APRIL 24, 2009

Send in the clowns

Technically, Adam Berg’s short film Carousel is an ad for Philips’s flat-screen Cinema 21:9 (“the world’s first cinema-proportion TV”). But in terms of technical achievement, it’s a flat-out masterpiece.

The spot consists of a 2-minute-19-second tracking shot: an intense firefight between cops and bad guys. The characters never move, but the camera does, floating down corridors, up staircases, and out of windows, moving through a single, frozen, intricately staged moment. It’s a symphony of controlled chaos, a seamless fusion of live action and CGI. Then the clip loops full-circle, and we’re right back where it all began. As with the best thrill rides, you’ll want to queue up for another spin.

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Philips’s Carousel

the Philips website to watch the commercial in HD

for VSL! We’ve been nominated for a Webby in the Guides/Ratings/Reviews category