Greetings children, Captain Disillusion here
Times are changing
This year the first 3D television channel goes online in America
Of course, it's from ESPN and will broadcast exclusively sporting events like football games
because if there's one thing you need to see an exquisite detail of all three dimensions
It's a bunch of dudes smashing into each other
But it is a wake up call
Web video is a competitive field and one has to keep up
I realize that if I'm going to compete with the many
professional video bloggers coming at you in trendy jump cuts from their living rooms
So I have to do something really special
So-
I have gone 3D
woooh
And I've mastered state of the art '70s green screen technology
*clap clap*
So you don't have to get bored while I talk
But most importantly I've learned to analyze view statistics
so that I can cater my content to the audience, and maximize exposure and profitability
So um...
Why don't you uh,
take a little break out on the patio,
ladies age 18 to 44
Because the other 86% of my demographic and I have a few Manly topics to discuss
*fist noise*
Like football!
That's right
Now you've all been requesting this video for a really long time,
So let's do it!
psyChe!
To the extreme!
Gentlemen, I give you
NFL fantasy files
The super popular compilation of videos
features star football players performing unbelievable stunts in practice
in an effort to persuade you to pick them for your fantasy football league,
but turns out it's an award-winning viral video campaign for Reebok and nfl.com
designed and produced by a New York City-based creative agency called Blue Room.
They used some badass invisible special effects to make celebrity athletes look cool-er.
The campaign proved so successful, they make a series of fantasy files clips every year
but a certain bunch have gone mega Viral and withstood the test of time.
Now as good as these professional athletes are, they're not capable of defying probability and the laws of physics
Whoa!
But, the clever and subtle visual effects used to achieve these daring illusions are fun to decipher
So let's take a look at some highlights:
CUT 1
Chris Cooley positions himself behind the wall
but the swish pan from the pass serves as a transition
to a shot of Cooley behind the wall where a violent looking hole has already been pre-cut.
A simple digital touch-up masked the hole in the few frames where it's visible prior to impact
Cooley thrusts his hand through the hole, and an elegant animation of dust and debris does the rest.
Note the dust disappearing completely before the camera starts to reposition.
A moment later the football is placed in Cooley's hand though a clean background plate is used to hide this fact
and Cooley emerges victorious
CUT 2
Jason Campbell on the field.
He throws a pass then another almost two seconds later which miraculously catches up to the first
But in fact the real footballs land downfield masked by the match moved background plate
while two computer-generated footballs bump and fall into the hands of the receivers
who stand motionless to make the animators job just a little easier
CUT 3
Marcus Colston in practice
Settles in a steady shot from which a clean background plate is generated.
He pretends to catch balls handed to him much like during the game- What?!
That joke brought to you by the little swishes that made it look like a football slew in from frame right
CUT 4
Marc Bulger -and here's where things get tricky.
He throws a pass right into a swish zoom transition
to a separate shot of the bulky gentleman where the yard marker is hid by someone else from a much closer distance.
The zoom out retains the guy from the close up until Colston's bodies digitally wipes him away and
this amazing play is repeated twice more.
CUT 5
Back to basics with Chris Chambers, the fanboys mime throwing passes
letting their footballs drop to the ground behind them as Chambers does the dance
complete with close range ball on ball action
The momentary cover is enough for most of us to forget that the practice footballs at the fanboys feet are the
very same ones they pretended to throw.
CUT 6
A truly classic play with Mason Crosby
using a classic digital wire renewal technique originally developed by Industrial Light & Magic back in the early '90s.
The real balls go one way, the CG balls go another and so it goes.
And finally,
CUT 7
Laurence Moroney passes in front of a real SUV. As he hustles and gets ready,
the vehicle is quietly driven just out of range.
Moroney launches ahead and does a precise dive and roll onto a mat on the lawn. In this key moment, all
activities paused and the SUV is rolled back into position.
The camera captures a full reference shot of the car and then, on command, action is resumed.
Later a compositing geek spends a night intricately marrying the image of the car into the footage of
Maroney's jump complete with shadows, transparency, and a nearly invisible morph transition into the final real shot.
Simply amazing
Ladies and gentlemen this breakdown is blessing you by the great taste of Disillusiables Chunky Matter. What's the matter? It's Disillusiables.
*boom*
You know what, this isn't right. This whole thing just doesn't feel right.
I always tell you not to make uninformed assumptions,
but in my zeal to be successful, I turn around and do that very thing.
I assumed that every single one of you has two properly functioning eyes to enjoy a 3D episode and that's probably not the case.
I assume that view counts and
demographic stats are accurate and reliable and they're not always
worst of all, I assumed that
simply summing up what average viewers expect and serving it up to you will make you happy
But I'm not so average. And if you like me, maybe you're not so average either
I'm sorry, I stereotyped you, but don't worry. I'll keep doing what I do. The way I like to do it.
But now I'm afraid it's time for me to go kids. A 4th grader in Pasadena. Just realized she's not...
average and is freaking out. I can't help feeling responsible.
Remember: Love with your heart use your head for everything else
Captain Disillusion!