People keep pitching me full-AI performance like they solved live shows overnight.

We were running render passes in the south corner of the studio until late morning, staring at latency spikes while my inbox fills up with promises of an avatar that never loses pitch, never gets tired, and hits sixty frames without sweating. But clean rigs are cheap; what's expensive is the stutter before an intake of breath.

My advice to anyone dumping budget into virtual talent: if your model can't miss a beat or flinch when the room gets too cold, people know within four bars. The minute an avatar looks glossed and weightless, the whole room turns to plastic. Live music works because something might actually go wrong, and if your code won't let it stumble, it's just a screen saver with high fidelity.