JULY 3, 2007

Skip the long line at your local cineplex and watch this robot instead

WEB VIDEO: Tetra Vaal

Sure, the next gargantuan summer blockbuster, Transformers, opens tomorrow (with enough mind-blowing special effects to make George Lucas weep), but if you want to see true technological wizardry and a robot to be reckoned with — free! — take a look at the short film Tetra Vaal.

Directed by 27-year-old Neill Blomkamp for the Embassy Visual Effects Inc., the short — a pseudo–corporate video for a fictional robotics company — shows a robot cop policing the streets of a Johannesburg township. The effects go beyond the extraordinary (even the robot’s relaxed-alert cop posture is stunningly lifelike), and the combination of the documentary-style footage and computer-generated images is convincing enough that you might find yourself wondering if you were on vacation during the announcement that robots are indeed now among us. A little scary? Definitely. An amazing video? No question.

Tetra Vaal

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