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606 Takes To film Rube Goldberg-like car ad

Posted by Hemos on from the building-the-machine dept.

wagdog writes "Many have no doubt seen the Rube Goldberg-like multistep mechanical chain reaction TV advert for the Honda Accord. Many thought this was yet another example of the pervasive use of computer graphics in TV commercials. Amazingly the entire delicate set up of car parts that constitute the facinating sequence is almost 100% realtime live action requiring an astounding 606 takes to get right . There is one cheat however -- can you spot it?"

19 of 442 comments (clear)

  1. The expected result... by Xaroth · · Score: 5, Funny

    From 606 to 404 in under 6 seconds.

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    That green slime had it coming.
  2. For comparison by ih8apple · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The record number of takes for a single shot in any movie is 125 in The Shining.

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    Why do I h8 apple?
    1. Re:For comparison by JDevers · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Stanley Kubrick ordered more than 120 takes in the scene where the camera simply slowly zooms in on Scatman Crothers as he "shines" in his bedroom. Kubrick originally wanted approximately 70 takes of the scene where Hollaran gets killed by Jack Torrance, but Jack Nicholson talked Kubrick into going easy on the 70 year-old Crothers and stopping after 40. At one point during the filming, Crothers became so exasperated with Kubrick's notorious, compulsive style of excessive retakes that he broke down and cried, asking "What do you want, Mr. Kubrick?" This is from http://us.imdb.com/Trivia?0081505 from another who loves The Shining =)

  3. This a blatant ripoff of: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative
    "the Way Things Go" by Peter Fischli and David Weiss


    here's a link to the most excellent kinetic art video:


    http://www.firstrunfeatures.com/vid/thewaythings go .html



    of course, if they hired the pair to do the stuff for the Commercial, then.....it's not a ripoff. (hope they made some bucks)

  4. Re:Impressive Goldberg link... by L.+VeGas · · Score: 5, Funny

    Not so impressive. It's full of holes.

    I searched throughout the entire Rube Goldberg site and couldn't find ONE SINGLE MENTION of his more-famous daughter, Whoopi.

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    Best Windows Freeware
  5. Mirror by Trogdor · · Score: 5, Informative

    Mirror

  6. MOV download by MORTAR_COMBAT! · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's a link to those who'd like a non-slashdotted .mov download of the ad.

    Thanks be to widepipe.org for the link...

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    MORTAR COMBAT!
    1. Re:MOV download by Bohiti · · Score: 5, Funny

      My company's WebSense filtering blocked this from me for "Adult Content". Whoa Nelly, Honda is apparently attempting to change their image.

  7. Re:Rube Goldberg? by 91degrees · · Score: 5, Informative

    Anyone agree with me here?

    I think everyone does. Apart from the fact that 90% of Americans have never heard of Heath Robinson, and 90% of Brits have never heard of Rube Goldberg. They certainly fill exactly the same niche in society both for the drawings, and for providing a terms used for an expresion to refer to a bizarre ad-hoc invention.

  8. Can I Spot It? by telstar · · Score: 5, Funny
    "There is one cheat however -- can you spot it?"
    • Actually ... Yes, I can ... since the damn slashdotted movie is playing at about 1fps right now.
  9. BitTorrent Mirror by SeanTobin · · Score: 5, Informative

    Click here all you bittorrent users

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    Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
  10. I'm peeved now by 0x00000dcc · · Score: 5, Funny
    I actually sat through that entire commercial, as cool as it was, thinking there was going to be some killer car at the end. Rather, it was a friggen' station wagon

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    -- (Score:i, Imaginary)

    1. Re:I'm peeved now by 0x00000dcc · · Score: 5, Funny
      I actually sat through that entire commercial, as cool as it was, thinking there was going to be some killer car at the end. Rather, it was a friggen' station wagon
      1. Was sex a disappointment for you the first time, too? ;)

        1. Yes, becuase it was in a friggen' station wagon
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      -- (Score:i, Imaginary)

  11. Re:Goldberg and Heath Robinson by ianscot · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Sort of, but not a carbon copy exactly. Rube Goldberg is seen by some people as a sort of "American version" of Robinson -- news programs here might say "Our tax system is a Rube Golbergian mess" where those in the U.K. would invoke Robinson. They were contemporaries, but Goldberg lived longer.

    I'd say Robinson was more about social commentary than Goldberg. His typical drawing would be an overall look at a machine, sure, but there was usually something dilapidated about the workings of it, and there was something sort of comic-tragic about the people in the figure -- they're seriously working to maintain the thing despite its ludicrously overcomplex design, and it's running down despite them.

    Goldberg is more of an engineer's taste -- he was an engineer to start with, wasn't he? -- and the idea is really to play with the idea of the machine to make it as ridiculous as possible. His machines aren't attended by a bunch of sadly intent factory workers, they're what my Great Uncle would call "flights of fancy." You hear about contests in the U.S., for fun, to build elaborate "Rube Goldberg contraptions" to perform simple actions.

    Heath Robinson would have appreciated Metropolis more when it came out.

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    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
  12. Swiss Rube Goldberg video 'Der Lauf Die Dinge' by MemexMutex · · Score: 5, Informative

    By far the most elaborate & amazing Rube-Goldberg apparatus ever filmed is "Die Lauf Der Dinge (The Way Things Go) by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss (http://www.frif.com/cat97/t-z/the_way_.html).

    It includes not only complex mechanical agglomerations but all sorts of homemade pyrotechnical concoctions. These guys really new their inorganic chemistry.

    Fischli & Weiss filled a warehouse with dozens & dozens these devices linked in series with the output of one element trigger the next one in the pipeline. The camera just keeps walking down the line following the action. You get the feeling the devices are set up in a large circle inside a huge empty building with the camera in the middle slowly turning to follow the train of activity.

    The audio is quite intense, as well. Each device has its own very distinctive sound, which helps to make the video quite animated.

    Most incredible of all, they appeared to do it with a minimum of subtle takes. There seem to be only 4 or 5 cuts in this 45 minute video, and some of them require repeated viewing to pick out.

    Despite the fact the primary actors consist of auto tires, ladders, plywood sheets and soda bottles, DLDD is remarkably fun to watch. I highly recommend it.

    You can pick it up on DVD or VHS at many spots on the net. Here's a link to DVDPriceSearch.com's comparative price listing:
    http://www.dvdpricesearch.com/cgi-bin/dv dcalc2?cmd =calc&tmpCart=15602

  13. Get the advert + making of FREE (For UK ppl) by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you live in the UK,
    Call the Honda Contact Centre on 0845 200 8000 and ask for a free DVD of THAT Honda ad. They also got it on VHS if you prefer.

    They got 20,000 copies. So dont rush :)

    1. Re:Get the advert + making of FREE (For UK ppl) by Loosewire · · Score: 5, Funny

      Just phoned up , he asked where i heard about it and i said here. "Ah ive just had someone from slashdot ask for one." "Yes i said, the whole slashdot readership have just reduced your webserver to smouldering wreck :-)"

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      Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
  14. Re:Direct link... by paulcammish · · Score: 5, Informative
    Ive uploaded a Mirror here for a Quicktime version...

    Ah well, never liked my server anyways...

  15. Oh dear God. by GLevangelist · · Score: 5, Funny

    They'll probably make millions selling the out-takes to obsessive geeks.