The theory underlying Codec Avatars is simple and twofold, what Sheikh calls the “ego test” and the “mom test”: You should love your avatar, and your loved ones should as well. The process enabling the avatars is something far more complicated—as I discovered for myself during 2 different capture procedures. The first takes place in a domelike enclosure called Mugsy, the walls and ceiling of which are studded with 132 off-the-shelf Canon lenses and 350 lights focused toward a chair. Sitting at the center feels like being in a black hole made of paparazzi. “I had awkwardly named it ‘Mugshooter,'” Sheikh admits. “Then we realized it’s a horrible, unfriendly name.” That was a couple of versions ago; Mugsy has increased steadily in both cameras and capability, sending early kludges (like using a ping-pong ball on a string to help participants hold their face in the right place, car garage-style) to deserved obsolescence.

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