String. Coat hangers. Bits of wire. Sticks as fishing rods. We tried various ways and in the end I mainly used some conductive cotton thread that I bought from Adafruit ages ago. It was strong enough to take a lot of weight, but nice and thin too.
For the heavy stuff I just had to hold it and then photoshop my legs and arms out.
That is really great - I never would have guessed how you did it.
> photoshop my legs and arms out
This reminds me of the first time I saw Forrest Gump. For some reason I didn't know who Gary Sinise was, and all through the movie I thought the actor playing Lt. Dan actually was a double amputee.
And in the flashback scene that showed him walking, I marveled at how they were able to fit him with artificial legs that let him walk so naturally!
Absolutely superb. The patience involved, that's what I can't get over about stop-motion animation – the ability to see the big picture while you're inching along frame by frame. Incredible job, it really is.
May as well put this here because it popped into my mind while watching your piece.
You know, if we do move as a society from the internal combustion engine to the electric drive train something of great beauty, mechanical logic, and engineering prowess will have been lost. Sort of humbling to think that these may only exist in the museums and enthusiast workshops of tomorrow. Kind of like steam engines today, see here: http://www.isvrally.com/ for a local example – “Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally”
Thanks! The hardest thing is to try to remove multiple parts staggered over shots. Because the smallest distraction and you've forgotten which bolt you already turned and which needs to be turned more.
Beautiful! Are you planning on rebuilding it? Another shoot? Is there a reason you don't mark the parts original location or is that simply because you intend to replace them?
The honest truth: This whole car is headed for the scrapyard at the end because it's not worth the extra time ($$$ per hour) while we film to mark parts, directions, alignments etc. I mark things when there's time. We're also modeling the whole thing in 3D and I'm sure the guys doing that will be mixing the bolts and fixings up. I'm kind of interested in how well it runs after this reckless teardown and rebuild.
Can you elaborate on the process for this? I'm curious what software you're using, how many modelers you have, and if you're using 3D scanning equipment.
Modeling everything by hand has to be unimaginably laborious.
Incredible work by the way, you've already sold me as a customer. :)
We're making it all by hand because it needs to be relatively low poly for the app and website :) I'll write about the process when we've figured it out completely. I'd say we are about 70% done on the modeling. Rigging and animating is a whole other animal.
The amount of things to do on this project is incredible. When I embarked I thought we'd shoot 'making of' stuff all the way, but the reality is that even filming the film is hard enough work - to film the filming of the film would just be too much. I'd like to go back at the end and cover how we do some things - we really learned a lot. The other reason it's hard to do a 'making of' is that I actually don't know how to do this stuff, so we'd waste a lot of time explaining how to do it, only to discover a better way two weeks later.
> The other reason it's hard to do a 'making of' is that I actually don't know how to do this stuff, so we'd waste a lot of time explaining how to do it, only to discover a better way two weeks later.
That's exactly why a making of would be interesting. Here's an idea: shoot all that stuff anyway, with a single fisheye camera so that if you ever decide to do a making of you at least have some raw material to work with. Documenting this work that you are doing would have lasting value.
Ah, there is a commercial angle to this. Ok, that explains it. I've done a couple of rebuilds and marking parts is something I do religiously otherwise the rebuild won't live long.
You could probably get some $$$ back if you put the car up for sale (as a "for parts or not working/not roadworthy", to avoid any possible liability issues) --- I don't know about the market for Miatas, but I know that there are automotive collectors out there who are interested in cars that have "interesting" histories.
Honest question, if you just ran the video in reverse, could anyone tell that it was not an actual rebuild? It is stop motion after all, in a sense there is no motion but just captured moments in time, and those moments can be reversed.
I love the style, which to me was reminiscent of a demoscene production. It put me in mind of this one from a few years back: http://www.pouet.net/prod.php?which=50105
Good to see I'm not the only one who thought it was very demoscene-ish. In fact if you were to say the first 30 seconds or so were CGI, I'd probably be convinced.
