Toccata Spaccata

July 3, 2020 11:39 AM

Optical Arts conceived this video as a “live action musical animation” of cups, plates, and glasses smashing and un-smashing accompanied by the toccata section of Johann Sebastian Bach’s famous organ piece, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. I thought it was fully CGI at first (as The Morning News reported), but then I found the making of video on the project page and it’s not — they filmed all the glasses and dished smashing at extremely high speeds between 1000 and 5000 frames/second on Phantom cameras.
posted by Johnny Wallflower (14 comments total)

I certainly have enjoyed the Toccata & Fugue often enough but had not quite realize that it was basically the theme song to my life. Would post more but need to go sweep up some shards I missed...
posted by sammyo at 12:04 PM on July 3, 2020

Smashing post, Johnny!
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:06 PM on July 3, 2020 [6 favorites]

That must have been so much fun to film. I would have paid THEM to help work on this video...
posted by PhineasGage at 12:20 PM on July 3, 2020

That's a lot of fucked up dishware.
posted by ardgedee at 1:22 PM on July 3, 2020

The four year old in my house approved.
posted by sciencegeek at 1:24 PM on July 3, 2020 [5 favorites]

I think I have those plates

Not anymore
posted by ricochet biscuit at 3:47 PM on July 3, 2020 [12 favorites]

That would be so great: everyone in the world who owns those plates hears ominous organ music and strange noises from inside closed cupboards, then opens them to a waterfall of shards cascading down onto the counter.
posted by jamjam at 4:00 PM on July 3, 2020 [2 favorites]

Sounds like an ordinary California earthquake...
posted by PhineasGage at 5:34 PM on July 3, 2020 [1 favorite]

This was mesmerizing. And the shot with the knives cracked me up.

Thanks for posting!
posted by brook horse at 7:49 PM on July 3, 2020

My next door neighbour works food service. I don't think I'll share this; it would give her nightmares.
posted by flabdablet at 9:08 PM on July 3, 2020

Koyaanisqatsi has cast a long shadow.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:09 PM on July 3, 2020 [3 favorites]

What are the ceramic objects that look like plaster nails or giant pins?
posted by zinful at 10:06 AM on July 4, 2020

I thought those were candleholders, but I wasn't sure.
posted by jamjam at 1:37 PM on July 4, 2020 [1 favorite]

I can't hear Toccata and Fugue without seeing the visuals of Gyruss (Konami, 1983), which includes a similar amount of circular destruction.
posted by Hogshead at 3:31 PM on July 4, 2020 [2 favorites]