Frozen movie of cops vs. clowns in hospital shootout

Jim Leftwich says on Twitter:

Amazing video short by Stink Digital: "Carousel" It's a frozen moment of cops vs. clowns in a hospital shootout.

[#1 posted by nosehat, April 22, 2009 8:32 PM]

Why doesn't every movie have a shootout between cops and clowns?

[#2 posted by The Life Of Bryan, April 22, 2009 8:51 PM]

Jaw: dropped.

[#3 posted by sushispook, April 22, 2009 8:55 PM]

SHUT UP. really?

[#4 posted by Mark Frauenfelder, April 22, 2009 8:56 PM]

Best YouTube comment on this: "I might have to upgrade to iLife 09. 08 doesn't cut it anymore.... "

[#5 posted by oscar, April 22, 2009 9:14 PM]

You're missing out on the full experience - this is a viral for Philips TVs. The official site lets you scrub the video and see some behind-the-scenes clips:

http://www.cinema.philips.com/?ls=gb_en

[#6 posted by Dan, April 22, 2009 9:18 PM]

I feel like I'm missing something. A clown shed his clown clothes in the final room, then jumped out the window? And the cop on top of the car is looking for the jumper? Or the cop on top of the car IS the jumper? Help me out here.

[#7 posted by oneswellfoop, April 22, 2009 9:57 PM]

Having spent 4 years earning a degree in computer art, 3-D animation (which I am in no way using)....holy shit. That's impressive. Very impressive.

[#8 posted by wispsmoke, April 22, 2009 9:58 PM]

The posing of the individual figures has a painterly quality to it. There's something really elegant about the movement of the camera through the still images (even if the subject matter isn't so elegant... it's all good!). I wonder if they could work moments like this into feature films without making them cheesy as all hell.

[#9 posted by Anonymous, April 22, 2009 10:14 PM]

I hate to use the term because, especially these days, it doesn't mean much for very long but, aside from the staging and the logic of the piece, it was masterful.

A research piece of mine has been video games, camera placement and sound. This video did an interesting job of factoring pace/time into the attempt to create another world.

Well done!

[#10 posted by LeavingHalfway, April 22, 2009 11:07 PM]

Lovely animation and camera work, but so far as I can see, there's not enough sense in the layout of all the players in the building. Everyone's scattered throughout without providing a sense of how they came there.

@ Dan #6, I think only the mask ended up out the window; I assumed the boxered guy on the floor was a de-masked clown...

Hence narrative problems. But the staging was lovely and creepy, and those masks, man! Not in any way soothing.

[#11 posted by Adam Stanhope, April 22, 2009 11:26 PM]

Can anyone explain how this is done? It is an absolute mystery to me how they did this.

[#12 posted by spazzm, April 22, 2009 11:40 PM]

It's all smoke and mirrors, Adam.

[#13 posted by Steve Stair, April 22, 2009 11:44 PM]

The implication is supposed to be that the "cop" on which the film begins, is actually a "clown" that stole a cop's uniform, then jumped out of the window on to the roof of the car. Which is why he still has the mask and money.

[#14 posted by thequickbrownfox, April 22, 2009 11:51 PM]

It's called Time Slice camerawork, you use a circular array of camera lenses that trigger together: thus capturing all aspects of a single instant of movement.

When each of these camera shots are assembled as a reel of motion picture film they present a 3D tableau.

[#15 posted by Jesse M., April 22, 2009 11:58 PM]

Great video, kind of Dark Knight-esque...speaking of which, if they ever make a movie of "The Flash", I think they should have the trailer be something like this, and then at the end the Flash runs in at normal speed, surveys the scene, sighs, and gets to work pulling bullets out of the air...

[#16 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 12:59 AM]

Way, I will totally go pay to see the big-screen thing that this director/animator(s) do next. They have got to get something great with this on the resume...

[#17 posted by nosehat, April 23, 2009 1:09 AM]

@#14 thequickbrownfox:

I don't think there's much time slice here, or if there is it's tiny bits of it that are stitched together with something else. If you notice, the "camera" often moves forward along the track, in a way that would show the other cameras if this were the technique (time slice is always a sideways pan). It also moves in very complex ways through very complex scenarios (like the broken glass). My guess is that most of it is CGI, except perhaps the actors who were shot individually using a timeslice technique, and the whole thing composited together from relatively small pieces.

And yes, it's really, really impressive.

[#18 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 1:13 AM]

nosehat @ 17 - why must timeslice always be a sideways pan?

[#19 posted by PrettyBoyTim, April 23, 2009 1:52 AM]

Timeslice has to be a sideways pan because otherwise the action would be obscured by all the other cameras in the scene. You can do an orbit, like they did in The Matrix, but then you have to cut out any cameras that end up in frame on the other side of the object you're filming.

My guess is that they will have used timeslicing in some parts and composited them in with the rest of the action, which will have been shot with all the actors standing still (like they did in Heroes).

[#20 posted by VICTOR JIMENEZ, April 23, 2009 1:59 AM]

A-MAZING!
I´m still looking for my jaw, it must be somewhere...

[#21 posted by felixjawesome, April 23, 2009 2:11 AM]

I thought this was viral marketing for I-Movix cameras (1000 fps in HD biatch).

I'm not movie magician or whathaveyou, but my guess is the location was filmed on a track, and the actors were filmed in front of a green screen using the same technology, only in that timesplicing jigamahooha.

But in all honesty, I came here hoping someone could tell me how they did this? Because it looks like magic or some kind of demon power.

[#22 posted by FoetusNail, April 23, 2009 2:18 AM]

Anon 18, my guess is, if they used "bullet time", then it must be at least a partially sideways pan, because otherwise there would be a hole in every capture where the succeeding camera is located. Starting @ 3:10 there is an example of the limits present during the filming of the Matrix.