Just a DSLR really - the camera guy for this used a Panasonic GH5. It's more photography than video. But a couple of lights that you can position for a subject like this make a huge difference.
Wow, that was really awesome, great work!
A small piece of critique, the last part of the video was really garbled/messy? and i kept trying to focus on the car parts, but was unable to due to it jumping around etc. So that part messed a bit with my eyes.
Sorry. The last part is too strong. I take full blame for it - I made it myself on Friday night because I wanted to get this out before it burned up more of my time and limited budget. I couldn't face another week of delays while the end was put together so I just bunged a few videohive templates together and went for it. I will redo it on Vimeo because I can replace the video there, but sadly it's now permanent on Youtube and Facebook I think.
(This is one reason why I'm running Youtube through my own site - I can upload a new version and anyone hitting this link in the future hopefully won't be forced into a seizure.)
yeah I was going to comment on the accessibility piece. Never thought I'd be one to say this, but since my job has changed recently, I'm empathizing with people who could be affected by this much more.
Great video! Really enjoyed watching it. Great lighting. Towards the end, the images get flashy (don't do this please filmmakers, it makes my head hurt).
That's just awesome. Back when I had a VW bus, I disassembled it and did most maintenance myself - but never down to THAT level of detail. Especially, I had to spend around 40 bucks on new screws because I misplaced the old ones (or they broke off due to old age)
I'd never even heard of synthwave before I did spent 5 hours on Audio Jungle trying to find good music for this video. Now it's all I listen to while I'm coding.
Still my favorite composer, a couple years after discovering the genre, thanks to his richness and variety. Where other composers start to blend into the same 80s synth mush, MaVS manages to keep it interesting for me. Hard to recommend just one title, but maybe Stalker from the album Wavehymnal
It's not finished yet! Maybe when it's finished I could charge more but at the moment I'm happy if I can just recoup some of the production costs each week.
IMO what is really clever about this is that it is a "sales" video - except you dont realise you are being sold to until the end, by which time you've enjoyed the video so much, the pitch at the end is reasonable.
And you've shown what the value is long before I asked myself the question "how much" - which I usually ask early in the process - but not here.
At least that is how I found it... great work.
Would be interesting to see conversion figures for something like this.
I can't really share conversion stuff yet. But one interesting observation off the top of my head is that my customers MASSIVELY prefer paying with Paypal to Stripe, even though I deliberately steer them towards Stripe.
It was a massive pain to implement Paypal and I hated every moment of it but it produced an uptick in payments.
I just paid for this using Paypal.
I prefer paying straight from my bank account rather than using a credit card. My debit card (Dutch pin card) cannot be used for online payments, but Paypal is connected to my bank account. Is Stripe able to do something similar?
Same here, also Dutch. I, and I think almost all Dutch people with me, prefer paying from a debit account. This means either iDeal or Paypal with a connected bank account.
I've never integrated Stripe, but it seems it is possible to use iDeal with stripe:
I would've this particular purchase, I'm one of those "DIY auto repair enthusiasts" :)
Using the debit card (PayPal) is just a way of tricking myself into buying stuff really :) With credit card I am constantly reminded of how much I have left of my limit (just like seeing how much cash I have left in my wallet) and next month I'm hit with a big bill for stuff I bought "long time ago".
I already have a PayPal account linked to my bank account. I wouldn't keep a balance in my PayPal account, but it's the most frictionless way for me to pay online. I haven't set up a Stripe account yet for no very good reason.
I just paid by PayPal. I'm reading this post on the couch relaxing and I have no desire to go get my wallet and dig out my credit card. Way easier.
Also, after watching a couple videos and reading the content, the production value and informational value of this is super high. By the time I learned what the price was, I was fairly surprised how cheap it was. $20 is what I spend on a sandwich and drink for lunch. So it was an automatic no-brainer. You could probably double or triple the price easily.
Interesting, what I got out of the video is that they seem to use Unior tools and in fact I thought it was an ad for Unior at the beginning of the video.
