WebUrbanist » Urban Videos

Flying People Zoom Through the Sky in Manhattan

Steph — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:07 +0000

If you saw human figures zooming through the sky – just flying on their own, with no parachutes or jet packs apparent – what would go through your mind? Would you think you were losing it? Believe that superheroes really do exist? Fear that it was part of some kind of bizarre terrorist attack, give the location near the Statue of Liberty in New York City?

The Manhattanites who witnessed the display of flying people might have thought any one of those things. Or, they might have realized that the figures aren’t real, and that they must be part of some kind of art project.

In fact, they’re human-shaped RC planes, and the stunt is a viral marketing effort for the upcoming superhero movie, ‘Chronicle.’ Marketing or not, the video is incredible, and it would have been amazing to see it in person.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Walk This Way: 99 Diverse Men Walking in Manhattan

He's an essential part of any urban environment, but how often do we think about the man who tells us it's safe to cross the street? 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Captured Live: ‘Trapped People’ Street Art Project

Brooklyn-based artist Dan Witz shocks passersby with ultra-realistic painted images of people trapped behind grates in urban buildings. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Drive the Friendly Skies: The History (and Future) of Flying Cars

Ever since the invention of the car and the airplane, dreamers have been trying to combine the two. Today, they may be closer than ever to making it a reality. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

Spiraling Tower of Babel Made of Books in Buenos Aires

Steph — Fri, 20 May 2011 17:01:19 +0000

Seven stories tall, this Tower of Babel is no long-lost artifact from biblical times but rather an artistic tribute to the city of Buenos Aires’ new designation as ‘World Book Capital 2011′. The 82-foot-tower is made of 30,000 books donated by readers, libraries and 50 embassies, and includes books written in virtually every language in existence.

Artist Marta Minujin, a Buenos Aires native known for bizarre mattress sculptures and performance art events she calls “happenings”, designed the tower and installed it on a public street with the help of volunteers. The sculpture will be disassembled on May 28th, and the books will be given away to the public.

As visitors ascend to the top of the tower, gazing at everything from Japanese children’s books to Spanish poetry, they hear Minujin’s recorded voice reciting the word ‘book’ in various languages. The artist says that, like the fabled mission of the original Tower of Babel, her mission is to unite all people, adding “I don’t know why we have to have different languages.”

“Building this tower has been a miraculous experience,” Minujin told Reuters Television as she stood before the structure. “A hundred years from now, people will say ‘there was a Tower of Babel in Argentina … and it didn’t need translation because art needs no translation.’”

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Book Sculpture by Jacqueline Rush Lee

Artist Jacqueline Rush Lee takes papercraft to a new dimension with stunning, organic book art crafted from lovingly handled used books. 5 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Record Silhouettes: Laser Cut Vinyl Art by Carlos Aires

Photographer Carlos Aires experiments with racy laser-cut vinyl art in a series called "Love is in the Air". 3 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

4500 Miniature Books Form Huge-but-Tiny Collection

Peek into the astonishing collection of a miniature book enthusiast who may have the littlest huge library in the entire world. 3 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Then & Now: The Stunning Speed of Urban Development

Steph — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 18:00:20 +0000

Twenty-one years ago, Dubai was a desert. It sprang up seemingly from nothing into the lively and technologically advanced world-class city that it is today. This is just one example of the dramatic speeds with which cities can change, sometimes rendering their skylines virtually unrecognizable within decades.

Shanghai, China – 1990 and 2010

(images via: imgur)

Given the dramatic, jaw-dropping difference between these two images, you might be tempted to think that the top one was taken sometime in the middle of the 20th century. You’d be wrong. That image is from 1990. Shanghai is a stunning example of just how fast cities can rise up into bustling modern metropolises.

