# Playing Pong with live sheep?!? Is this for real? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 11, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732 "2010-12-11T01:04:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/1 "2010-12-11T01:04:44Z")
[http://www.wimp.com/sheeplight/](http://www.wimp.com/sheeplight/) In the video, the shepherds train their sheepdogs to do some amazing things, including a game of Pong with sheep. It looks real to me, but maybe one of our more savvy Dopers can scream “Photoshopped!” and make the claim stick. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/2 "2010-12-11T01:11:14Z")
I have no idea, but that was AWESOME! I don’t see any photo trickery in that at all. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/3 "2010-12-11T01:21:14Z")
Nope, it’s bollocks. There will be some of it that will have been genuine, a few sheep moving here and there that they could isolate and add a sense of realism with, but I am convinced it’s mostly faked. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/4 "2010-12-11T01:30:25Z")
And then I looked it up, and they are [denying any computer enhancement](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/7961889.stm). I still have my doubts, but there you go. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/5 "2010-12-11T01:37:34Z")
I should have known it was on YouTube. For those who like that site better, here’s the video at YouTube: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/D2FX9rviEhw/hqdefault.jpg "Extreme Sheep LED Art") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw) ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/6 "2010-12-11T01:49:19Z")
In some of those shots I don’t think we’re watching the movement of the sheep but rather the “movement” of the lights. The sheep are standing still and the lights are turned on and off to give an illusion of movement. At least I suspect that’s what’s going on. Notice that at the very end it’s identified as an ad for a Samsung product called “Smart LED Technology”. Maybe what’s smart about them is that they can detect their positions, relative to the other LEDs, and flash programmed patterns. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/7 "2010-12-11T02:27:38Z")
The walking sheep figure doesn’t look quite believable to me, but the rest seems to be possible. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/8 "2010-12-11T03:48:03Z")
I’ve seen it before. I don’t see why it would be that hard. I always assumed there was something special about the lights, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/9 "2010-12-11T10:23:48Z")
In the walking sheep and Pong segments, watch the movements of isolated individuals very carefully. You’ll notice they’re moving rather jerkily - it’s pretty clear this is stop-motion animation writ very, very large and very, very woolly. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/10 "2010-12-12T17:52:41Z")
> [@Olentzero](#): > > In the walking sheep and Pong segments, watch the movements of isolated individuals very carefully. You’ll notice they’re moving rather jerkily Yeah, but… isn’t that jerkiness just because those segments are being run at high speed? I don’t think that indicates any trickery. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/11 "2010-12-12T18:21:11Z")
I seen this a few times over the past few years. I’ve always been under the impression that despite being mostly real there were some “shopped” smooth-overs. ---
**Author:** ![Olentzero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/90ced4/32.png) [@Olentzero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Olentzero)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/12 "2010-12-12T20:15:39Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Yeah, but… isn’t that jerkiness just because those segments are being run at high speed? I don’t think that indicates any trickery. Wasn’t trying to expose trickery. Just stating my opinion on how they did all that without CGI. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/13 "2010-12-12T21:55:14Z")
If you’ve ever watched sheepdogs herding sheep, you’d know the pong game was eminently possible. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/14 "2010-12-13T06:38:14Z")
I’m saying it’s real. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/15 "2010-12-13T07:24:00Z")
> [@Martian Bigfoot](#): > > Yeah, but… isn’t that jerkiness just because those segments are being run at high speed? I don’t think that indicates any trickery. Yeah a lot of it is run at high speed. Other than that there are things you can do with night time and lights such as having fences defining the range of motion allowable to a minor flock of sheep. It may well be that there was no computer enhancement used other than running the film fast at times but that’s not to say it is exactly as it appears. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/16 "2010-12-13T08:31:47Z")
When I was a kid, there was a logo for wool, called [the woolmark](http://blog.ankarapatent.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/WoolmarkLogo1.jpg). They made [a print ad](http://www.weeklytimesnow.com.au/article/2009/10/26/124621_wool.html) in New Zealand that had real sheep standing in the shape of it. I am not sure how they did it, but I suspect there may have been some (physical) cut and paste and a few staked-out guide-wires. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/17 "2010-12-13T10:33:51Z")
You can achieve that sort of thing with carefully arranged food on the ground, it is very (unbelievably) tidy though. Edit: On second look it’s not as tidy as I first thought. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-pong-with-live-sheep-is-this-for-real/563732/18 "2010-12-13T15:50:53Z")
I’ve seen this discussed elsewhere a couple of years ago and the verdict was a definite shopped.