Big Al

Naslov: Big Al Čet 21 Nov 2013, 10:56 pm

Gender: ♂
Age: 25
Height: 193cm
Weight: 86kg
--------------------
Company: PowerFX System AB
Distributor: PowerFX System AB ; Crypton Future Media ; E-capsule
Voice provider: Frank S. ; Michael King
Illustrator: An unknown #2 (Original/2007) ; Ash (Update/2009) ; Loiza (Taiwanese/2011)
Reduced no.: PFXV2
Affilation: YAMAHA

BIG AL is an English VOCALOID developed and distributed by PowerFX Systems AB., and was released in December 2009 for the VOCALOID2 engine. His announcement was January 21, 2007 and his provider during that time was Michael King, after another period of development his voice bank was redone by a male voice actor, Frank S.

Concept

Etymology
It is unknown why PowerFX chose the name "Big Al".
"Al" can be both a male and female name. It is usually shorthand for other longer names. When applied to boys it is shorthand for names including (but not restricted to) "Alfred", "Albert", "Allen", and "Alphonse".

Appearance
BIG AL's original illustrator remains unknown while the revised illustration is by artist Ash(Accelagirl). In both incarnations the monster he is based on is Frankenstein's Monster; according to PowerFX, their VOCALOIDs are more like Cyborgs than Androids.

BIG AL's scythe in his Taiwan design resembles a musical note.

Relations
Sweet ANN; a complementary voice bank with feminine vocals.

Marketing

Like Sweet ANN, BIG AL's original boxart bore similarities to early 20th-century movie posters, depicting him as a monster morph of Elvis. The new box art was more of a loose representation of such a monster and was aimed more towards the Vocaloid fandom than Ann was, marking a switch in focus for PowerFX from solely that of professionals.

Unlike Sweet ANN, BIG AL was not geared up to be reviewed by normal means (software reviews) and relied more upon the Vocaloid fandom to promote and use him, building on the growing interest in English VOCALOIDs that was now occurring. Despite setting up a MySpace page for Sweet Ann's promotion, Big Al did not have a social networking outlet.