ABBA Voyage 虛擬人樂團倫敦場觀後感

Feb/27/2022 ABBA concert在ABBA Arena首次公開演出，到個人於上週過去觀賞時已是定期定點演出了兩年的定目劇。看後諸多感想，不禁要從有為者亦若是的角度出發，幾點觀察，羅列如下:

1. 虛擬人相關技術

筆者是從2017年便開始關注虛擬人此一議題，後來更在業界成立團體來推動虛擬人與虛擬製作產業，我很可挺胸說，台灣在虛擬人相關技術的導入上，完勝英國。不管是動作捕捉硬體的應用，高精細三維模型的產製，虛擬人操作軟體的研發(敝公司的VTuber專用操作軟體已經開賣超過3年: https://www.zukunftworks.com/vtlive

ABBA Concert演出用的虛擬人相關技術，台灣團隊也做得到。

2. 視覺聽覺的呈現

只能很客觀的說ABBA Concert的舞台燈光效果大部分是為了遮掩其使用投大幅的投影紗以及小型的浮空投影的不足處，走炫麗燦爛路線，不斷的用閃亮的原素占滿整個視覺空間，來避開略顯僵硬的3D模型及材質求不佳為主要目的。聲音則是一大敗筆，很顯然地聽得出來是預錄，但又插進Live Band來魚目混珠，有點不道德。這樣的視覺聽覺呈現，台灣也找得到團隊做。但由於演出時禁止拍攝，只能在進場時拍了演出前的狀態留影(見附圖)。

3. 粉絲、倫敦的音樂劇/劇場消費文化、

出入場時可聽到人流中充斥者中北歐各國語言的竊竊私語，果然出身北歐的樂團可以吸引到來自當地的忠實、擠滿場群眾的概念。目測在搖滾區里的平均年齡應該有60幾歲吧! 演唱會進行過程中爺爺跟奶奶們在身體許可的範圍內搖擺，回憶青春。要針對高年齡層找出適合的IP來復活演出，從台灣的國片去找尋適合的IP，感覺也不是不可能。

但由於地點是倫敦，本身就有一個龐大的劇場產業在運行，新的劇目只要題材能吸引特定族群，成為定目劇是有可能的。加上投資人願意，ABBA Voyage甚至是有一個獨立的建築物在運營的(見附圖)。

但很遺憾的說，亞洲沒有一個城市能趕得上倫敦，完全不具可比性! 這一點英國完全勝出。

4. 交通、旅遊

倫敦的地鐵圈已經是百年以上的阿公，車廂的舒適度，站內外的導引，完全無法跟台北或東京這樣的城市來比較，視覺上其實已有落後國家的味道。這段是台北勝出。

縱觀上列4個核心條件，台北比倫敦是3:1的勝率。但結果卻是完敗，為何?

平心而論，新科技新內容的出現如果沒有一個好的機制可以介接到對的TA與消費行為，只有產量是不行的。近日AI快速產出視頻的新聞充斥，大家目光都在AI，只是我不禁要問，再如何快速的巨量產出，沒有消費者的關愛眼神與內容消費產業支撐，再大算力的AI也不行!

Christopher Chen

亞洲虛擬人協會(日本) 理事長

台灣虛擬網紅協會 理事長

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Feb/27/2022, ABBA's concert had its grand opening at the ABBA Arena. By the time I went to see it last week, it had already become a regular, fixed-term performance for two years. After watching the show, I couldn't help but reflect on it from the perspective of "those who achieve can also do it." Here are a few observations:

1. Virtual Human Technology

I've been following the topic of virtual humans since 2017 and even founded a group in the industry to promote virtual humans and virtual production. I can confidently say that Taiwan has completely outperformed the UK in the adoption of virtual human-related technologies. Whether it's the application of motion capture hardware, the production of high-definition 3D models, or the development of virtual human operating software (our company's VTuber-specific operating software has been on the market for over 3 years: https://www.zukunftworks.com/vtlive), Taiwanese teams can also achieve what the ABBA Concert uses.

2. Visual and Auditory Presentation

I can only objectively say that most of the stage lighting effects of the ABBA Concert were used to cover up the shortcomings of using large projection screens and small floating projections. They adopted a dazzling and glamorous approach, constantly filling the entire visual space with shiny elements to avoid the slightly stiff 3D models and subpar material quality. The sound was a huge flaw. It was obvious that it was pre-recorded, but they tried to deceive the audience by adding a live band, which was a bit unethical. Taiwan can also find teams to create such visual and auditory presentations. However, since photography was prohibited during the performance, I could only take a picture of the pre-show status when entering (see attached picture).

3. Fans, London's Musical/Theater Consumption Culture

As I entered and exited, I could hear whispers in various North European languages among the crowd. Sure enough, a band from Northern Europe could attract a loyal and packed audience from their home country. I estimate that the average age in the rocking zone was probably over 60! During the concert, the grandparents swayed within their physical limits, reminiscing about their youth. It's not impossible to find suitable IPs from Taiwanese movies to revive performances for the older generation.

However, since the location is London, there is already a huge theater industry in operation. As long as a new production can attract a specific audience, it's possible to become a fixed-term performance. With the support of investors, ABBA Voyage even has a dedicated building in operation (see attached picture).

Unfortunately, no city in Asia can catch up with London. There's no comparison! In this aspect, the UK completely wins.

4. Transportation and Tourism

The London Underground is over a hundred years old, and the comfort of the carriages and the guidance inside and outside the stations are completely incomparable to cities like Taipei or Tokyo. Visually, it already has the taste of a backward country. Taipei wins in this regard.

Looking at the above four core conditions, Taipei has a 3:1 win rate over London. But why did Taipei lose in the end?

To be fair, if new technologies and new content don't have a good mechanism to connect with the right target audience and consumption behavior, having high production is not enough. Recently, there has been a lot of news about AI rapidly producing videos, and everyone's attention is on AI. But I can't help but ask, no matter how fast and massive the output is, without the caring eyes of consumers and the support of the content consumption industry, even the most powerful AI won't work!

Christopher Chen

Chairman, Asian Virtual Human Association

Chairman, Taiwan VTuber Association