However, it would not be too surprising if this limitation has been over come using CGI interpolation.

This is cool.

[#23 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 2:23 AM]

@18
Because if it isn't, you'll see other cameras from other angles of the time slice.

[#24 posted by monstrinho_do_biscoito, April 23, 2009 2:50 AM]

that is the most impressive CG/compositing thing i have ever seen. and i work professionally as a 3D animator/compositor.

blown away.

[#25 posted by Andy Nonymous, April 23, 2009 3:16 AM]

it's an ad:

http://www.cinema.philips.com/?ls=gb_en

[#26 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 3:49 AM]

I wonder what old Leonardo da Vinci might have to say about a thing like this.

[#27 posted by coffeemoon, April 23, 2009 4:08 AM]

It's neither slice nor pure cgi.

If you watch the (staged) behind the scenes stuff, you'll see tracks. Most cops and clowns will be actors in the foreground for detail/mannequins in the background suspended on wires.
It's shot with cameras on booms/tracks/dollies (watch for camera shake @ 0.31 - 0.34 up the steps.) The tracks are then retouched out.

Light sources for explosions are typically large softs, which are later replaced with CG fire. Bullets/nozzle blast are CG elements added using a matchmove technique, as are some of the bank notes. Broken glass is likely to be a post effect, (matchmove the camera, model broken glass, use something like a "normal" render pass as a mask for 2D post distortion, and overlay a reflection pass for added realism. Note the glass shards do have reflective highlights on but no actual reflected images) etc etc.

Very nicely done though.
regards,
coffeemoon

[#28 posted by nanuq, April 23, 2009 4:16 AM]

Clowns are evil! At last we have proof!

[#29 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 5:02 AM]

My gast is quite flabbered!

[#30 posted by Snig, April 23, 2009 6:01 AM]

photoshopped.

[#31 posted by Snig, April 23, 2009 6:07 AM]

What's neat (ok, it's all REALLY NEAT, but among the NEATNESS) is that you could loop this, and almost wherever you started could be looked on as a starting point or a significant plot point.

[#32 posted by kobrakai, April 23, 2009 6:52 AM]

Just a small point about time slice. It's not necessarily a "pan" (but it can be) but generally a "track". In a pan, the camera pivots on a fixed point. In a track (or is it truck?), the camera moves along a series of tracks.

[#33 posted by Ceronomus, April 23, 2009 6:56 AM]

Damn...just....DAMN! That is amazing.

[#34 posted by tkahvesi, April 23, 2009 7:10 AM]

Coffeemoon has it. While it's tempting to look for digital shortcuts in productions like these, the answer to 'how?' is usually: extraordinarily meticulous real-world production. Actors, dummies, camera tracks with motion control (every camera move can be replicated exactly as many times as desired), and a large and immaculately designed set. The mid-air elements are added in, as are the fire and other 'particle' effects. But with a great piece of starting footage (made with a huge investment of time and money - this is an ad, after all), a whole lot of complex digital processing isn't necessary. What was done to the footage after shooting could be done by anyone with a laptop and two pieces of consumer software (not that it was).

As someone who has students aspiring to make work of this caliber, it's always a challenge to convince them to invest in the REAL production, and not hope some 'digital wizard' can make their mediocre shooting into something special.

[#35 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 7:16 AM]

@ #6 and #10

Why would the cops strip him of his yellow suit in such a high stress situation? Based on the floor they were on, stripped yellow suit, and the cop yelling was holding onto/hiding the mask. He stole the uniform and jumped/crawled out the window. I'm amazed you guys missed the money trail and the fact that he was holding a bag of money and a shotgun, the clowns weapon of choice.

[#36 posted by UncommonSense, April 23, 2009 7:32 AM]

Why are clowns so scary?

[#37 posted by GregLondon, April 23, 2009 7:58 AM]

wow.

[#38 posted by Blue, April 23, 2009 8:39 AM]

>#24
>it's an ad:
>http://www.cinema.philips.com/?ls=gb_en

The Philips hosted version also has moderately amusing commentary.

[#39 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 8:52 AM]

It reminds me of one of my favorite short films, "The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow" (teaser here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoTGihrgkgM; full version not online as far as I can tell...). That one was in 2D, though, and the images kept changing as the camera zoomed in and out. Brilliantly done--see it at a film festival near you if possible.

[#40 posted by NotACat, April 23, 2009 9:34 AM]

@31: as my friends in the PA business used to say, "you can't polish a turd".

We would follow that up with "you can gold-plate it, then polish it, but it's still obviously a turd".

[#41 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 9:44 AM]

While this is technically very impressive, how does one make off with lots of cash by robbing a hospital? How does a team of thieves plan to make a getaway dressed in clown suits?

I'm not getting it.

[#42 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 9:54 AM]

Looks like someone saw Silence of the Lambs and thought it had some good ideas.

[#43 posted by Anonymous, April 23, 2009 12:49 PM]

So, which came first: this short film or The Dark Knight?

[#44 posted by mamachill, April 23, 2009 3:41 PM]

Wow.

@LeavingHalfway #10
I think you're right... look at the boots of the guy in boxers and they're similar to the cops.. then look at the sneakers of the "cop" on the car at towards the end of the scene.. his sneakers are similar to one of the clowns kicking the cop through the glass window at the nurses station.

I can't believe I just spent 20 mins of my life looking at that back and forth.

[#45 posted by DeathBySnooSnoo, April 23, 2009 4:33 PM]

Absolutely gorgeous.

[#46 posted by Anonymous, August 14, 2009 7:31 AM]

hi all, a naughty post (in french) on the how they did that enormous video : http://gregoirelemaire.free.fr