The Talking Drop (1995)

In the 1990s, I invested in an Israeli startup called Take Image, which developed facial recognition software.

The software could identify the facial movements of the person it was filming, and I planned to convert this human movement into an animated character. In simple terms, every facial expression, lip movement, and head movement of the actor would be translated into the movements of the animated character.

I conducted the experiment at an event for the company Netafim, whose logo is a water drop. We fed the animated character of the drop into our computer and made it mimic the head and lip movements of an actor who was hiding behind the scenes and was connected to sensors. This created the illusion that the drop was the one talking. It was of course synchronized with the voice of the actor who was standing behind the scenes.

The show ran for five days from morning to evening at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds and was seen by 20,000 visitors from 4 continents. The drop interviewed many guests live, and the effect was impressive.

Ten years later, a young and ambitious director took this technique one step further and created a groundbreaking 3D animated film called "Avatar." 

All the actors on the set wore "sensor suits" that converted their body movements into computer-animated characters. And the rest is history.