**â??Creating a new market, not competing with peopleâ?…The ambitious ambition of virtual idol ‘Maeve’**
As K-pop is receiving worldwide attention, it is now the ‘golden age of idols’. Regardless of gender and age, various idols are pouring out and showing off their talents. In the midst of this, non-human idols also appeared. It is the virtual human idol ‘Maeve’.
Fluttering hair, delicate expressions, and natural movements. How did Maeve, a virtual idol who looks like a human but is not human, come to be? We met Chu Ji-yeon, head of business at Metaverse Entertainment, which developed Maeve, Kang Seong-gu, technical director (TD), and Ahn Seong-won, art director (AD), to hear the background.
Game company ‘technology’ and entertainment company ‘planning’ meeting…’Maeve’ born without compromise
Maeve is a virtual girl group introduced by Metaverse Entertainment in collaboration with Kakao Entertainment. After thinking hard about what could be showcased by combining the practical skills and know-how of both companies, we came up with a ‘virtual idol’. Metabus Entertainment is in charge of Maeve production and visuals, and Kakao Entertainment is in charge of overall management such as concept, music, and marketing.
Chief Ji-yeon Chu said, â??I thought that idols could be a field where the know-how of both companies could be utilized well. said.
â??It took more than a year from planning to development. Both companies were faithful to the end without any compromise in their respective fields. Now it has grown to about 80 people,â? he added.
Maeve is a virtual idol consisting of four members: Siu, Jenna, Tyra, and Marty. She has the same visual as a real person, such as her shiny skin texture, her wavy hair, and her delicate expression. It is explained that this naturalness was possible because of the know-how and technology of the game company.
TD Kang Seong-gu said, â??Maeve was created based on Unreal Engine 5. If it had been produced in the traditional way, it would have taken much longer,â? he said.
Ahn Seong-won AD, who is in charge of Maeve’s visuals, said, “I paid a lot of attention to the external appearance such as clothes, accessories, and hair to look realistically pretty.” I wanted to implement realistic and sophisticated visuals so that I could do it.â?
Focus on domestic and international interest in music videos and music broadcasting
Currently, Maeve is at the center of the topic. The music video for the title song ‘Pandora’, which was released along with her debut, has exceeded 11 million views. Furthermore, Maeve also appeared on the live music program ‘Music Core’. Since it was rare for virtual idols to appear on live broadcasts, she immediately drew attention.
Chief Ji-yeon Chu said, â??I thought a lot about where to appear in terms of publicity and marketing, but I decided that if I was an idol, I needed to appear on a music show.â? â??He said.
Maeve is also achieving the best results among virtual humans in music and music videos. In particular, it is well-received for its natural succession of difficult dance moves, which uses the motion capture technology of Korea’s largest motion capture studio, ‘VFX Lab’.
In addition to this, they faithfully followed the ‘K-Pop Fair Method’. K-pop experts who were in charge of ‘Ive’ and ‘IU’ participated in the actual Pandora song, choreography, and music video production. The music video was also filmed using the K-pop music video formula. The same goes for music shows.
TD Kang Seong-gu said, â??All of them worked in 3D virtual space, and we implemented methods such as linking with motion capture using virtual cameras.â? â??There are also K-pop camera work and directing formulas. We worked the same way,â? he said.
Maeve caught the attention of fans at home and abroad with gorgeous visuals, excellent vocals, and high-quality choreography. In particular, the reaction of global fans is hot.
Ahn Seong-won AD said, â??As many virtual human influencers are active on TikTok and Instagram, people are accepting it as it is without any objection.â? It seems that Maeve accepted it without hesitation in that respect.â?
“No competition with people!”…the goal of pioneering the blue ocean market only for virtual idols
Maeve has a unique worldview in which four children from the future crash land on Earth in 2023 in search of emotional freedom. The four members have their own positioning, such as leader, maknae, and mother. We plan to design a more detailed worldview by adding a narrative here. It is to build a solid fandom and be loved as a global idol.
Ahn AD said, â??The goal is for Maeve to grow into an idol loved at home and abroad. I will try to create a narrative so that fans can feel the charm of Maeve,â? he said. â??I hope that we can communicate through new media that only virtual idols can do.â?
Maeve plans to advance into various fields such as games, webtoons, and metaverses as well as music. Currently, we are actively meeting with companies interested in virtual idols and discussing collaboration in various fields. However, the monetization part is still a concern.
Director Chu said, “We are preparing a webtoon featuring Maeve in collaboration with Kakao Enter. In addition, Maeve members will also actively participate in the metaverse platform Fancy.” I think the profit model will naturally follow if there are more partners.â?
As virtual humans have recently emerged as a trend, there is a prospect that they will be able to replace the human domain of influencers, models, and entertainers. As a result, there are also gazes that make virtual humans uncomfortable. Maeve wants to pioneer a new area that can only be done by Maeve rather than competing with people.
TD Kang said, â??Maeve is not meant to replace human idols. The area overlaps with virtual YouTubers, but it is not that I am going to dig into that market,â? he said.
https://www.digitaltoday.co.kr/news/articleView.html?idxno=470047
