For all this discussion of whether the balls should roll forward or backwards, isn’t it possible the camera is facing the front of the plane and they simply turned the seats around?
I would vote for ‘mostly real’ with some heavy post-production editing.
There are a couple of times when the guy in blue does some movement that seems to defy physics. For example at 0:44 it seems like he is oriented somewhat vertically and pushes of the floor with his foot, but he travels in a lateral curve back to his seat.
Also at about 1:40, a similar thing with the red-shirt guy pulling down a suitcase… suddenly he accelerates diagonally back into his seat without any corresponding push. It looks like he was jerked sideways.
At about 2:16, blue shirt guy is still floating and tumbling blissfully while most of the balls are rolling on the floor toward the back of the aircraft. How can some objects been in free fall while others are affected by gravity?
I know they’ve messed with the film speed in the video but is it possible some of it is being played in reverse?
Only if it’s a sloppy 'shop. I’ve been in the still photo industry for 20 years, using Photoshop since 3.0, and a decent Photoshop job is difficult to definitively state one way or another, and it seems to me people are quick to dismiss photos that are not Photoshop jobs as “fakes.” I really do think you have to be an expert in image forensics to tell with a high degree of certainty (unless the photos do exhibit some of those tell-tale signs of a sloppy job.) It right pisses me off sometimes, because when you work hard to get that photo of that perfect moment and somebody comes and dismisses it as computer art, when it’s not.
Anyhow, there’s nothing in this video that seems fake to me, other than the fact that it is a stitched-together collection of takes. I see no reason to distrust OK GO’s version of events and, hell, we even do have a blooper reel available, so I hope that settles most of it.
So, we have duelling 'Shop chops…
The physics explained.
The first one is our own Bad Astronomer, Phil Platt
The guy in the seat next to him is pulling him over.
They are at the end of the arc and gravity is returning.
The balls won’t suddenly float into the air without some force acting on them. They can be weightless on the floor just fine.
OK, I see that, you got me there.
This one also is as you pointed out above, the guy next to him is pulling him over. Can’t see how I missed this, but I did.
At about 1:58, all the balls are rolling backward toward the rear of the airplane (or blocked by an obstacle). The same force is acting on all the balls, but the singer appears to be hovering, not touching anything, as if no force is operating on him at all.
He has his left foot hooked under the bar. You can also see his right foot dragging back and he pulls it forward.
Hm, maybe so. I guess my intuition is being thrown by all the included “transitional” phases in addition to the pure freefall phases. My mammalian brain interprets this as “bullshit” and I get overly skeptical.
And I bet you’re also being thrown off by the video being sped up (27 seconds of filming in 21 seconds). It’s not obvious, but certain movements look slightly off.
nvm
Not exactly. The balls would all “fall” to the floor, and it may roll forward or backward somewhat, depending on the exact pitch angle of the aircraft. But there’s no overwhelming acceleration towards the back or the front of the plane.
Also as someone already pointed out, we don’t know if we’re looking at the back or the front of the plane. The whole cabin is a set constructed inside a cargo plane. All those seats may face backwards.
They’re not the only rock stars to do a shoot in a vomit comet. The band photo on the back cover of the Doobie Brothers’ album “Minute By Minute” was shot in one. The story is about 2/3 of the way into the article.
The story is worth reading for the fan letter anecdote at the end.
So… contrite acknowledgment, disappearance from the thread/message board/planet, or further down the CT rabbit hole? What’s your bet?
I wouldn’t put some kind of trickery past them. Their original schtick was to do everything in one shot, but this video seems to have an edit. The position of the light moves when the curtain is pulled back:
Also, I think they quietly admitted that the final overhead shot in I Won’t Let You Down (OK Go - I Won't Let You Down - Official Video - YouTube) was a composite of different shots because they didn’t have that many Honda Uni-Cubs. I’m too lazy to look up a cite. I had originally assumed that they were mostly just on foot, but looking closer it does appear that they’re on the Uni-Cubs, at least until the camera is too far up to see any detail.
More behind the scenes videos:
http://blog.instagram.com/post/139110507002/160211-okgo
Brian
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I wouldn’t put some kind of trickery past them. Their original schtick was to do everything in one shot, but this video seems to have an edit.** The position of the light moves when the curtain is pulled back:
Also, I think they quietly admitted that the final overhead shot in I Won’t Let You Down (https://youtu.be/u1ZB_rGFyeU?t=3m26s) was a composite of different shots because they didn’t have that many Honda Uni-Cubs. I’m too lazy to look up a cite. I had originally assumed that they were mostly just on foot, but looking closer it does appear that they’re on the Uni-Cubs, at least until the camera is too far up to see any detail.
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The way it’s explained is as each period of weightlessness is ending, everyone freezes in place (easy and hard to do as they pull almost 2 Gs on the backside) and resumes as the next weightless session starts. The freeze portions were removed.
More behind the scenes here, especially the last item, an almost 8-minute video about the last day of the shoot.
I already acknowledged I’ve changed my original assessment. Yes they really shot in the IL76 in parabolic arcs. I do think however they are not being honest that its one continuous take with only time while they are frozen edited out. I think they are using rotoscoping and 3D to get the end result, combining together many different takes.
Why? because it would be a shit load cheaper to do only 10 takes then combine all the best bits in post than do do the hundreds you need to get it all perfect. OK Go’s previous videos they could do hundreds of takes with no time pressure, its a little different when each extra take is 45 minutes of time for a massive plane, fuel and crew of 60 people. (check the FAQ and they tell you its 45 minutes per complete run through including the times frozen waiting for weightless ness again.)