Might have something to do with the fact that I have been considering Unior tools for a long time now but always postpone (because of the price).
Unior provided the tools for this course. They really are great quality - and run by real people who are proud of what they make. I went to their factory in Slovenia where they make 99.9% of everything they sell. We talked about making the series and they saw the potential in it and supported me when it really looked a risky bet. I'm very happy to advocate their tools because they are genuinely good, European-made and backed by proper engineers.
I always kinda liked this one of a motorcycle engine with one end cut off. You can see how the valves work, and how they are designed to rotate under load, to even out the valve seat wear.
Absolutely :) There's a great porsche one too, and the most crazy of all is this one where they literally used an angle-grinder to erase a bike engine:
As a hearing-impaired person, I just wanted to thank you for clearly mentioning that it's subtitled. That shows it's more than just an afterthought, and seals the deal for me!
I don't understand why everyone wouldn't subtitle their content. I used rev.com and it costs $1 per minute and the results are great. So to subtitle three hours cost $240. With many non-native English speakers as customers it is a no-brainer.
It's good to hear this too, because the text in that box originally said 'Filmed in 4K' and I only changed it to 'Fully subtitled' at the last moment.
I came from a school with a large Hard of Hearing population... I've really come to appreciate captioning on all videos. Mainly I just don't like listening to people say things very much, most videos have super annoying soundtracks and effects or other distortion, and really reading is just as effective.
Have captions on your video for everyone, not just the deaf people in your audience (unless you just really love the sound of your own voice so much that you want to force other people to suffer through it).
I used rev for transcriptions once and I had to have the file redone twice because the first two transcriptions were useless. Haven't bothered with it since. This was years ago so maybe they've improved.
Thanks for sharing what you've used to transcribe / subtitle your video's with. I've been looking for a source like this, and sounds like you're happy with their service. I'll give it a go on my next video project.
Same here. One reason I love the advent of GIF-videos is that the GIF format basically forces people to subtitle anything they want to say... and it seems to be spreading to regular video.
Agreed, the glitch effects were a bit overdone on the second half. Looks like incredibly high-quality content, though. I'm seriously tempted even though I'm not a petrol-head and have trouble changing turn signal lamps without breaking anything.
You know what I discovered doing this! It looks more complex but there's not much chemistry or invisible magic here. It's all pieces of shaped metal that fit together and move when a piston is pushed down. In an electric car you've got chemistry that you can't see or feel, magnetic fields that are invisible and electron flow that is hidden.
You're right! And that's why it's cool. It's tactile. Always loved mechanical things (and now am a programmer). The first mechanical thing I loved was the differential gear! More people should understand mechanical cleverness.
What I found surprising about the video was that it made an engine seem, somehow, less complex and daunting. I'm sure that's a bit of an illusion created by the way the engine is taken apart (and the fact that it's not in a car and therefore you can rotate it as you need it, etc), but amazing work.
For me it confirmed that the basic things I'd learned from Car Mechanic Simulator were relatively valid... I've never even changed the oil on a real car, but I could name most of the parts in that video.
What a beautiful work, very satisfying to watch this introduction, as people commented, just at the end you realize it's a promotional video of the course, and not just a piece of art.
I'm really interested in seeing where you go with the 3D modeling. As a coder/DIY mechanic (one of many I'm sure), I'm pretty psyched by how this tech could be used.
I also want to say that I appreciate your price point. I think it's at a good point where it might be less than the potential value of the product, but attracts those who would otherwise dropout of purchase or seek other means to obtain the media.
this is cool but i had to leave part way through the main video. it gives me anxiety thinking about getting all those parts back together without loosing a screw or messing something up.
Right. As someone who has torn apart an engine before I was constantly thinking "where are those parts going?" "Are they just throwing them on the floor?"
I've been meaning to play the hilarious-looking "My Summer Car" (http://www.amistech.com/msc/) recently as I have been hankering to learn about engines... perhaps it's wise to do the video course first!
