The Cheapest, Best Commercial Idea Ever

Dear Schweppes: Good job. Slow motion is mega cheap. All the budget just goes to the camera, and then things as simple as dropping a water balloon look INCREDIBLE. Paired with shitty, emotional music and you’ve got yourself a winning campaign. Observe:

Funny Face

Despite this movie being horribly directed (it’s as if an art director thought “hey, I should direct!) This opening intro is pretty entertaining…Especially the pretty pink ladies dancing in slow motion.

The movie was pretty much downhill after that.

Freaks and Geeks: Towel Time

One thing that slow motion is particularly useful for is creating (or dragging out) a certain feeling. Especially if that feeling is one of horrible, horrible anxiety. Skip to the middle part (3:55) for one of the best locker room scenes adolescence can offer.

Sleepdance by Jonnie Ross

Alright, so these aren’t exactly pure examples of slow motion, but when contrasted with the spastic speeds within, the slow motion arguably looks even better:

Radiohead – Nude

Guh, get ready to drool.
.

Acura MDX Motion

Definitely one of the best, most gorgeous commercials I’ve seen in a while:

Sometimes, Fake Slow Motion is Just as Good

Simon Pegg, noted comedian, actor, and hilariously well-rounded person in general, got his start from British TV show “Spaced”. Below is a clip from the show’s amazing  gunfight scenes. Without guns, of course.

Kanye West – Flashing Lights

Right. Kanye West co-directed this music video with Spike Jonze. Uh huh. Just because you come up with the idea doesn’t mean that you direct it Kanye. I come up with ideas all the time, and yet I still don’t see my name on MTV or Vh1. Stop being such an asshole about your videos, Squid Brains!

However, here at iloveslowmotion.com, we do not discriminate visually. Good slow motion is good slow motion. Especially when there’s a really hot chick beating the shit out of Kanye West with a blunt instrument. Not only is this an impressive use of the best camera speed in the world, it’s also one take long (Spike or Kanye’s idea? Hm…). 

Pet Shop Boys – Miracle

I can only stand so much of this video, partly because it looks like a commercial, and partly because the commercial can’t decide just what the fuck it’s trying to sell. Using water and a high-speed camera, this car/shampoo/african aid presentation makes H2O look like a completely foreign object. Yeah, some of the effects are cheesy, but then again, who knew water drops could look like sequins? Beautiful and educational!

Summer Storm. Great, Gay, and Seriously Good Looking.

So German flick Summer Storm (or Sommersturm) was actually a bit too gay and campy for my taste, but that’s okay, because the best 10 minutes of the film are the opening credits. With two lithe, young, muscular male bodies exercising to Nada Surf’s Blonde on Blonde, you’ve got yourself an ocular orgy. Throw in a high speed camera and it’s pretty much a visual orgasm (and they haven’t even gotten to the over-the-top gay sex yet!) Sorry to spoil it for you, but here, I’ll make it all better with a link to the condensed, good-for-you chapter.