Marco Tempest: A magical tale (with augmented reality).

Marco Tempest, the techno-illusionist who has followed up with a augmented reality, Kinect-powered TED talk on the history of storytelling and illusion. The six-minute video, dubbed “A magical tale,” is embedded below.

Tempest combines sleight of hand and digital computers to create a very satisfying performance — he weaves 3D augmented reality into the mix. On the hardware-side, Tempest simply uses an HD video camera and Microsoft’s Kinect, but the software — bit that actually produces the illusion — is really quite complex.

Tempest, working with two software development houses, Onformative and Checksum5, used VVVV to script the six-minute magic trick. VVVV is a hybrid programming environment that allows you to mash together video clips, real-time special effects, and the input from external devices. In “A magical tale,” every special effect is rendered in real time using a desktop PC — the particle effects, the face tracking (and re-mapping), and digital compositing (such as the big, 3D globe that Tempest steps inside); they’re all reactive to Tempest’s movements. The end result is impressive. Embedded below is a “making of” video that illustrates the technology behind the illusion.

Ultimately, Tempest says that “A magic tale” is more about engaging an audience than bona fide illusion. “Magic is a unique tool for pre-visualization,” he says. Instead of a magic trick with sleight of hand, the subject matter could instead be a video game, an interactive and interesting way to teach kids otherwise dull subjects, or even an augmented reality face-to-face Skype chat. It won’t be long until Kinect-like sensors are built into laptops and smartphones, don’t forget.