17 thoughts on “KABOOM! Minivan hit by wrecking ball”
Excellently done fake! Most likely from an up-coming film/TV show.
Apart from (what looks like) hydraulic catapault pieces flying out from under the mini-van, look to the left of the shot and you’ll see a group of people (at least one looks like he’s carrying a camera) who don’t move until someone shouts ‘cut’ – then they all start moving slowly towards the wrecking ball.
yeah, the total lack of concern made me question authenticity
I thought the incompetency of the wrecking ball operator was a tip, too. And why was there not any blockades to keep cars out of harm’s way?
@Alan and @dimndgal1 make good arguments for this being a fake. I’ll add to their voices: the wrecking ball STOPPED DEAD when it hit the minivan. That wouldn’t happen. It would plow through the minivan and keep on swinging. They are intentionally very massive such that their inertia allows them to plow through concrete buildings etc. The wrecking ball stopping is analogous to watching a car hit an animal on the street, and bounce off the animal.
regardless, a very cool shot. must be fun filming that sort of thing 🙂
A few years ago, near where I worked, I had the pleasure of watching a builidng being demolished with a wrecking ball. Took about 4 weeks total to destroy a 10 story, mid-60’s hospital, so I got to see it alot.
#1, wrecking balls are not round, they are pear shaped. A round ball would be much harder to pull out of the rubble than a pear shaped one.
#2, the operator RARELY swung the ball, mostly he dropped it from great height and let the weight take out the floors and beams.
#3, you couldnt get within a city block of the site while it was working. Concrete and brick go a considerable distance from 10 stories up.
#4, they start at the top and work down. They dont just knock the bottom floor out of buliding.
Plus I noticed that the boom of the crane never moved. The ball was hauled up into position and released. Also, the ball sounded hollow, and that crane is totally wrong for the job. You would use a crawler crane so it could move around without having to reset out riggers, and a hydraulic crane would never be used for demo work, as you cant let the ball free-fall with one (see #1 above)
All in all, looks like a set up. But it still gave the van a good wollop and the reaction of the pedestrians looked real enough. Some sort of hidden camera show, maybe?
A few years ago, near where I worked, I had the pleasure of watching a builidng being demolished with a wrecking ball. Took about 4 weeks total to destroy a 10 story, mid-60’s hospital, so I got to see it alot.
#1, wrecking balls are not round, they are pear shaped. A round ball would be much harder to pull out of the rubble than a pear shaped one.
#2, the operator RARELY swung the ball, mostly he dropped it from great height and let the weight take out the floors and beams.
#3, you couldnt get within a city block of the site while it was working. Concrete and brick go a considerable distance from 10 stories up.
#4, they start at the top and work down. They dont just knock the bottom floor out of buliding.
Plus I noticed that the boom of the crane never moved. The ball was hauled up into position and released. Also, the ball sounded hollow, and that crane is totally wrong for the job. You would use a crawler crane so it could move around without having to reset out riggers, and a hydraulic crane would never be used for demo work, as you cant let the ball free fall with one (see #1 above)
All in all, looks like a set up. But it still gave the van a good wollop and the reaction of the pedestrians looked real enough. Some sort of hidden camera show, maybe?
tim
There is a catapulting device under the van…
@Cowracer – you and Cowracer should get together. It sounds like you’ve had some very similar experiences. You’d probably get on well.
Maffu – LOL
Very cook cool info Cowracer
I missed a recipe?
I don’t really care if it was fake or not, but it sure made me laugh.
Sooo, Cowracer #1: Did said observations occur during “work” time? On lunch? Between bovine laps?
Cowracer #2: Did said observations occur during “work” time? On lunch? Between bovine laps?
@bitflung: The ball stops dead because there is an arresting wire that stops it from swinging wildly about. If you look at the HD version in full screen mode you can see it pretty clearly.
Excellently done fake! Most likely from an up-coming film/TV show.
Apart from (what looks like) hydraulic catapault pieces flying out from under the mini-van, look to the left of the shot and you’ll see a group of people (at least one looks like he’s carrying a camera) who don’t move until someone shouts ‘cut’ – then they all start moving slowly towards the wrecking ball.
yeah, the total lack of concern made me question authenticity
I thought the incompetency of the wrecking ball operator was a tip, too. And why was there not any blockades to keep cars out of harm’s way?
@Alan and @dimndgal1 make good arguments for this being a fake. I’ll add to their voices: the wrecking ball STOPPED DEAD when it hit the minivan. That wouldn’t happen. It would plow through the minivan and keep on swinging. They are intentionally very massive such that their inertia allows them to plow through concrete buildings etc. The wrecking ball stopping is analogous to watching a car hit an animal on the street, and bounce off the animal.
regardless, a very cool shot. must be fun filming that sort of thing 🙂
A few years ago, near where I worked, I had the pleasure of watching a builidng being demolished with a wrecking ball. Took about 4 weeks total to destroy a 10 story, mid-60’s hospital, so I got to see it alot.
#1, wrecking balls are not round, they are pear shaped. A round ball would be much harder to pull out of the rubble than a pear shaped one.
#2, the operator RARELY swung the ball, mostly he dropped it from great height and let the weight take out the floors and beams.
#3, you couldnt get within a city block of the site while it was working. Concrete and brick go a considerable distance from 10 stories up.
#4, they start at the top and work down. They dont just knock the bottom floor out of buliding.
Plus I noticed that the boom of the crane never moved. The ball was hauled up into position and released. Also, the ball sounded hollow, and that crane is totally wrong for the job. You would use a crawler crane so it could move around without having to reset out riggers, and a hydraulic crane would never be used for demo work, as you cant let the ball free-fall with one (see #1 above)
All in all, looks like a set up. But it still gave the van a good wollop and the reaction of the pedestrians looked real enough. Some sort of hidden camera show, maybe?
A few years ago, near where I worked, I had the pleasure of watching a builidng being demolished with a wrecking ball. Took about 4 weeks total to destroy a 10 story, mid-60’s hospital, so I got to see it alot.
#1, wrecking balls are not round, they are pear shaped. A round ball would be much harder to pull out of the rubble than a pear shaped one.
#2, the operator RARELY swung the ball, mostly he dropped it from great height and let the weight take out the floors and beams.
#3, you couldnt get within a city block of the site while it was working. Concrete and brick go a considerable distance from 10 stories up.
#4, they start at the top and work down. They dont just knock the bottom floor out of buliding.
Plus I noticed that the boom of the crane never moved. The ball was hauled up into position and released. Also, the ball sounded hollow, and that crane is totally wrong for the job. You would use a crawler crane so it could move around without having to reset out riggers, and a hydraulic crane would never be used for demo work, as you cant let the ball free fall with one (see #1 above)
All in all, looks like a set up. But it still gave the van a good wollop and the reaction of the pedestrians looked real enough. Some sort of hidden camera show, maybe?
tim
There is a catapulting device under the van…
@Cowracer – you and Cowracer should get together. It sounds like you’ve had some very similar experiences. You’d probably get on well.
Maffu – LOL
Very
cookcool info CowracerI missed a recipe?
I don’t really care if it was fake or not, but it sure made me laugh.
Sooo, Cowracer #1: Did said observations occur during “work” time? On lunch? Between bovine laps?
Cowracer #2: Did said observations occur during “work” time? On lunch? Between bovine laps?
@bitflung: The ball stops dead because there is an arresting wire that stops it from swinging wildly about. If you look at the HD version in full screen mode you can see it pretty clearly.
This one’s real:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU8kT8Yv7VQ
Gosh, tho, do you think fakers would have had a city bus happen to drive by?
seems like the car only accelerates from rest at the start of the clip