A 'Cruelty-Free' Circus Replaced Animals with Holograms (msn.com) 51
The Washington Post reports:
A new spectacle is taking over the tented world of acrobats, clowns and juggling entertainers. And while it may have a trunk and tusks, it weighs absolutely nothing. Circuses, once known for showcasing elephants in all their heft are now presenting a much lighter creature — a 3D hologram.
The Circus-Theater Roncalli in Germany was the first to do it, and photographer Davide Bertuccio wanted to see for himself how the group pulled it off. When he attended a show at the end of 2022, he was immediately struck by the quiet atmosphere inside the tent. "Finding a circus without the din of animals, but the simple noise of people was a surprise" he said.
The holographic figures are custom-built for the circus using 3D animations, photography and virtual rendering. The system of 11 digital laser projectors positioned around the stage flash animations onto a circular net hoisted up for each performance. The entire light show is operated by one person, and it takes about 10 people to take down the metallic netting to make room for the other performers, including acrobats, clowns and dancers, Bertuccio said.
The circus introduced the holograms in 2019, the Post reports, and "other acts have followed suit, including the French circus L'Écocirque, which features holograms of a lion, an elephant and beluga whales, accompanied by a live orchestra blaring rock music."
The Circus-Theater Roncalli in Germany was the first to do it, and photographer Davide Bertuccio wanted to see for himself how the group pulled it off. When he attended a show at the end of 2022, he was immediately struck by the quiet atmosphere inside the tent. "Finding a circus without the din of animals, but the simple noise of people was a surprise" he said.
The holographic figures are custom-built for the circus using 3D animations, photography and virtual rendering. The system of 11 digital laser projectors positioned around the stage flash animations onto a circular net hoisted up for each performance. The entire light show is operated by one person, and it takes about 10 people to take down the metallic netting to make room for the other performers, including acrobats, clowns and dancers, Bertuccio said.
The circus introduced the holograms in 2019, the Post reports, and "other acts have followed suit, including the French circus L'Écocirque, which features holograms of a lion, an elephant and beluga whales, accompanied by a live orchestra blaring rock music."
Another specatacle (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Another specatacle (Score:5, Interesting)
It'd be a pretty surreal experience to go to a completely holographic circus where you're the only real thing there. Maybe even worth the price of admission.
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Well maybe they can fill the stands with holographic projections of customers. On the flip side not having to feed an actual elephant or lion probably saves a hell of lot on operating costs. They might be profitable with a smaller crowd. If the clowns get too expensive there's no reason you couldn't get a hologram replacement there as well.
It'd be a pretty surreal experience to go to a completely holographic circus where you're the only real thing there. Maybe even worth the price of admission.
Agreed on all points. It reminds me of the robot audiences the Korean baseballers installed during the Cov. I haven't heard anything about it lately.
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Not really. Circuses are more than animals. People have gone happily to circuses even when animals are removed completely.
Even now for this particular circus all the good seats are already sold out for the weekday shows in 2 weeks, and the weekend shows are sold out completely.
So as usual Slashdotters don't understand normal people in the slightest.
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I can't even remember the last circus I went to that had performing animals - not sure if I've ever seen one. It's been a couple of decades now that the main spectacles of circuses has been acrobats, clowns (slaptstick acrobats), and various types of stunts/daredevils. All human.
I think the only reason I know about the role animals have played in circuses is cultural history...
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I'm all for not keeping animals in the shitty conditions they likely were kept in while in traveling circuses but honestly as a kid they were the only part I was ever interested in and I doubt a holographic tiger or elephant will be any where near as compelling as the real thing.
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But they need to rise to the level of Cirque du Soleil in order to attract audiences.
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But they need to rise to the level of Cirque du Soleil in order to attract audiences.
Or, adjusting prices accordingly. Once when my adult kids were in town, we were looking for something to do. A small, local circuit outfit called Circus Vargas happened to be passing through. Prices are perhaps a third or quarter of CdS. We were wary, but, hey, the price was right. We could leave if we didn't like it without feeling too much put out.
It starts and the first thing the entire cast does is come out singing and doing simple dance steps. I remember thinking, "Are these rejects from high school mu
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I need a "their" to "they're" translator instead of a spell-checker.
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I'm certain I saw Circus Vargas decades ago as a kid pretty much. And they had all the animals and such but were a smaller kind of circus. They set up in our hockey arena which held 5000 people. 3 rings.
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Yeah, it's a good circus for the kids. I was taken as a child, I took my kids as a child. Only one ring for the ones I've seen, though. Smaller venues. 5K is pretty large for them.
You don't need animals in circuses (Score:2)
Why remove the animals? (Score:3)
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Yeah I can see how someone could view a cat or dog for example bread for human companionship as a form of cruelty. It's an interesting question that I never really considered before.
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Yeah I can see how someone could view a cat or dog for example bread for human companionship as a form of cruelty. It's an interesting question that I never really considered before.
All dog breeds are have been bread for human companionship over several millennia which is why they're dogs. To a lesser degree the same is true of cats or any other animal that's been domesticated. The less useful breeds were eradicated by force or selective breeding.
Stray dogs will instinctively seek out humans for help and we'll give it to them. Even homeless people in the worst circumstances will still recognize something more hopeless than themselves and take it in and care for it. There's a lot of
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For the most part though, it isn't. But then there are the munchkin cats that are bred for deformities that cause problems down the line and result quite often in most of the litters being dead on birth (or however you want to call that). Same with pugs being bred for deformed noses with no real use. But most of the full sized breeds don't have major issues as they closer to the 'base dog' or 'base cat'.
