Digital Domain Announces Cannes Lions Titanium Award Win for “Virtual 2Pac at Coachella”

VENICE, Calif.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--Digital Domain Media Group (NYSE: DDMG), announced that “Virtual 2Pac at Coachella,” the virtual performance of the late rap star Tupac Shakur, was recognized with a Cannes Lions Titanium Award at the 59^th annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity on June 23 in Cannes France. Cannes Lions is the world's most prestigious annual awards show for professionals in the creative communications industry. Digital Domain created the computer generated likeness of Shakur. See the winning entry here: http://www.canneslions.com/work/2012/integrated/entry.cfm?entryid=34174&award=22

“We were thrilled to be part of this project, this completely new idea in entertainment”

The Cannes Lion Titanium Award recognizes the most groundbreaking work in the creative communications field. “Virtual 2Pac” was chosen by an elite jury of experts from 10 of the world’s top advertising agencies as one of the year’s most innovative, breakthrough ideas, from an initial field of 500+ entrants and a shortlist of 45.

“We were thrilled to be part of this project, this completely new idea in entertainment,” said Ed Ulbrich, Chief Creative Officer of Digital Domain. “When Dr. Dre came to us with his vision we knew that the world had never seen anything like this and that the response was going to be huge. Having “virtual 2Pac” and the idea of virtual performers recognized with a Cannes Lion Titanium Award is beyond exciting.”

Dr. Dre envisioned “Virtual 2Pac” as a way to bring fans a performance that was beyond the scope of imagination – an original performance of the late rap star. Working with Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, Digital Domain, Philip Atwell and Dylan Brown produced “Virtual 2Pac,” the performance of a completely believable, computer-generated likeness of Shakur projected onstage to create the illusion that he was performing live alongside Snoop Dogg.

The impact of the performance spread worldwide. Following the two shows at the Coachella music festival, each playing to an estimated 90,000 fans, YouTube videos of the performance amassed 15 million views. Google search results for Tupac hologram exceeded 50 million. 2Pac album sales increased 500% and downloads of his song “Hail Mary” rose 1,500%. There were thousands of media stories, assessing “virtual 2Pac’s” impact on everything from music to entertainment, ethics, technology and intellectual property.

For nearly 60 years, the Cannes Lions Awards have set the benchmark for excellence in creative communications. More than 11,000 delegates attended this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

About Digital Domain Media Group

Digital Domain Media Group (DDMG: NYSE) leverages its expertise in digital visual effects (VFX) and computer-generated (CG) animation across a group of interrelated businesses. At its foundation is Digital Domain Productions (DDPI), an award-winning digital production company founded in 1993. This leading provider of visuals has contributed to more than 90 major motion pictures, including Titanic, the Transformers series, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and TRON: Legacy, hundreds of commercials, and recently created the virtual likeness of rapper Tupac Shakur for Dr. Dre’s show at the Coachella Valley Music Festival. Mothership, a DDPI subsidiary, focuses on creating advertising, entertainment and branded content from concept to completion, across multiple media platforms. DDMG, its work and its employees have been recognized with numerous awards, including seven from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The company is building on its success in VFX to participate as a co-producer in major productions and is currently co-producing the upcoming live-action sci-fi feature film Ender’s Game, as well as virtual likenesses for Elvis Presley that will be jointly owned by CORE Media Group and DDMG. DDMG also converts two-dimensional (2D) imagery to three-dimensional (3D) imagery and holds key patents in this area. The company is also applying its CG expertise to produce original, family-friendly animated feature films at its subsidiary Tradition Studios. The first movie, The Legend of Tembo, is in pre-production and two more features are in development. The company’s education subsidiary, the Digital Domain Institute, sets a new standard in digital media education through a pioneering public-private partnership with The Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. DDMG is expanding its worldwide footprint of the highest quality visual effects and animation at the lowest possible cost through global partnerships in India and China. The company has studios in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Florida, Vancouver, Mumbai and London, and is currently establishing a studio in Beijing. http://www.ddmg.co