Top notch! It looks so easy! But you forgot the part where you spend an hour banging, cursing, and blasting that one bolt with a torch because it. just. will. not. budge, only to have it snap off and realize you're going to spend tomorrow drilling it out and tapping that hole...
Even better than WD40 (which sucks as everything equally) is a mix of ATF and Acetone for stuck bolts. From the store, pb blaster is the best. Wd40 stands for Water Displacer, it is not the formula our fathers knew. They would have used wax and a torch or wintergreen oil anyway.
I am convinced from my experiences doing DIY auto repair that the jobs themselves are all fairly simple, it is dealing with stuck bolts and bolts that are hard to get to which turn the job into hours of work and frustration.
Yeah and putting one's body in poses and positions that are painful for someone who is accustomed mainly to sitting down in front of a computer all day. I discovered after buying my little hobby farm that mechanical stuff hurts me. I have injured myself all sorts of ways I didn't expect.
Also in meatspace you can't hit 'undo' or 'git reset --hard' .. I hate that :-)
> I have injured myself all sorts of ways I didn't expect.
It's kinda like how (in the days of old, at least) when you built a PC, if you didn't cut yourself and spilled a bit of blood (usually on a sharp case edge) - you were doing it wrong.
Instead, you have that one tight bolt you're wrenchin' and pullin' on - then suddenly it breaks free and WHAM, your knuckles get busted on the crossmember (or something else unforgiving).
Which is why, if you have the ability (leverage) and room, it always better to push on the handle of the wrench with an open palm or loose grip - that way if the bolt breaks loose, the inevitable won't occur...
196 comments
[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 165 ms ] threadHow did you do the shots where the cassette tape and the engine parts are moving around in the air?
For the heavy stuff I just had to hold it and then photoshop my legs and arms out.
> photoshop my legs and arms out
This reminds me of the first time I saw Forrest Gump. For some reason I didn't know who Gary Sinise was, and all through the movie I thought the actor playing Lt. Dan actually was a double amputee.
And in the flashback scene that showed him walking, I marveled at how they were able to fit him with artificial legs that let him walk so naturally!
http://articles.latimes.com/1994-07-10/entertainment/ca-1404...
They filmed that scene first then chopped off his legs and filmed the bits that came "before".
May as well put this here because it popped into my mind while watching your piece.
You know, if we do move as a society from the internal combustion engine to the electric drive train something of great beauty, mechanical logic, and engineering prowess will have been lost. Sort of humbling to think that these may only exist in the museums and enthusiast workshops of tomorrow. Kind of like steam engines today, see here: http://www.isvrally.com/ for a local example – “Innishannon Steam & Vintage Rally”
Can you elaborate on the process for this? I'm curious what software you're using, how many modelers you have, and if you're using 3D scanning equipment.
Modeling everything by hand has to be unimaginably laborious.
Incredible work by the way, you've already sold me as a customer. :)
This was the state of the engine a few days ago - all internals are done. https://twitter.com/howacarworks/status/895417122385481728
In that case, I suppose the most utility 3D scans would have is as references to enable a faster low-poly modeling workflow.
Then again, scanning would likely incur a non-trivial time cost—one that can't outweigh the very benefits the process affords.
BLENDER IS AWESOME.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAVjwXEjDdo
That's exactly why a making of would be interesting. Here's an idea: shoot all that stuff anyway, with a single fisheye camera so that if you ever decide to do a making of you at least have some raw material to work with. Documenting this work that you are doing would have lasting value.
What inspired this?
I kid, Miata fans.
SOHC I4 from a "manual everything" economy car with 1st gen EFI would probably be about the lowest part count without getting into flathead territory.
stop motion part was impressive though
(This is one reason why I'm running Youtube through my own site - I can upload a new version and anyone hitting this link in the future hopefully won't be forced into a seizure.)