Dubai – 1990, 2003, 2007

(images via: abdolian)

These three photographs depict the same street in Dubai, progressing from a few lone buildings in the desert to the jam-packed, seemingly perpetually-under-construction ode to excess that it is today. As a matter of fact, that most recent photo was taken in 2007, and the street has undoubtedly changed even more now. Imagine what it would look like if the recession hadn’t slowed down the frantic pace of development!

Bangkok, Thailand – 1988 and 2007

(images via: forum.skyscraperpage.com)

In 19 years, the view of the skyline from this end of Bangkok’s Lumpini Park underwent quite a transformation, blossoming with high-rises even while the greenery in the foreground stayed mostly the same.

Panama City, Panama – 1930 and 2009

(images via: skyscraper city, brian gratwicke)

Panama City is one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the world, and these two photographs show a sharp contrast between two eras. The city sprouts from a quiet village into one of the fastest-growing urban areas in Central America.

London, England – 1970s and 2006

(images via: skyscraper city)

London has gained a number of high-profile, flashy modern buildings in the years that have passed since the 1970s. These four images depicting the banks of the Thames then and now, and a few glittering examples of modern architecture stand out, including City Hall and 30 St. Mary Axe (known as ‘the gherkin’), both by architecture firm Foster and Partners.

Tokyo, Japan – 1960s and 2010

(images via: japan sugoi)

The rapid rise of Tokyo is certainly evident when comparing two images of Tokyo Tower, one taken soon after the tower was built in 1958 and the other captured in 2010. Once nestled into a landscape of traditional Japanese buildings and trees, the tower remains an eye-catching landmark, but its surroundings couldn’t be more different. Below that, an incredible time-lapse video shows the evolution of the Shinjuku district over 35 years.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – 1954 and 2008

Urban Age :: São Paulo Film from OutrosFilmes on Vimeo.

Even in 1954, you could get a feel for just how large of a city Sao Paulo would one day become – as in, largest-city-in-the-southern hemisphere huge. It’s also the world’s 7th largest metropolitan area, with nearly 20 million inhabitants. These two videos capture the realities of the city in two very different eras.

Atlanta, Georgia – 1964 and 2004

(images via: atlanta time machine)

The view of Atlanta from the North Avenue bridge over the interstate has evolved dramatically since 1964, as downtown development has spread further and further out from the epicenter of the city. This southern city is notorious for its urban sprawl, partially due to the fact that it has no geographic boundaries like waterways or mountains to keep the city’s size in check.

Las Vegas, Nevada – 1954 and 2009

(images via: photosfan)

It didn’t happen quite as quickly, but the changes in Las Vegas – evident here on the Las Vegas Strip – are almost as mind-boggling as those in Dubai. The gambling mecca of the Nevada desert went from a mere stopover on the pioneer trail in the 19th century to a popular gambling destination in the 1930s before shooting up into the neon metropolis it is today.

Paris, France – 1900, 1960 and 2006

(images via: oddee, skyscraper city)

Paris is the kind of classic city where you don’t expect to see Shanghai-style, blink-of-an-eye changes. As it is in many historic districts around the world, in over a century, little has changed in the top Paris images other than the growth of trees. That’s not true everywhere in the city, however. The bottom two images show the same view of the business district of the city in 1960 and 2006 (with a rendering of the controversial as-yet-unbuilt Phare Tower, the tallest building), with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

New York, New York – 1954, 1985, 2009

(images via: eralsoto, wikimedia commons)

Wouldn’t you think that the Midtown Manhattan skyline would have changed more than this over six decades? In 1954, many of the buildings that still define the skyline today were already in place. While it’s clear that many buildings sprouted up by the time the second photo was taken in 1985, it’s not a dramatic change, and even less so between then and 2009.

