Narendra Modi

3D avatar for political campaign becomes a world record

Overview Narendra Modi’s 55-minute speech was broadcast simultaneously to 53 separate locations in 26 cities in Gujarat, becoming a Guinness Word Record. Alongside Indian licensee NChant 3D, we were awarded the Guinness World Record for the 53 simultaneous broadcasts using ‘the Pepper’s Ghost illusion’. A 3D avatar of the Gujarati Chief Minister was created and beamed to crowds of up to 30,000 per venue using our IceMagic and TelePresence technology. Over 1,000 miles of campaigning was covered across the vast region with every broadcast. Modi went on to secure his third consecutive term in office following the 2012 campaign. About Narendra Modi’s avatar Narendra Modi had been under pressure from the majority of his party’s candidates, who were seeking he visited their constituencies during the poll campaign. Yet travel in the region is extremely difficult, with huge distances having to be covered to reach every constituency. So Modi and his team hatched an imaginative campaign plan – to overcome any difficulties by using satellite communication and projection technology to take Modi’s avatar to the masses, connecting him with the electorate, but virtually. The goal being to get the Chief Minister in front of as many voters as possible and his message across without his physical presence. We’d never seen a project on this scale before. It was a real game-changer in the truest sense of the phrase. Modi broke the mould of traditional campaigning and created a huge buzz on the way to being re-elected. Our technology used for Narendra Modi’s avatar Six months in preparation, the final broadcast used our IceMagic and TelePresence technology. We were fully involved throughout the entire project, mobilising teams of riggers, projectionists, lighting designers and sound crews – a team of around 200 technicians. We supported the specification, design and build of custom trucks used by Modi’s team to transport our IceMagic 3D holographic projection system to the various locations. The broadcast was also tested in four cities in November 2012, with Modi then addressing the 53 locations midway through December. His speeches were given live from his political HQ and relayed via satellite to the 53 broadcast trucks. From his base, Modi was able to see footage streamed from the locations so he could respond and his avatar then seen to interact with the crowds. Reactions to Narendra Modi’s avatar Modi’s campaign really captured the imagination – with reports that some villagers were so convinced that the Chief Minister was actually in person that they barricaded the roads to keep him in their village. Watch CNN-IBN’s Indian Breaking News report on the campaign, which is a news report embedded within an article from Firstpost.com