Digital Necromancy

It is not uncommon to see in many recent and modern productions such as concerts and award ceremonies digital recreations of celebrities who have long since passed. Also, it is not uncommon for digital renderings to be used to finish the scenes for actors who die during the filming of a movie. This is the industry of digital necromancy, i.e. artificially bringing the dead back to life through the use of technology.

On one side of the coin, this is a great opportunity to present the character and style of an individual who may have passed long ago and present them in a relatable manner to a more modern audience. It can also be seen as financially necessary to finish the production of movies. Such a case being the recent movie Fast 7 where the actor Paul Walker died during filming and digital effects and renderings were used to recreate his image in order to complete filming. On the other side, some believe that this is unethical and disrespectful to the dead and the dead should be left alone. For example, the late Robin Williams, went to great lengths to prevent his image from being recreated and used after his death.

http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/10/bruce-lee-audrey-hepburn-ethics-digital-necromancy