Despite Apple’s first foray into the smart speaker market being a little underwhelming (let’s face it, the HomePod is just a glorified bluetooth speaker for Apple Music with no integration into anything else), the technology and sound behind it is actually quite impressive. It really does sound amazing and is a good alternative for those who don’t have a home stereo. I personally love the idea of smart speakers, but when it comes to music, I prefer my home stereo with my record player.
The latest ad for the HomePod is absolutely ingenious, especially when one begins to understand the amount practical effects used. If you haven’t already seen it, watch here:
https://youtu.be/305ryPvU6A8
A woman, played by FKA Twigs, arrives home after a mundane day and asks the HomePod to play a song for her. The message here is how the HomePod can re-engineer the acoustics of the room it’s placed in. Thanks to the amazing Spike Jonze, we are able to see how music allows us to create new realities as we get lost in it.
Every moving piece in the ad is produced with real-world effects. As Twigs moves through the apartment, each piece that moves is being manipulated by pulls, levers and off-camera dancers in realtime, in sync with the music. Even the flickering lights are done in realtime.
It is refreshing to see that practical effects are still used and, even in some cases, better than resorting to CGI. To learn more about the making of the ad, be sure to watch the behind-the-scenes video here: