We control the horizontal.

August 12, 2011 4:34 PM

How would you like your own celebrity sock puppet? Control their facial expressions in real time with the technology in Being John Malkovich (video).
posted by CheeseDigestsAll (15 comments total)

I'm slightly disappointed this wasn't released under the FAT lab mantra of “Release early, often, and with rap music.”
posted by pmcp at 4:53 PM on August 12, 2011

As if I didn't already have a hard enough believing what I am seeing 90% of the time.
posted by Johnny Hazard at 5:01 PM on August 12, 2011

hard enough *time*...
posted by Johnny Hazard at 5:01 PM on August 12, 2011

What the devil is a "sock puppet"?
posted by Bushrod Johnson at 5:05 PM on August 12, 2011

It's a masturbation assistance tool.
posted by FatherDagon at 5:10 PM on August 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

*drives by in pickup, throws beercan at Bushrod's head*
posted by mannequito at 5:11 PM on August 12, 2011

Masturbation is the sin of Onan, Sir. I suggest kneeling in prayer. Preferably in an ice cold mountain stream.
posted by Bushrod Johnson at 5:12 PM on August 12, 2011

Chris Elliott did it first (with narration by George Takei!)
posted by KokuRyu at 5:24 PM on August 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

love the eli wallach bit.
posted by clavdivs at 5:45 PM on August 12, 2011

I cannot wait until they add audio clips from Cameron Diaz's prior movie roles, but delivered all wrong. Also, I can think of certain politicians, saying anything at all, as comedy gold. Or having your friend give you a script of what they're going to say, they say it, and you act it out for them. Playing with people's faces is fun!
posted by iamkimiam at 6:25 PM on August 12, 2011

Something like this is already in use the US correctional system.
posted by pmcp at 6:56 PM on August 12, 2011

Ummmm, it doesn't really look like a lot of expression control is going on. It just looks like the software is inserting screen captures that match the head tilt of the "controller".
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:33 PM on August 12, 2011

Malkovich malkovich?
posted by yoHighness at 12:20 AM on August 13, 2011

This is kind of scary. It's obviously kind of in beta, but I could totally see a terrorist group eventually making their own Bin Laden tape with this stuff.
posted by Omon Ra at 12:41 AM on August 13, 2011

Prior art from 1987.
posted by djb at 8:20 AM on August 13, 2011