VTuber

Face and motion tracking drive a 2D or 3D character in real time, so the avatar blinks, talks and gestures as the performer does. The scene grew out of Japanese YouTube from around 2016 and is now large on both YouTube and Twitch, with agencies managing rosters of talent alongside plenty of independents. The appeal is partly privacy and partly production, since the character is a consistent, controllable brand asset that never has a bad hair day and can be redesigned without changing who is behind it. The work is still performance. A beautifully designed model with a dull streamer behind it goes nowhere.