Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain

JESCH'S EXPERIENCE WITH LIVE ANIMATION SPANS NEARLY TWO DECADES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

18 years of creating and performing with virtual characters at live appearances around the world

Gary Jesch and CHOPS & Associates Live Animation bring "virtual characters," that is, 3D animated cartoon actors, and people together to create unforgettable moments. This talented multimedia artist celebrates his eighteenteenth anniversary on November 30, 2011.

His company's virtual characters stand out because he offers something rarely experienced -- interacting with a 3D cartoon character that can see, hear and talk.

Jesch is the leading provider of these virtual characters for corporate meetings, tradeshows, childrens' shows and special events, employing talented actors, high quality video displays and his own real-time animation systems, running on reliable notebook computers. He completed his first installation of a Digital Puppeteer live animation system in a permanent location, the SM Science Discovery Center in Manila, Philippines, featuring the character Mister T.

Large companies that exhibit at tradeshows are discovering that they can double and even triple the number of qualified leads they collect by using 3D virtual mascots that can talk with attendees on the show floor. These "cyber humans" have been created by Live Animation to serve businesses in ways that real humans cannot.

Gary Jesch, the "man behind the curtain" and creator of "CHOPS," a "Cyber-Human On a Performance System," is a performance animation artist based in Carson City, NV. When Jesch is at the controls of his "Digital Puppeteer, like the "Wizard of OZ," "CHOPS" can interact in real time from his video display, whether it's on the two-foot round Bubble Screen or from a 15-foot-high screen at a company meeting.

"We are about entertainment and marketing," Jesch explains, "creating an atmosphere of awe and wonder, attracting attention and being different, so that we and our clients stand out. The 'Wizard of Oz' gave people the impression that he was more powerful and awe-inspiring than he really was as a person. Using technology, he became larger than life. Our characters become larger than life, and as corporate mascots, can inspire, attract attention, make the selling environment more memorable, and start the process of relationship-building with customers in a way that nothing else can."

Jesch performs in an isolated control booth for seven to eight hours at a stretch, hidden away backstage, while his virtual persona interacts with tradeshow attendees or stage presenters. He sees his audience and the show through a video surveillance system. At company meetings, the characters have been part of entertainment that also included fashion shows, fireworks, motorcycle riding, circus acts, laser lighting displays, giant stages and 20-foot tall rear projections screens.

Creating and performing interactive, computer-generated "cyber humans," combines several artistic disciplines, including acting, computer graphics and production design. By working with corporate marketing professionals and producers in the special events industry, he has found a way to earn the revenue needed to refine the technology, performances and applications for virtual characters to be used around the world.

To accomplish this task, Jesch has worn many hats - computer system designer, 3D animation artist, stage technician, actor/performer, marketing director, web site designer, sales professional, video display and projection specialist, streaming media expert and broadcaster.

He has also developed techniques to become knowledgeable about his client's own industries in a few days, so that he is well-versed enough to talk about products and services with show attendees across a wide variety of disciplines and trades.

His background as a broadcast journalist, combined with a 30-year history as an entrepreneur in computer graphics, writing, advertising, commercial photography and marketing has developed him into a unique individual. He is focused on a single goal - creating Live Animation's "cyber humans" for use as spokespersons, broadcasters and corporate mascots in media around the world.

Here are a few of his accomplishments:

Jesch reproduced Shrek's "Magic Mirror" character in just three days on his system, for a home-video distribution launch in Orlando's University City, with two week's notice before the movie opened nationwide.

He recently produced a show for a major theme park company in Orlando, FL and recreated a character from one of their famous feature films. The company prefers to remain unnamed.

He has created over a dozen unique characters, which have been booked by major companies and producers to appear at trade shows and special events. He expects that someday, his characters will be found in many other places in the media, including in movies, on television and on the Internet.

Many major brands like Pennzoil, Hertz, Frito-Lay, Avocent, Ford/Motorcraft and others have booked "CHOPS" in their tradeshow booths to increase the number of qualified leads gathered and improve their company's image and overall marketing effort. "CHOPS" has been used by Dell Computers, Panasonic, America's Community Bankers, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett Packard and many others.

Jesch's most recent version of his Digital Puppeteer is running on a Dell high-end notebook computer that weighs less than nine pounds. Software that recognizes the sounds of words gives his characters realistic lip sync. People are amazed and awe-struck that they can communicate with his cartoon characters so easily. His ability to animate them and interact in real-time makes them ideal for live events, public appearances and broadcasting.

Imagine what it's like to see two characters acting like real people up on a big screen at a meeting or on a video wall in a tradeshow booth. Emotions are flying, along with lots of laughter, and marketing messages combined into a show that is incredibly different than the normal corporate meeting fare.

