[SmartCat]

This ad is going viral on the internet. No special effects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10

Jean-Claude Van Damme carry out his famous split between two reversing trucks. This live test was set up to demonstrate the precision and directional stability of Volvo Dynamic Steering -- a world first technology that makes the new Volvo FM easier to drive.

Filmed in Spain on a closed-off landing field at sunrise in one take.
Directed by Andreas Nilsson
Soundtrack by Enya: Only Time

However, some wags are accusing Volvo of stealing ideas from Bollywood, because our heroes have been doing this for years.

[Octane_Power]

The thing which amazed me the most about the ad beside the Godlike split is the fact it was done in one shot... Arguably the best ad of 2013.

Read this somewhere : 'Ad makers shut your shops, the big daddy of ads is here'
And I agree to it, definitely.

-Bhargav

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by smartcat

No special effects.

Not to play the devil's advocate here, that definitely is an insane stunt to pull off esp. at 53 years of age but it looks like all the safety measures were in place.

Van Damme, 53, was hooked to safety lines that aren’t visible in the film, and each foot is on a small platform that was built on the trucks’ side mirrors.

Van Damme’s feet aren’t secured to the mirrors, video director Andreas Nilsson said, “but we had him rigged so that if he would fall off he wouldn’t die obviously. We didn’t want to be responsible for killing the Muscles from Brussels.”

It was filmed by Nilsson on a closed-off airstrip in Spain called Ciudad Real, located just south of Madrid. Prior to filming, the production team rehearsed the stunt for three days. The final version had to be completed within just 15 minutes – from 8:05 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. – when the sunlight was just right.

How Volvo Created the Jean-Claude Van Damme ‘Epic Split’ Video

[VijayAnand1]

One take? Oh boy, at 55 he's got them balls of steel. It's really great to see this kind of ad taken in a single shot! And I just can imagine the pre-work that must have been done just to bring this magnificent ad to life.

Cheers!
VJ

[carwatcher]

This Ad went viral on T-BHP already few days ago on the Best and Worst ads thread.

Originally Posted by smartcat

This ad is going viral on the internet. No special effects.

[deetjohn]

Wow! Amazing! I love the serenity of the whole thing. And Enya' music is totally fitting.

That brought me to the ad below which Volvo had released earlier. But it is not as intense as the JCVD one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zXwOoeGzys

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by smartcat

No special effects.

Can you point me to the official mention of this ??

Thanks,
R

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Can you point me to the official mention of this ??

Gannu_1's link has the details about how the video was made.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2013/...n-damme-video/

Excerpts -

“The stunt is real and is performed in just one take,” said Anders Vilhelmsson, public relations manager for the Volvo Trucks brand. “It’s a daring stunt but we had full control. There was never any real danger involved.”

Van Damme, 53, was hooked to safety lines that aren’t visible in the film, and each foot is on a small platform that was built on the trucks’ side mirrors.

[Rehaan]

Van Damme, 53, was hooked to safety lines that aren’t visible in the film, and each foot is on a small platform that was built on the trucks’ side mirrors.

I really wouldn't call this "no special effects"!!

Also, i have a feeling it was shot going forward and then played in reverse. Not had the time to really look into this hunch as yet.

cya
R

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

I really wouldn't call this "no special effects"!!

Also, i have a feeling it was shot going forward and then played in reverse. Not had the time to really look into this hunch as yet.

Nope. The truck drivers were driving backwards.

If you don't want ANY special effects, a video mostly untouched by video editing software, you should look at this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMlpiey20b8

[Gannu_1]

Behind-the-scenes :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSHSxXwV4_g

[Joe M]

Awesome creativity by Volvo. And I feel controlling the truck is one most difficult part of the stunt. The precision of the drivers is to be appreciated equally, or even more!.

[Octane_Power]

Originally Posted by smartcat

Nope. The truck drivers were driving backwards.

If you don't want ANY special effects, a video mostly untouched by video editing software, you should look at this -

Hahahahaha
These "spoof-makers" can really screw any good original creation.

-Bhargav

[fine69]

Was this to promote Volvo trucks or JCVD?

Can someone enlighten me on what's so special about the steering & stability that's been mentioned in this ad?

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by fine69

Was this to promote Volvo trucks or JCVD?

Can someone enlighten me on what's so special about the steering & stability that's been mentioned in this ad?

I've read somewhere that a wooden plank was placed between the trucks and he stood on it. Risky proposition, nevertheless.

Well, assuming that no "special effects" was used and JCVD actually performed the split, if those trucks moved out a couple of inches more or not steered exactly parallel, the man would have been torn into half.

Imagine the same split on one of these, if you know what I am saying :-)