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Agree for the wild parks, but circus cannot be made ok. Animals there live permanently in cages or small dens when they are not performing. Circus are nomadic by nature, animals travel long distance in cages by road. Also cruel treatments like de-clawing are common. Then, there is the sensitive topic of what you have to do to them so they "perform" according to the script.
Since the 2010s, legislation is changing around to world to limit or entirely prohibit the use of wild animals or all animals in circus.
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My mistake, the last link above is from the ANTI-circus association.
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You can be kind to animals without removing them.
Except this doesn't work with circuses, especially with traveling circuses. Animals there typically have small cramped enclosures and are forced into extremely stressful situations daily.
Especially when we're talking about most predators, such as big cats.
Re: Why remove the animals? (Score:2)
Sooo... it's a movie (Score:2)
Theater owners are having trouble getting people to go back to theaters to see movies now that you can watch them in the comfort of your own home. Why would anyone think that virtual circuses are worth going to?
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No they aren't. Only in under-invested American cinemas is there any kind of issue. Around most of the world cinemas are actively expanding to keep up with demand.
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What is the point of going ? (Score:2)
Going to see a circus in the flesh I get to smell the animals, feel the heat and the thumps/... through my seat and feet. I will feel that I am in the presence of large, powerful animals. This will not do that. Might as well stay at home and watch it on TV.
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Circuses have more than animals. Elephants and bad smells can be found at the zoo. People have always been more interesting than circus animals.
Re: What is the point of going ? (Score:2)
If you count "hilarious" clown slapstick and acrobat acts doing routines that were dated when Billy Smart was a bit then yeah, really interesting.
Erh... ok, I don't get it? (Score:3)
I always thought the appeal of those attractions was to show off what kind of training you can do with these animals? And that the lion tamer risked his life because these are real lions who can really maim him if they so please but he is the "king of the jungle"?
Did I miss something? Or am I just too old to understand the idea?
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Came here to say exactly this. If these aren't real animals, what's the point for the "animal acts" at all?
If you can't do them with real animals in a humane manner, just remove them completely from the show.
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Yeah, well now OSHA requires the tamers to be armored. And they have to get the animals to sign waivers, so it isn't worth the bother any more.
Another 'brain-less' spectacle (Score:2)
for the same kind of people: aka IGNORANTS.
That an animal is in a circus DOES NOT IMPLY that it suffers cruelty.
Having a dog and kicking it in your home, that IS cruelty.
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That an animal is in a circus DOES NOT IMPLY that it suffers cruelty.
In fact it implies it very strongly, because the vast majority of circus animals are mistreated.
Having a dog and kicking it in your home, that IS cruelty.
So to be clear, only kicking your own dog in your own home is animal abuse? Or is there a list somewhere that you refer to in order to determine what is or isn't?
Re: Another 'brain-less' spectacle (Score:5, Insightful)
Circuses are inherently cruel to the traditional circus animals because they confine them to far, far less space than they require to be happy. Elephants and lions have quite large territories... elephants don't enjoy being chained in place when not training or performing, and the training techniques are generally along the lines of 'do this or I inflict pain on you'. Lions don't like to spend their lives in small cages.
Trained dogs? Sure, dogs can be happy doing tricks, and all they really need to thrive is socialization and exercise, and they're happy to do that with human owners.
Generally speaking... if you have interacted with animals in a capacity where you're not using them for food or labor you pretty quickly pick up on the fact that even something as small as a field mouse can have a distinct personality and obviously has similar drives and emotional states to ours - I consider this completely beyond debate for mammals. Birds can be quite clever but they're distinct enough from us I think there is room for argument about the qualitative aspects of their minds... that we'll probably never answer.
I'm still an omnivore, I still eat meat, but... a traditional circus is just animal cruelty set to music with a trapeze act for an intermission.
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Horses don't like being confined either but humans have been confining them to stables for millennia and its universally accepted. And the horse comparison is apt- because elephants were historically used in place / in addition to horses as mounts in various parts of the world, so human-elephant husbandry is actually an ancient practice.
What's never discussed in the push to remove animals from circuses is that for decades circuses have bred elephants, lions, and whatnot. And lest it needs reminding that man
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That sounds (Score:2)
That sounds boring as shit.
Holographic animals, whoopdeedoo.
On the bright side, however, at least I get to sit in a crowd of half-drunken goobers throwing food at anything that doesn't please them.
Yeah...I'll have a go at the 'circus' right after I finish watching this paint dry.
I suggest a new strategy R2... (Score:3)
Let the wookie win.
Queue up this next (Score:2)
woke to the extreme (Score:2)
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Range/Type of animals (Score:2)
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That's great idea... it just needs something extra (Score:2)
a 3D hologram of the audience.
Next step ... (Score:2)
A maximum occupancy regulation for the clown car.
hologram? (Score:2)
I used to think I knew what a hologram was.
If what this circus is showing is a hologram, then clearly I was misinformed.
And most strange to me the article says they're showing "3-D holograms".
What's the other kind?
Mixed feelings (Score:2)
The last time I was at a circus was in 1985, when I was in the 3rd grade. It was a real circus, and it was exciting. I didn't know about the animal cruelty issue, nor did most of the general public despite it being hinted at in popular media at least as far back as the Disney movie "Dumbo".
I am kind of glad I got to see a 'real' circus in my lifetime, but at the same time the memories are tainted by what the animals most likely went through.
But that said, I don't think holographic animals ar
Animal free circuses are nothing new (Score:1)
The point (Score:2)
I am not sure if there is any point of having the circus as an institution in this day and age if what they are doing is yet another variety show. And holograms? Neah... if I want something like that a better place would be the science museum.
I brought my daughter to the circus a few times mostly to the circus, mostly to small traveling circuses (sidenote: even these days we have such one circus put its tent in our neighborhood, but she didn't show any interest) and I liked the most they were true: a handfu