Live Animation has the expertise when it comes to applications for those who want to be even more unusual. The company has worked with the latest in video walls, plasma screens and 3D floating image displays. As far as the Internet is concerned, Jesch has formed an alliance with a streaming video company to incorporate its characters into Web-cast special events and live, interactive training sessions.

"At Live Animation, we are continuing to develop unique virtual characters every few months, including more product-based characters and cartoon characters that can relate to young children. One day, we hope to be part of an interactive children's program using our live animation technology on the Web," adds Jesch.

Live Animation can also recreate animated virtual characters from movies for press conference and television appearances, and has developed "cyber models" that can host fashion shows wearing 3D versions of the designers' latest styles and creations.

Historical highlights:

1993 - Created "Virtual Mark Twain," whose first public appearance was at the Virtual Reality Expo in New York City on Nov. 30, 1993, the original Mark Twain's 151st birthday.

1995 - Created the "CHOPS" character while developing the "Face Tracker" with Motion Analysis Corp. "CHOPS'" first public appearance was at SIGGRAPH in Anaheim, CA. Later that year, Jesch designed and built the first version of the Digital Puppeteer ™, his performance animation system.

1996 - Conducted "CHOPS'" first paid appearance at Sapphire 1996 in Philadelphia, with Mobile Wall One. Jesch also co-developed the Geppetto software and auditioned for NBC's Tonight Show.

1997 - Helped win a Best of Show award for AV Images at Exhibitor 97; traveled out of the country for the first time with the Digital Puppeteer, to the Philippines. Designed the Bubble Screen video display system.

1998 - Traveled to Beijing, China for Hewlett Packard. Created "Cybrina" with 3D artist Tom Knight and created "Brash Landau" with multimedia producer Gabreal Franklin.

1999 - First trip to Colombia and Mexico with Grupo Live, followed by three other shows in Latin America, including an eight-day product launch and media blitz for Proctor and Gamble in Bogota with "Cybrina." He performed in his first training video with "Virtual Vinnie," for ArmaKleen.

2000 - Began developing streaming video shows with All Planet TV; worked in Cartagena, Columbia, and Santiago, Chile and opened his South American office in Bogota, Colombia. Jesch and his characters showed their abilities at the Democratic National Convention. He also recreated "Virtual Mark Twain" on new "Gemini" system, and designed his first children's character, "Syber Santa."

2001 - Reproduced the "Magic Mirror" character from the "Shrek" movie; performed for the first time in Canada; and co-designed "VirtuaLibby" with Tom Knight for Sapphire 2001.

2002 - Recreated the "Dancing Baby " character (Baby G) from the "Ally McBeal" TV program, while working with its designer Chris Creek and 3D artist Tom Knight; debuted Pooch for the Pet Network, created a custom character for BASF-AP, and developed a new approach to tradeshow traffic-building for Ford/Motorcraft.

2003 - Debuted the first webcast with CHOPS as host, for Event Solutions Magazine.

2004 - Won a Best of Show for DDI at the ASTD Trainers' conference in Washington DC with the entire display team assembled by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur PA.

2005 - Won a second Best of Show for DDI at the ASTD Trainers' conference in Orlando, with the entire display team assembled by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur PA.

2006 - Won a third Best of Show for DDI at the ASTD Trainers' conference in Orlando, with the entire display team assembled by Exhibitgroup/Giltspur PA.

2006 - Reinvented the Live Animation technology and acquired a reseller position for the US, including character development, working with Altadyn of France. He now uses ToonMX software and a notebook computer for shows.

2006 - Created the character "YAP," a cartoon mascot for the non-profit organization World Trust Foundation, and launched its media network in San Francisco, all on a donation basis.

2007 - Installed his Digital Puppeteer at the SM Science Discovery Center in Manila with the first fish character "Mister T."

2007 - Completed a corporate meeting project for one of the biggest companies in the US, in Orlando, by recreating a character from one of their movies.

2007 - Broke into the theme park industry with the introduction of his new show "My Fish People" at IAAPA 2007.

2008 - Installed his first Digital Puppeteer system installation in the US, at the McDermont Field House in Lindsay, CA, featuring "Squeeze."

2009 - Introduced "My Fish People," a two-character show for children at the Nevada State Fair and completed five performances of "Kid's Talking Wall" with "Wally"

2010 - Debuted the first-ever Web Game Show - "Let's Face It," sponsored by Console Call and performed on the Netviewer Webinar platform, live with contestants selected using Twitter and Facebook

What's new for Live Animation? "In the coming year 2011, we hope to get back into the realm of permanent installations at zoos and aquariums around the world, plus do regular game shows for training purposes," he states.