Nov 25
250.000 multi-coloured bouncing balls
2005 at 02.38 am posted by Veerle
What happens if you combine 250.000 multi-coloured bouncing balls and Filbert and Leavenworth Streets in San Francisco? Crazy idea? Maybe, but that’s exactly what Danish director Nicolai Fuglsig did for a Sony product in July this year. It was to announce the arrival of the BRAVIA LCD and 3LCD range In Europe.
The purpose was to convey the message that on these screens color will be like no other. The great thing about this commercial is that it all was done without computer graphics. It all had to be perfect because all 23 camera men only had one shot to get it right. Special compressed-air cannons were used to shot the balls into the air. Crew members needed protective shields and crash helmets because these balls can do some damage, but you’ll probably agree with me that the end result is stunning. There’s also a Flickr set about the commercial too.
The commercial itself can be seen here and behind the scenes movies are also available. The soundtrack is a song called ”Heartbeats” by José Gonzélez (Swedish I think). It’s a must to watch.
21served
1
I saw the flickr set before the commercial. Only seen the commercial once but wow.
I wonder if they did any damage? I know they’re rubber but lots of impact against something could break things.. expecially at high momentum. Im suprised no one crashed too. Ok, so im thinking negative. As said WOW.
2
Wow! Thanks for this post. I have been crazy in love with this ad since I first saw it. Hard to believe it’s actually real. Thanks more so for posting the link to the music. Beautiful!
3
Really excited to find this post. I see the commerical (on Swedish TV) all the time and it has quickly become one of my all-time favorites. The music is especially gorgeous. Thanks for posting.
4
Absolutely beautiful!
5
Awesome!
Me and my girlfriend saw this commercial together first time we both saw it. She giggled and I tried to investigate how it was made… thought it was to be real but I had my doubts… Cool to see the whole progress…
The commercial is pretty cool ^^
6
Great ad. Saw it yesterday for the first time at the local cinema.
7
The advert’s great, does anybody know what the product is like though?
8
I saw this commerical a few weeks ago at the time I was having a bad day but it cheered me up. There is nothing like seeing a massive amount of bouncy balls.
9
what a brilliant way to get people’s attention!
10
What happens if your standing in the road when they come down on you? Did any car windows get broken?
I saw this a couple of weeks ago when it aired in the UK. Cheered me up.
11
Very nice! For an equally impressive, slightly more cost-effective use of superballs, make sure to check out Chris Lomont’s “A Superball Story”.
Good times.
12
I was discussing this film with a friend of mine and concluded that the graphics are almost(!) perfect. Doh!
13
I always thought it was made with CG.
I never even spent one second thinking that it was made using real balls…
14
Awesome results!!
is stunning that it was real life!
15
Wow. thanks for posting this, I was thinking that it (like every add these days) was just CGI. How wrong I was.
16
Makes me proud to be danish :)
17
Doesn’t anyone else wonder what ecological impact all these balls have when they ended up in gardens, streets, sewers, etc. ? They had to do several takes to get all the required shots, so I’m assuming there’s over a million balls that got shot in the air !?
Fact remains, of course, that it’s one hell of a commercial. But still....
18
@Raven: I guess you browsed the article quickly don’t you ;-) In the article I metioned it was all done in one “take”. The sewers were protected with nets so the balls couldn’t get in. The cleanup afterwards in all the streets was done by 50 people. Does this satisfy you :-p
19
I stand corrected ...... (shamefully bowing his head, he retreated into the background)
20
You are correct that the music is “Heartbeats” played by José González from Sweden. He has a MySpace site where you can listen to the tune in its full length.
Some trivia knowledge, for everybody is that the José González version is actually a cover and the original is by another Swedish band called The Knife, this page explains all and have links to further resources.
Both versions certainly has their own qualities.
21
I live in San Francisco and actually saw them do this. They blocked off the entire length of the street, unleashed the balls and afterwards let everyone keep the dropped balls as long as they were all picked up.