MetaChat - Blue or not blue?

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21 February 2007

Blue or not blue? I was talking with dabitch about the MeFi possibilities of her blog post revealing some of the making of this ad, and we want your opinion... →[More:]

What's interesting about this is that all the special effects are actually accomplished physically, by people dropping into real holes dug into the ground, dashing out of the scene, and hiding in the camera's blind spot so they can pop up out of nowhere, etc. In the current production environment of CGI effects, this is fun and noteworthy to us... but will it fly on the blue?

I'm interested because I have friends who shoot and produce these kinds of things, and have seen a fair amount of film and video being shot... but will mefites "meh" it to death? For being a commercial? Or because they won't see why it's particularly interesting, ADD, etc.? Or will they also find it fun and noteworthy?

What do you think?

post by: taz at: 09:22 | 9 comments

ADD reporting for duty, ma'am! I thought that was really interesting! Go for it!

I really like how in the final commercial, they didn't really try and hide how they did it by editing it on a computer or something. Like how you can see a ball drop and someone running and JUST making it behind the person in time, or the end when they roll up and just roll behind a log out of sight. Cool commercial!

The third one was the best, and the only one which I thought screamed "COMPUTER EDITING!!!" because it seemed TOO quick, and the poses TOO natural. Color me impressed. Very impressed.

My only advice would be to beef it up somehow, if at all possible.

posted by CitrusFreak12 21 February | 09:52

Yeay! We are not hopeless nerds after all taz! I thought it was hella interessssting (said with a lisp). Perhaps showing the CGI-version of the same idea would be beef enough for a stew? er.. post.

For example, a few years back Michel Gondry did this with that camera which tracks exactly the same each time, and then cgi-edited it all together intro one shot video. Youtube: the making of and the Kylie video end result.

Also that last shot in the ad had me saying "CGI!?" as well, that was the cool bit!

posted by dabitch 21 February | 10:05

Hrm. I honestly don't see how that video and the commercial are the same idea. I'm not so sure they would mesh well in the same post.
/my two cents

posted by CitrusFreak12 21 February | 10:43

It's a hell of a lot better than just yet another youtube oddity. I like it.

posted by arse_hat 21 February | 12:57

Yeah, mebbe your're right CitrusFreak12. It's only kinda-ish-mebbe similar in that there's a tracking camera in both the commercial and the video.

Maybe something about magicians? They've made people vanish and appear behind sheets since there were sheets! Ha! ;)

Oh hell I dunno. I know I like it but see, like Taz I'm a bit nuts about filmaking and ad-making in particular so I'm all over stuff like this. arse_hat likes it too! We can make a club. Need a snappier name than "iaoslt" tho (I'm all over stuff like this, yo).
Sorry, s'late and my humor went to bed already.

posted by dabitch 21 February | 15:56

Arse_hat... are you being serious?
I can't tell.

Because if you are, then how would you feel about it if, instead of .mov files, they were on youtube? Would that make the content any better or worse?

posted by CitrusFreak12 21 February | 16:16

Better for me, CF. I can't watch .mov's in firefox sometimes. I don't think that was the point he was trying to make.

posted by muddgirl 21 February | 16:25

It's not youtube that's the problem (though I hate the crappy youtube video quaility). This is a post with a reason for being. It shows how something is done. Something we may never have found on our own. A lot better than most of the youtube stuff I have seen on the blue.

posted by arse_hat 21 February | 16:42

What arse_hat said.

posted by dg 21 February | 17:26

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