VIDEO. Holograms to replace circus animals – Insurance for Pets

« Today’s children no longer want to see animals in cages, going around in circles, notes Sandrine Bouglione. We date from a time when we had no ecological problems, where we were in overconsumption. Often you see tensions between the generations, where the grandparents say ‘Look, this is great’, and the children ‘No, this is horrible, poor animal!’ If we don’t change, we will disappoint our customers today, and they won’t come back to see us tomorrow « , concludes the tamer from a large circus family.

To survive, the Bouglione therefore decided to break with an ancestral tradition. Their awareness was not made on economic criteria alone: ​​it was the caged death of their two adored tigers, which they had seen born, which forced them to this radical questioning. For three years now, Sandrine and André-Joseph, both former trainers, have chosen to no longer work with animals. And to design 100% human circus acts.

A 100% digital polar bear song and dance number

From their imagination was born a charming virtual bear: « a polar bear hologram, completely digital ». For him they came up with a dance number and composed a song, The desire to roar, or « the story of a bear who is tired of putting on a show and just wants to go back to the wild ».

This animation still required 200 hours of work … and more than 400,000 euros. A whale and a lion are currently in preparation: endangered specimens that symbolize the new commitment of the Bouglione couple, who hope to show the way.

Extract from « A circus without animals? », A report to see in « Special Envoy » on June 10, 2021.

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