This Incredible Ad Was Shot with a Robot Arm, Paint, and Water… No CGI

Step aside awesome Microsoft Surface Studio commercial, this new paint ad is officially the coolest use of robotic filming techniques and practical effects we have ever seen. As you watch this video, keep in mind: none of this is CGI.

The ad was created by the minds at McKinney and PSYOP, and our first time through, we simply couldn’t believe this was all done with paint, water, and standard editing. But it was, as the behind the scenes video they released shows.

All it took was a Phantom slow motion camera mounted on a high-speed robot arm called “Spike,” a 400-gallon tank full of water, and a whole lot of paint. Camera movements were planned out on the computer before hand, and then the sequence was captured automatically by Spike while the team poured in or strategically shot paint inside the tank.

Equally interesting, the team was able to compose and edited the footage on the fly while they were still shooting. Check out the full behind the scenes video below if you still don’t believe us:

Amazing. A brilliant look behind the scenes of a massive ad campaign shoot, and a peek at how advances in technology—like programmable high speed robots and amazing slow-motion HD cameras—are redrawing the lines between practical effects and CGI.

(via Photigy)