Shenzhen, China

(images via: skyscraper city)

The fastest-growing city in China (and possibly the world) was nothing but a tiny fishing village as recently as the 1979. An influx of foreign investment spurred growth so rapid, the city seemed to change every single day. Today it’s a boomtown with 12 million residents. See the whole 25-year progression at Skyscraper City.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Manhattan of the Desert: The Oldest Surviving Skyscrapers in the World

Surprisingly, neither is the art of constructing tall buildings, as evidenced by the city of Shibam. 9 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Arkansas Innovation: Stunning Southern Architecture

Marlon Blackwell, an award-winning architect in Arkansas, designs homes that mesh with their environments to create a unique urban or suburban experience. 1 Comment - Click Here to Read More »»

7 Urban Wonders of the Modern World

Unbelievable as it may sound, there are those who track urban wonders of all kinds - from the narrowest to the most windy streets of the world and more. 18 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Logorama: A Day in the Life of Brand-Obsessed LA (NSFW)

Delana — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 17:00:38 +0000

Do you ever feel like you’re adrift on a sea of corporate branding, intrusive advertising and omnipresent logos? Advertising has become so ubiquitous that we’re now seeing high schools and Little League teams sporting the logos of companies big and small. French animation collective H5 took on the disturbingly ever-present corporate branding phenomenon in this short called “Logorama.” Warning to sensitive readers: the film contains a lot of profanity along with some violence and a little cartoon nudity.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

The film features an alternate-reality Los Angeles where absolutely everything – people, buildings, cars – is made up of logos. The directors could have simply shown us 15 minutes of animated logos and we would have still been impressed, but they instead take us through an epic crime story with a surprising ending. Part of the fun is watching it over and over and spotting new things every single time. The film is positively stuffed with brands, mascots and logos that will make you alternately laugh and cringe.

H5, the studio behind the project, consists of François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy and Ludovic Houplain. Their exceptionally well-produced short was introduced at Cannes in 2009 and opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. It also took home a 2010 Academy Award in the category of animated short. It’s not hard to see why the film has won such popularity and admiration: it is a biting satire on the brand-obsessed modern America with a fair amount of humor thrown in.

Want More? Click for Great Related Content on WebUrbanist:

Illustrated Logos: Bringing a Brand to Life

Nothing creates a memorable logo quite like illustrated graphics, forming a memorable impression with imagery that evokes what a brand is truly all about. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Brand Boogaloo: 10 Ways Brands & Buyers Adapt To A Changing World

In today's world of information overload and soul-killing McJobs, however, brand saturation is turning marketing mantras on their heads. From debranding to unbranding to back-door product placements, it's hard to know who's selling what - which is the whole point. 3 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Down to the Letters: Amusing Animated Helvetica Alphabet

Unusual fonts and fun typefaces are fantastic enough, but when you combine unusual typefaces with stop-motion animation you've got something really special. 2 Comments - Click Here to Read More »»

Pomparkour: New Urban Free Running Sport with Ladders

Steph — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:00:52 +0000

Anyone who’s already familiar with parkour – the jaw-dropping urban sport that involves astonishing acrobatics including gravity-defying jumps – probably stared in disbelief at a video showing a trio of parkour enthusiasts scaling buildings and bridges with the help of hooked ladders. Created as an ad for a sports drink, the video undoubtedly sparked many people to google the dubious new sport of ‘pomparkour’.

So what’s got people up in arms about it? As it turns out, pomparkour is the fictional creation of advertising agency BBDO for ‘V Energy‘, a guarana concoction from New Zealand. And conveniently left out of the video is the fact that these guys are professional stuntmen equipped with safety ropes which were edited out of the final video (check out proof below).

Around the same time the video debuted, a blog about the sport materialized, featuring a few photos and a small amount of info. A Wikipedia article on pomparkour also appeared, but was quickly flagged as a hoax or at the very least, mere self-serving advertisement.

So is it a fictional sport, or just a rad new form of parkour in its infancy? Time will tell whether serious practicers of parkour will embrace this offshoot and pull some ladder play into their movements. Even with safety ropes, the guys in the ad perform some breathtaking stunts, earning quite a bit of well-deserved attention.