Dan Leno App
In 2015, Tony worked with Harmony Augmented Reality Company to produce the first ever 3D avatar of Dan Leno: working with Dan’s 1903 cylinder recording of The Grass Widower, Tony performed and recorded the role in perfect synchronicity with the original recording. His movements were plotted using infra red and Wii cameras, so that it could be realised as a downloadable app. It was first presented at Earls Court as the development of entirely new technology to retrieve historical performance. See the App in action here
Harmony.co.uk puts it like this
“Dan Leno was the most famous entertainer of his time. Not only did he sell out London’d West End for months at a time (often playing 2 venues) but he also invented the Pantomime Dame and stand up comedy.
Sadly, at the peak of his fame he passed away in an asylum just a few years before film and the Hollywood industry emerged.
We decided to give Dan one last tread of the boards and found some wax recordings of his performances, hired the UK’s best historical comedy actor and combined the motion with lip-syncing software.
This, ladies and gentleman, is Dan’s (virtually) last performance.”