Where is the Reddit post of this? You're going to front page, for sure.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px9-TEHjUbA
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kF7u3tWlns
May I add to the recommendations below:
1) Makeup and Vanity Set (MaVS)
https://makeupandvanityset.bandcamp.com
Still my favorite composer, a couple years after discovering the genre, thanks to his richness and variety. Where other composers start to blend into the same 80s synth mush, MaVS manages to keep it interesting for me. Hard to recommend just one title, but maybe Stalker from the album Wavehymnal
2) Bourgeoisie - Space Tapes and Vice album
https://bourgeoisie.bandcamp.com/album/space-tapes-and-vice-...
3) Ogre Sound - 195 album
https://ogresound.bandcamp.com/album/195
Features a track titled "Revengeance Overcharge" for that 110% 80s satire.
4) Le Matos - Join Us album
https://lematos.bandcamp.com/album/join-us
5) There'd be tons more, but really Google Music's "Makeup and Vanity Set" auto-radio is gold.
Really great video too
And you've shown what the value is long before I asked myself the question "how much" - which I usually ask early in the process - but not here.
At least that is how I found it... great work.
Would be interesting to see conversion figures for something like this.
It was a massive pain to implement Paypal and I hated every moment of it but it produced an uptick in payments.
That's interesting. Do you have a theory about why that is?
I've never integrated Stripe, but it seems it is possible to use iDeal with stripe:
https://stripe.com/docs/sources/ideal
Using the debit card (PayPal) is just a way of tricking myself into buying stuff really :) With credit card I am constantly reminded of how much I have left of my limit (just like seeing how much cash I have left in my wallet) and next month I'm hit with a big bill for stuff I bought "long time ago".
Also, after watching a couple videos and reading the content, the production value and informational value of this is super high. By the time I learned what the price was, I was fairly surprised how cheap it was. $20 is what I spend on a sandwich and drink for lunch. So it was an automatic no-brainer. You could probably double or triple the price easily.
Might have something to do with the fact that I have been considering Unior tools for a long time now but always postpone (because of the price).
The motorcycle equivalent is this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkHJuU01-Wk&index=43&list=PL...
I watched about 3/4 of these ^^ videos, really learned a lot about how a combustion engine works.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8hqoE1_7bA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CqeOXqtNxk
I can only imagine the amount of dust that created.
It's good to hear this too, because the text in that box originally said 'Filmed in 4K' and I only changed it to 'Fully subtitled' at the last moment.
But their web site says $7.50/minute for subtitling, $1 for transcriptions.
Still may be quite reasonable to extend video reach that much.
Have captions on your video for everyone, not just the deaf people in your audience (unless you just really love the sound of your own voice so much that you want to force other people to suffer through it).
But it's not free. Either it's worth it or you are a good doer.
Something something electric motors are far simpler. ;)
My $5 coke can RC car works on the same idea as a tesla.
and your ad is one of the best i've seen since MasterClass ads in my Facebook feed. i felt like the ad was basically free content. i was learning!
How did you make those flying parts? Photoshopping out the holders?
I'm really interested in seeing where you go with the 3D modeling. As a coder/DIY mechanic (one of many I'm sure), I'm pretty psyched by how this tech could be used.
I also want to say that I appreciate your price point. I think it's at a good point where it might be less than the potential value of the product, but attracts those who would otherwise dropout of purchase or seek other means to obtain the media.
Corollary: No amount of force or increase in cutting speed will substitute for bad planning. (from my metal working guru friend)
Also in meatspace you can't hit 'undo' or 'git reset --hard' .. I hate that :-)
It's kinda like how (in the days of old, at least) when you built a PC, if you didn't cut yourself and spilled a bit of blood (usually on a sharp case edge) - you were doing it wrong.
Instead, you have that one tight bolt you're wrenchin' and pullin' on - then suddenly it breaks free and WHAM, your knuckles get busted on the crossmember (or something else unforgiving).
Which is why, if you have the ability (leverage) and room, it always better to push on the handle of the wrench with an open palm or loose grip - that way if the bolt breaks loose, the inevitable won't occur...