This Super Slow-mo YouTube Spot Makes for Super Satisfying Viewing

Park Village and Able&Baker’s Jack Driscoll directs the new campaign for YouTube, created by adam&eveDDB. The user generated content platform is using a host of its top channels as part of the campaign, with The Slow Mo Guys taking the lead.

The Slow Mo Guys, consisting of Gavin Free and Daniel Gruchy, is one of YouTube’s top channels, garnering over 4 million subscribers and over 432 million views. The duo specialise in shooting objects in extreme slow-motion using digital high-speed cameras. 

Director Jack Driscoll says: “They work with those cameras day-in day-out and there was almost a bit of competition as there was a certain amount of excellence we wanted to achieve.”

He adds: “It was really exciting because we wanted to do something worthy of their world but then elevate them. We got on really well and they loved that we tried to develop some of their techniques further. We wanted to put them into slow-motion heaven, like they died and went to this amazing slow-mo world!”

A host of items are filmed in slow-motion, with particular attention paid to items exploding. Watermelons and water-balloons are destroyed whilst a lot of liquid is spilled and even a building is blown up. Whilst this proved an enjoyable project to shoot, it threw up a host of challenges technically.

Jack says: “When you couple high-speed shooting with fast camera movements you have to be very precise, there’s no margin for error. It’s painstaking because the human eye can’t see in super slow-mo, so there’s a lot of testing for framing and lighting, plus there’s the further challenge of triggering the motion control rig at exactly the same time as the explosion”

He adds: “To combat this we developed a series of mechanised triggers. It was very technical but we have an amazing technical and pyro technical team who massively nailed it. The creatives were brilliant too and we all had the same ambition.”

The 30’ TVC is part of YouTube’s wider campaign, which targets TV, print media and billboards. As well as The Slow Mo Guys, the campaign will also draw attention to the Vice News and Zoella channels. Whilst the channels are a hit amongst young people, YouTube’s campaign intends to raise the profile of the online stars to an older audience.

As well as the 30 second TVC, there are four 10 second and one 72 second online films.