CNN's election night coverage will use holographic interviewees

If you thought this election day couldn't get any more surreal, The USA Today reports that CNN's election night coverage will include 3D Holograms.

But instead of the split screen or window TV viewers might typically see during live remote interviews, the Obama spokesperson will be projected as a three-dimensional hologram, making it appear as if he or she is in the Manhattan studio with Blitzer. The network plans to conduct similar holographic interviews with representatives from the McCain campaign in Phoenix.

I bet dollars to dreadnaughts that the holograms will appear as translucent, flickering representations of the interviewees, even though it would be just as easy to make them appear solid and corporeal. Star Wars has taught us all that holograms should be wraithlike and wispy.

Election-night news to co-star latest technology [USAToday.com via Guardian via Waxy]

Image: MovieBunker.com

Update: Here's an example. It looks so stupid. (Thanks, Richie!)

[#1 posted by technogeek , November 4, 2008 12:08 PM]

Uhm... on TV, how do you tell a 3D hologram from bluescreen? Or from the real thing, for that matter?

April fools?

[#2 posted by jeaguilar , November 4, 2008 12:25 PM]

My guess is that it will look a lot like what they use for football on ESPN and EA SPORTSs "Virtual Playbook": http://itsinthegame.ea.com/archive/2008/09/05/changing-the-game-ea-sports-virtual-playbook.aspx

[#3 posted by michaelportent , November 4, 2008 12:26 PM]

Help me, Wolf Blitzer. You're my only hope. *Princess Leia voice*

Sorry, I had to if no one else was gonna...

[#4 posted by Anonymous , November 4, 2008 3:28 PM]

This is improper terminology. This is not a hologram. This is a series of images (2D combined and/or 3D) that are composited into the shot that we will see. Wolf won't see it floating next to him because it's NOT a hologram. Some day we'll have real free floating holograms god-willing but not today!

[#5 posted by mdh , November 4, 2008 10:42 PM]

Yeah, wow, I saw that. Looked like crap. Might have helped if she weren't wearing a black pantsuit. It was a pair of hands and head floating in air with too much showy camera movement.

I do not see what it added, other than the "wtf are they doing?" factor.

[#6 posted by Halloween Jack , November 5, 2008 1:03 PM]

Jeez, even Deep Space Nine only used that idea once.

[#7 posted by el_beardo , November 6, 2008 10:00 AM]

this is dumb. the host can't see her. it's not a hologram. it's a green-screened shot of some woman wearing a pantsuit, composited into what the tv view is looking at. laaaaame. this is 80's tech.