100 Dancing Robots Come to Life
Viral YouTube Director Makes STEAM Education Look Beautiful
100 robots. All programmed to sync with the choreography and movement of one star dancer. A crew upwards of 25 people to capture it. Equal parts ambition and whimsy.
Never before has this been done, yet here we were standing in a living room alongside incredibly talented artists in what we would describe as the most magical experience we’ve ever been a part of. It encompassed everything from making new friends, appreciating the art of filmmaking, and grasping the skill it takes to keep 100 Sphero SPRK Editions working in unison.
Projects like these are once in a lifetime. So many people with different backgrounds and fields of expertise came together for one video showcasing the integration of the arts with SPRK. From producers, choreographers, and photographers to the team from Sphero, people from all walks of life were there to create a masterpiece. At the end of the long, challenging work days, we not only have an extraordinary video, but a story to remember for the rest of our lives.
Jordyn + Scott
You’ve probably stumbled across some of ScottDW’s incredible work — Stormtrooper Twerk and High School Dance Battle. He is a filmmaker and songwriter who makes beautiful and hilarious content to share with the world. The moment we heard his pitch for our SPRK video, we became obsessed and couldn’t wait to get filming. Scott’s creative vision is an inspiration and his sense of humor is what kept the crew going throughout the weekend. Amongst all the hard work, challenges and excitement, he crafted amazing visuals and a beautiful story with our product… we just needed to find a star.
Incorporating the arts was necessary for this video, and no one could have represented that better than Jordyn Jones. Jordyn is a 15 year old professional dancer, actress, singer, and role model. She is incredibly talented and amazing to work with. Jordyn nailed every move and gave this video a life of its own. Compelling and gifted, you’re not going want to miss a moment of this star’s rise to success.
The Tech Behind the Production
We wanted to capture an ethereal, midnight setting as Jordyn’s character ventures out into the living room wonderland, so we ended up filming from 8pm — 6:30am on both Friday and Saturday night - talk about exhausting! To capture this lighting, Ephraim and Al (director of photography and gaffer) used large exterior lighting to illuminate the scene and mimic moonlight. They also wanted to let the glow from the Sphero robots stand out, so the lighting on the inside of the house was very subtle.
Delicacy and fluidity were essential to keep the viewer immersed in this technological dream world, so Scott filmed on a RED Dragon Camera, and used a Freely Movi M10 for camera stabilization. Scott nearly always uses this combination of camera and gimbal to give his videos a fluid yet versatile look. CNET talked to Scott about filming this video. You can read about it here.
There were so many takes for each part of the video, but Scott showed true artistry in recognizing the perfect shot. One of the most exciting moments for us was watching the top down shot of Jordyn pirouetting with all the Spheros encircling her in multiple rings. This was achieved with a jib — a see-saw looking device with a camera on one end, and a counterweight and camera controls on the other. It created the beautiful floating motion you see as it ascends above our dancer.
Art + Science Working Together
We’ll be honest, programming and driving 100 Spheros was NOT easy, as we put new multi-robot app support to the test. Each device was synced to control up to 7 robots per device — this new feature is a work in progress within the SPRK app. We were able to successfully program 100 robots using 15 smart devices, but we still struggled with coordination. Multi-robot support is still in its infancy, but we’re excited to see it realized in a future SPRK app update. Even though this tested our patience, the collaboration between 20+ people programming at the same time is what made the magic happen.
As strange as it sounds, it wasn’t until day three of the shoot that we realized we were actually living the mission we’re seeking to foster with SPRK. On set, we were doing exactly what we encourage teachers and students to do everyday — engineering, problem solving, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking. Not everyone will take an interest in thinking like an engineer, but STEAM education makes these subjects appealing to everyone through hands-on creativity. Believe it or not, programming can serve as a creative outlet for the talented artists among us, and Sphero SPRK Edition is just the robot to embrace it.
Believe it or not, programming can serve as a creative outlet for the talented artists among us, and Sphero SPRK Edition is just the robot to embrace it.
Now you know the story of everything that went into making this video… so sit back and enjoy the show.
People That Made the Magic Happen
Director: Scott Winn
Dancer/Actress: Jordyn Jones
Producer: Andrew Mecham http://www.bellpondfilms.com
DP: Ephraim Smith
Gaffer: Al Stoddard
Vocalist: Billy Mann
Production Designer: Amy Leah Nelson Smith
Choreographer: Jason Celaya
HMU: Danielle Donahue
Audio Tech: Brenden Bytheway
BTS: Peyton Peltier
Sphero Community: Danielle Hammernik & Ross Ingram (@Danihammernik @Rossingram)
