On March 26th, Spanish government approved the commonly known as Gag Law, a set of reforms that severely restricts citizens’ freedom of expression and of assembly. Demographic studies demonstrate that more than 80% of the population is against this law. Even the UN has criticized the law and asked the Spanish government to withdraw it.

Among many restrictions (taking pictures or videos of law enforcement members in action or even sleeping on the street will be punishable), this law forbids citizens to assemble and protest in the vicinity of government buildings and key infrastructure, especially the Parliament building, where it has been enforced a “no protest ban” even before the law goes into effect.

That’s why we wanted to hold a protest with people, but with nobody present. Only by being a hologram, people could avoid being fined, arrested or beaten by the police. When we started researching the viability of the project, we came up with some events in which holograms, or projections which looked like them, were used, such as a Diesel 'Liquid Space' Holographic Fashion Show in 2007. Most of them made use of what’s known as Pepper’s Ghost Effect, by projecting images or reflected images over transparent surfaces. They served as an inspiration for us.

Our purpose was to hold the first hologram demonstration in history, in order to obtain media coverage. Through it we alerted the public opinion all around the world about the consequences of the Gag Law. The protest had a strong symbolism: the people in it were not really present, because flesh and blood demonstrations are no longer tolerated.

On April 10th we projected a video with the demonstration over a 7x4 meters transparent scrim, just in front of the Parliament building. The video was produced from previously filmed footage and the campaign website user-contributed material. The large quantity of holograms that were present in the protest was achieved by shooting several layers over chroma key in a set, and then joining them in postproduction.

The website allowed users to send a picture, a shout, or a text message. We selected the best shouts and messages to be included in the protest sound and signs, respectively.

One of the most difficult tasks was the proper alignment. The produced video should “fit” the geography of the place in which is being projected, which was not the same in which it was filmed. All distances, angles and camera positions had to be taken into consideration in order to achieve visual quality.

Illumination was a key element, too. Holograms would only be clearly seen in an almost completely dark environment. We had to ask for a special permit that allowed us to turn off the streetlights while keeping the Parliament building lit up.

In addition to the protest projection, we used a special cabin for NoSomosDelito spokespeople to be interviewed as holograms in real time, a feature that captivated the media.

The project was an innovation, a new way to use an existing and well-known technology: it was the first time it was used in activism.

Our main goal was to hold a single symbolic hologram demonstration that attracted a lot of media attention. We can safely say that we have accomplished that.

However, several organizations around the world (Canada, Egypt, and Hungary) have asked for guidance in replicating the holographic protest, and even the Museum of Science of London, through one of its exhibition producers, has contacted us in order to use the projection as a way to open a discussion on the issue of Government control with their visitors. We are collaborating with them, and designing some documentation and blueprints that will be the core of an open source project useful for those who want to hold a hologram protest.

In addition to its symbolic value, many media and public have discussed the possibility of hologram protests to be a new way of social and political demonstration, in which one could participate virtually by uploading their picture or video and giving his/her permission.