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I watched this today and it was totally fascinating! They use CGI after scanning death masks to totally recreate a CGI version of people like Abe Lincoln. It was freaky to see him, Julius Ceasar and George Washington blink! I can't find a clip to post, but if anyone gets the chance to watch it, you won't be disappointed. They discuss a great deal about facial structure and casting the masks, then recreating or bringing the historical figure to life. Way cool. Here is a still pic of Lincoln from the CGI and a life mask done of him the year he was inaugurated:  Quote:Faces...and facts...fleshed out from the grave. Unprecedented technology brings to life extraordinary mirror images and powerful last impressions of history's most powerful men. Every line, every wrinkle, every expression tells a story. Forensic-science and anthropology experts have identified that history's most relevant figures left behind highly-detailed casts of their faces, created at their moment of death, to preserve their souls and physical memory for eternity. Using advanced facial-reconstruction techniques and 3-D imprint detailing, these death masks render an exact replica of every feature, and an intimate look at how their characteristics affected their lives. Includes startling new insights into the persistent mysteries surrounding these historic icons like Julius Caesar, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon and George Washington, and just may reveal some secrets these men preferred to conceal.
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. ~Socrates~ (I pretend to be a cat with a lime carved as a helmet on my head) 
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would it kill Abe to get some resty in those nasolabial folds? LOL
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The 'technology' was pretty simple. Like you overlay a plaster wet cast over the face to get the death mask or the life mask. OK, so later down the line, they scan the mask and 'color it in' on the computer.
Concord MA celebrating freedom from British rule .
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Well, not so sure it's quite as easy as just coloring the faces, at least not CGI. It took months for them to create the CGI or live figure of each historical figure. It's really quite remarkable. The stills don't do it justice, nor the quote from their website. They were able to determine that Lincoln had some type of disfiguring disease that he concealed with the turn of his head, sort of 3/4 view to hide the asymmetry of his face (left side was smaller than the right side of his face). It's hard to describe here, much less show in a still picture. It was seriously interesting and amazing.
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. ~Socrates~ (I pretend to be a cat with a lime carved as a helmet on my head)
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See, there was a much earlier analysis in to Lincoln before this TV thing. A doctor Kemp had made an analysis on Lincolns face and personality : http://www.lincolnportrait.com/http://www.lincolnportrait.com/emotional_neurosis.aspSomeone ELSE figured out some time ago he had some kind of disfiguring problem. If you read the analysis in the link, it's going to be more extensive then what you saw on the TV program and this is not a 'new' finding gratis of 'modern technology'. It's an old finding based on ASTUTE OBSERVATION of someone who did not need modern technology to do it. Here is the analysis by a PS: http://www.lincolnportrait.com/lincoln_materials.asp
Concord MA celebrating freedom from British rule .
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This is interesting in that I think they will be able to copyright these images and lease them out for dramatic purposes. We may see historical dramas with the actual people in the cast.
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Yes, the links you posted Miss J are much more detailed. What the anthropologist found and a forensic anthropologist on this program was slightly different and not quite that in depth (at least what they showed during the program). It was just freaky to see historical figures like Caesar and William Shakespeare turn their head or blink and their faces animate. Due to the forensics they could determine with some accuracy which death/life masks were likely of the actual figure opposed to those that may not have been. It just interested me how far technology has come that these sorts of things are even possible, to reconstruct a face/head and articulate it with great accuracy. Yes, Stache, that may very well happen. I can see them using those figures to great moving holograms and using them for video purposes. Just makes you wonder, what next?
The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be. ~Socrates~ (I pretend to be a cat with a lime carved as a helmet on my head)
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Well, the 'tech' part would be in getting the faces to animate. But the salient forensics would be independent of that technology though. The technology behind getting the faces to move would make the forensic stuff more interesting though (like if you were not interested in forensic science already).
It's certainly a 'fun' part of forensics. There are other parts of forensics that are not so 'entertaining'. Take for instance the 'Body rot plot'; a big open area where bodies are left to rot so all the particular stages of decomposition can be astutely observed on a time continuum.
Concord MA celebrating freedom from British rule .
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I need to check History channel to see when they will re-air this. I knew it was coming up, from the commercials, but was unable to watch. It looks fascinating.
 "Annie Bean Sprout"
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Yikes Miss J, I'm assuming animals etc. can't get to the bodies? And what about rain etc.?
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Ah yes, the Body Farm. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_farm I don't know if they are taking "new" donations, though, heh. They WANT the bugs 'n critters to get to the bodies so they can catalog how the bodies decompose. They use this stuff for forensic determination of time of death (like, where are the bugs in their life cycle ---> shows when the person died). Obviously I watch "Forensic Files" WAY too much.
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m130 wrote:
Obviously I watch "Forensic Files" WAY too much.
Me too. I love that show. Such a good show and you really learn so much and it is real. Doesn't it amaze you all the crimes that happen and we never even know about? Several from my city over the years, and others I've lived in, and stuff that didn't even make the news. I also love Cold Case Files.
"Annie Bean Sprout"
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The watch deterioration as a function of all of that. stache wrote:Yikes Miss J, I'm assuming animals etc. can't get to the bodies? And what about rain etc.?
Concord MA celebrating freedom from British rule .
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Quote:Me too. I love that show.
Such a good show and you really learn so much and it is real. Oh, absolutely. I can't even watch CSI much because they start in with the plastic bags instead of paper.
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