Raw Footage

Photo Magic Shrinks The Big Apple in "The Sand Pit"

I'm no photography expert, but this project entitled "The Sand Pit" by Sam O'Hare employs what is known as a tilt-shift technique. In not so many words, what tilt-shift does is angle the focal point of the camera's lens, tricking the viewer into believing they are in fact witnessing much smaller scale versions of real and animate objects. Such is the case in this recently released video which was directed, cut and edited by O'Hare, an Aero Films director and visual effects artist.

The production took place over 5 days in New York City and includes the use of 35,000 photographs. I admire the kind of work and dedication that must have been put into the making of such an intricate and detailed short film. It's definitely an enriching experience to see an artistic interpretation such as this one, of my hometown and the greatest city in the world. One gets the impression that an entire miniature city was built and that a day in the life of the city has been captured on film. If you were to look closely you would in fact see that the people on the ground are real. I've read some comments in response to this film where people have made remarks questioning if miniature models were used in this production. It's easy to see how one could jump to such a conclusion. However, based on the nature of the project and the involvement of the tilt-shift factor, I'm going to safely assume that all 35,000 pictures that were used are of real live action in the streets of New York.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

Middz Note: The song which serves as the score is composed by Human. It was written by Rosi Golan and Alex Wong, specifically conceived for this short film project.