Okay, so we're total suckers for tilt-shift perspective manipulation, and since we've run a fair number of
snippy attack ads lately, we thought we'd try and clear the air with this impressive new spot from HP. Part of the relatively-new "Create Amazing" campaign, it's a miniaturized international tour through Shanghai, New York, Santorini, London, Istanbul, and some custom office sets built in L.A., and, well, we're in love. Watch the video below, maybe have a second glance at Michael Gartenberg's
Entelligence column on gadget-fan unity from yesterday, and let's all agree to agree for once in this crazy world.
Update: Sadly, the filmmaker got in touch with us and requested that we pull the video until he can clear it with HP -- we'll let you know.
posted Nov 9th 2009 3:39PM
WOW.
OMG! I've just realised DOCTOR WHO is an anagram for TORCHWOOD! Oh wait, the ad...
That is amazing, I wonder how long it took them to move all of those miniature people around. Oh your comment; isn't Torchwood an anagram for Doctor Who?
@chrise
Tilt shift photography is actually an optical illusion where pictures taken of the real world look like a miniature. So this video is actually real life footage, even though they might have edited some to finish that "miniature model-look". Great example!
@Meus
Ya I knew that I was being sarcastic. But I realized that my comment could have been taken seriously after I read some other comments. Oh well.
Isn't WOW and anagram for OWW?
Noon is as anagram for Noon.
I love tilt shift videos. Somebody should make a feature length film in that fashion. This one got a little bit Koyaanisqatsi on us at the end. Still great though. nice and relaxing after the heart attack last night.....
I just wish they hadn't put the voiceover in there at the end. It kinda jerks you back out of the nice fuzzy warm feeling they just spent the last 3 minutes and 10 seconds building up around you. You're already looking at the ad — that's the whole hook — so they could've let the text carry it at the end.
There is a similar NAB ad aired earlier here in Australia, but I can't find the link to it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq7X9btLqck&fmt=22
looks like a tycoon game
Reeeeally makes me want to buy a printer.
Really, anothony, it's getting old.
Let's just pretend there was an edit button, and I fixed that to say Anthony.
i got a url link to anthony's mom's nude page...any takers?
@Anthony: I'll hold you to what you said then.
or buy whatever kind of black magic HP used to create this thing
Beautiful
I agree, Anthony's mother is beautiful!
Stunning.
I got a chance as a kid to visit Madurodam and have been fascinated ever since with miniatures.
Wikipedia has some great pics.
Why are you suddenly talking about miniatures? When this video has nothing to do with miniatures whatsoever?
anyone else just go WOOAAAAA! ?
WHOOOOOAAAAAAWWWWWWW
no, but she did...
I went ooooh.
Really cool use of miniatures. I love the look of miniatures compared to CG stuff, they make me want to reach out and touch the demo going out. It's just more tactile, even if I can't really touch it.
@Monica:
Because it's real? It's just special effects/lenses + low framerate.
They aren't miniatures. It's a perspective trick.
Nate:
So I've heard. Does not compute. I googled tilt-shift, and am not quite getting it yet. If you understand how this works, could you put it in layman's terms, to give me an incomplete understanding of the method?
@phrank:
If you play around with a magnifying lens, or glasses if you wear them, you'll notice that at an angle, things appear focused on one side and blurry on the other side and edges. This is because of the curvature of the lens. The shift does something to keep the lines straight.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tilt-shift_photography#Camera_movements
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_faking
Ridiculous.
They look like ants... *makes a stomping motion* NYAUGH!
Err... the National Australia Bank has had an ad using EXACTLY this concept for the last three months here.
Do you think we care, prison land dweller?
It seem that HP took this idea from the Japanese clothing company Uniqlo.
Uniqlo has a calendar/screensaver for download at its website for many months by now (it's the most intriguing screensaver I ever had)
http://www.uniqlo.com/calendar/
Now that is a cool website. I love the way you can click on the video, and it launches into a mosaic of where you click, made of images of the products they sell. Very cool.
It's possible, but they're not the first to use this technique.
This "idea" has been around since tilt-shift lenses were first invented, and then intentionally misused in this way (which happened about a minute after someone first attached one to their camera).
You can't fault HP for copying anyone on this, any more than you can say James Cameron copied the idea of science fiction from George Lucas. This is a pretty generic and obvious "idea".
The link you went to was made by the guy who makes the video. HP contracted him to do it. He's been doing it for years and he's pretty much the foremost guy on doing these videos.
So the idea was not stolen from Uniqlo.
It's okay...nothing "amazing".
That's the problem with tilt-shift pictures (or video). Once you've seen one, you seen them all. =/
@Laughton: Oh its pretty amazing to say the least... What can you do?
With that kind of budget? Not sure but it'll certainly involve coke and hookers!
A "making of" would be more interesting...
Use a tilt-shift lens, speed up the video and increase the color saturation. That's most of it.
Search Flickr for tilt shift photography and you'll probably find some useful info.
The lens costs a couple thousand dollars.
What's that song?
If you click the picture it gives this info:
Artist: Mr Little Jeans
Title: Rescue Song
Wow that was kinda trippy! Music sounds like it should be on an ipod ad
think i'd rather buy a technical product from a company that values ideas above hope/change/passion/controversy...
Ok, I don't know what the hell I just saw (were they toys? were they real people? is it cgi? is that the matrix?) ... but I freakin' loved every second of it. It's a great thing to be absolutely amazed by something once in a while.