New Tail Type (video)

[Echidna]

Found this unusual tail on a tank performer (Macau aquarium),
she swims differently too.
Maybe a new type of fin inside? Or no fin?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdnlXlC90Mg

The comments btw run like this
"it's fake"
"I was there, she's no real mermaid"
"dunno, I think it's real, I see no legs at all!"
"ofc it's fake you jokers, but it's still cool"

freely translated lol.

[Seatan]

I can't say for sure, but it looks digitized to me. She bends in ways that isn't quite possible and unless she has legs like twigs that are waaaay thinner than her butt, her thigh area is way too skinny to be real. Like I said, not 100% sure, but I would guess it's CGI. Especially since the place where her waist goes into her tail has definitely been photoshopped.

[Echidna]

You could be right, they do have a big attraction in Macau that does 4D shows.
It would be a very realistic tail if it's not CGI :p I love how it blends into her body.

[Seatan]

Yeah, it's really pretty, and I love the fluke part. If it is real, they did an amazing job with the "wet look" on it.

[MerEmma]

It has to be CGI...or a real mermaid lol

[AniaR]

Medusasirena took part in a CGI one too. Could also be animatronic

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[PearlieMae]

I vote cgi, too. Animatronics aren't even close to being that sophisticated.

[ShyMer]

I think we've seen this a long time ago. They filmed models and computer animated tails on them. I think this was a projection on a wall or something? Here's another video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRbLHfMGUqo

It actually bothers me a little that the movement is so weird, like it's not fluid in the right way. The textures are nice though, and there's some interesting designs.

I think this video is in the same place, but with dragons :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1wn_bolr3M

[Winged Mermaid]

I saw an article on this at some point. They said it's basically a hologram projected on the water :) They must have had one healthy budget.. looks amazingly realistic!

[deepblue]

Eeegh. I actually find her really creepy looking.

However, as far as a really great tail with a very slender taper goes, there is the woman who had a tail made for her by an FX team- she was a double amputee below the thighs, and her tail is amazing.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10171471-1.html
http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Amputee-Nadya-Vessey-Gets-a-Prosthetic-Mermaid-Tail

[SeaSister]

Look at the way she sort of "disappears" into the water (backdrop?) at the end. I would definitely say it's a really convincing hologram lol.

[Elle]

definitely a CGI.
it's very clever though

[Toxotes]

I have seen such a thing some years ago.
It's a CG animation projected on a thin wall of falling water. Like out of a sprinkler.

[Prince Calypso]

This is actually the same process they used to creat the mermaid tails in POTC

[Echidna]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRbLHfMGUqo

That one is even better!
It does look like a real tank.
Because the girls/movements look so realistic, I wouldn't have thought CGI, but them disappearing into the void at the end give it away.
Shame, would have loved such tails in reality.

The dragon video features underwater palaces and naga too, btw :)

[SweeteSiren]

It looks like the top half is a projection of a real person, it's just the tail that's been animated. The animator is very good though! I'm impressed.

[WillowAnne]

Ah! There are more of these! Search "City of Dreams". They all have the same "disappearing into the void" effect at the end, but still pretty cool.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSSOalFSOXQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5WMB4opYVg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0I-kNx7iHg

The tails are soo pretty.

[Mermaid Marissa]

I found a video that says virtual aquarium.... so CG... O.o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMeGSQkvVuk

[WillowAnne]

Here's a video explaining how they did it... It doesn't focus on the mermaids, but the dragon show that they have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcTFDK4AuNg

[Echidna]

The tails are soo pretty.

yea, I love the fantasy orca one.
The squid/crab mix freaks me out though :lol:

Seeing all this look 100% realistic, imagine the kind of cool underwater fantasy mermaid movies that could be made!
Featuring those deepsea palaces and creatures they have in the dragon video, for example.

They could make an entire movie with fantastic looking environment and realistic mers without having to deal with the hassle of underwater filming at all!

[Fun123joker]

the dragon show looks amazing but i dont feel that way about the mermaid show. i dont know i dont like the movement of the tail. dosent look natural. just...no i hope im not being too much of a hater

[WillowAnne]

I agree... I love the tails, though. It looks like the mermaids aren't in the actual large "bubble theater" area, but rather just a wall in the casino. They put hours and hours and loads of money into the dragon show, and it's in the large 360 area.

[mermaidm]

the videos kinda creep me out a little, lol...the way they move is just physically impossible...

[courtneymermaid]

I'm not sure how this was accomplished though I do believe it is a blend of CG with motion capture? Personally I think a lot of us mers out there swim a lot nicer than these ones do and look a lot more realistic. Kind of a neat effect though.

[Fun123joker]

agian i hope im not hating but its kinda triggers me, OCD kinda trigger. even though they are trying to get a fish like motion. not even eels could move like that. maybe sea snakes but alot of animation dose this. fish still have bones and mermaids are built upon human+fish or human+dolphin so either way the mermaids still have a spine

[Mermaid Kelda]

Yeah, they almost look like puppets, the way they awkwardly sway in weird directions. Definitely not realistic. The actual tails are pretty cool though.