strietzel gives Harwell a blond Mohawk, he puts Harwell on a still image of a chopper, changes his hair, and changes his expression—he pulls up a Smash Mouth music video and replaces Harwell’s head with an Otellini avatar. Read More

Big Stage wants to popularize 3D avatars based on pictures of your own face, and it looks more likely to do a good job of it than any other startup we’ve seen so far. Read More

It’s intriguing software: take three digital photos of your face, each at a slightly offset angle, and upload them to BigStage. Thirty to 60 seconds later, you get a well-rendered virtual version of your face, which can be easily customized with different haircuts, jewelry and expressions. The digital avatars are animated, so they turn their heads and blink realistically. No one would ever think it was the real you–but it’s surprisingly cool and easy. Read More

Have you ever fantasized about playing the Humphrey Bogart character Rick in Casablanca, or Holly Golightly, the chic waif played by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany? With the avatar creation technology demo’d here by a startup called Big Stage, you might someday be able to fill in for your favorite film stars or video game characters. Read More

A company called Big Stage lets you be your better self. Here’s how it works: You take three digital photos of your face from different angles and then import them into the company’s software. Then you can put a funky hairstyle on yourself, glasses, or a variety of expressions. Read More

Intel loves where the Web is going. The more interactive and personal it gets, the more processing power is required and the more new chips Intel sells, for both servers and local workstations. The most interesting (and newest) product that [Intel CEO] Otellini brought to the stage in his keynote was an automatic avatar builder made by Big Stage. Read More

[Big Stage cofounder Jonathan] Strietzel needed only a few minutes to create a 3D avatar of me and superimpose my face over that of Harrison Ford’s in a scene from Raiders Of The Lost Ark. There I was, in a dank room, slyly replacing a coveted idol head with a small sack of sand. Damn, I was good. Read More

[The technology] could generate 3-D, photorealistic characters with just three still photos of a person’s face. That simplicity differentiates Big Stage’s technology from competitors as does its fidelity to the real face and ability to change an image in real time as the video runs. Read More

Intel CEO Paul S. Otellini’s keynote at CES…featured Big Stage generated avatars of Smash Mouth in a set environment, but Big Stage also has eyes for virtual worlds.”When I first saw this technology– personally, I’m a gamer–and I knew this would really change the landscape,” said [Chief Creative Officer Jonathan] Strietzel. “I have a huge place in my heart for anyone in virtual anything.” Read More

Big Stage, an avatar creation site, provided [Smash Mouth lead singer Steve] Harwell with a realistic avatar based on three pictures he took. That was actually the most entertaining part of the show seeing Harwell done up in a mohawk and nose ring. But the coolest part was when [Intel CEO] Paul Otellini’s face was superimposed on Harwell’s body in one of Smashmouth’s videos. Read More