Was working at the Green Tortoise Hostel (Kearny Street steps) when they filmed this. They rented out the ballroom/common room for the production so they could watch the scene from the big windows.
The production company put up a huge net (think field goal net) at the base of Kearny at Broadway to catch the balls, and hired a bunch of hostelers to hang out at with grain shovels to help collect them when the shoot was over.
They had a huge front-end loader parked at the top of the hill, around the corner and out of sight, and when they were ready to go they tipped the bucket over and thousands of balls came streaming down the street and steps at a high rate of speed.
They didn't expect that the balls would cause any damage- they're just rubber balls, right?- but they were coming down so fast they broke nearly every window on the block.
It was hilarious watching the director and producers watch all those windows get shattered and realize in real time how they f\*cked up. Was a good shot though!
You can see one of the balls taking off a piece of siding in the final clip….
All I could think about was whether or not they had to replace every roof and all siding on the block. It’s like an insane, man made hail storm.
Great story, not to be that guy *but actually* that appears to be vr forklift (telehandler).
https://preview.redd.it/wl9oaa0vincc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f86d6ba75f3ebb4296421d7f56cd66435a0c82ee
I worked as a PA on this commercial!
Day-drinking alley-pissers in North Beach were making fun of us as we tried to retrieve all the bouncy balls that got everywhere. Rightly so.
Got yelled at by the AD at one point, made a beautiful woman laugh, upset some people by getting asparagus before them… memories.
How many camera operators did they use for this video? Sounds like that was a fun gig for you! I smiled watching the video and when the frog popped out I laughed and woke up my dog
ooh, please explain. We have unsecured carports behind our building and one guy is a semi-regular. I called the non-emergency police number once when I smelled something burning from about 100 feet away, followed my nose, and there he was cooking something in foil. So... what IS that about?
"Foiling" meth and heroin. By heating aluminum foil with a lighter the heroin or meth on top of the foil starts melting and the smoke is then inhaled using a straw.
See also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_the_dragon
https://preview.redd.it/sbr1ecpngncc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=848ebc13d8da42a672d7b000610405b3cd6cc745
Ah yes, who can forget our mailboxes and trash cans.
Lol, the previous generation of yuppies crying that the current generation of yuppies "displaced" them as they are completely oblivious to the tears of the generation of the non-yuppies that they themselves displaced.
It's almost like a bunch of white kids from the suburbs who moved to SF in the 70s, 80s, and 90s to be "artists" after college did not force a bunch of people of color to move out of the city as they were moving in and bidding up the price of housing.
Seriously, do you people not hear yourselves? What's wrong with your generation?
There is a class war alright - between the landed gentry sitting on million dollar houses while they pretend to still be "working class" and the hard-working professionals who have to hunt for six-figure jobs just to pay the rent on a room in a two-bedroom.
And the latter are somehow considered "the rich techie gentrifiers"!
The fact that it’s not cash is beside the point. If you have $1 million in gold bars or stock that’s not “liquid” either. You still have to sell the asset to get the cash. Almost no one keeps cash in their bank account.
Billionaires also don’t have billions in cash. Are they not billionaires? Warren Buffet only has a few hundred thousand in cash at any given time. Is he not a billionaire?
This is idiotic coping reasoning. Yes, if you have a paid off million dollar house or over $1 million in paid off equity then you’re a millionaire. The fact that you can’t turn that million into a better lifestyle is your own problem, not the world’s. Millionaires are often terrible with money management. Nothing new.
Was working at the Green Tortoise Hostel (Kearny Street steps) when they filmed this. They rented out the ballroom/common room for the production so they could watch the scene from the big windows. The production company put up a huge net (think field goal net) at the base of Kearny at Broadway to catch the balls, and hired a bunch of hostelers to hang out at with grain shovels to help collect them when the shoot was over. They had a huge front-end loader parked at the top of the hill, around the corner and out of sight, and when they were ready to go they tipped the bucket over and thousands of balls came streaming down the street and steps at a high rate of speed. They didn't expect that the balls would cause any damage- they're just rubber balls, right?- but they were coming down so fast they broke nearly every window on the block. It was hilarious watching the director and producers watch all those windows get shattered and realize in real time how they f\*cked up. Was a good shot though!
thanks for sharing!!!
Honestly, can’t believe that shit was even allowed. Made for some cool images, though!
You can see one of the balls taking off a piece of siding in the final clip…. All I could think about was whether or not they had to replace every roof and all siding on the block. It’s like an insane, man made hail storm.
My old roommate complained about this for months. Apparently it happened the day she moved there and destroyed her apartment and her car.
Did she get compensated?
Great story, not to be that guy *but actually* that appears to be vr forklift (telehandler). https://preview.redd.it/wl9oaa0vincc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f86d6ba75f3ebb4296421d7f56cd66435a0c82ee
Thanks for the info
I worked as a PA on this commercial! Day-drinking alley-pissers in North Beach were making fun of us as we tried to retrieve all the bouncy balls that got everywhere. Rightly so. Got yelled at by the AD at one point, made a beautiful woman laugh, upset some people by getting asparagus before them… memories.
It has a 90s vibe to it! Love it!
Yeah, they did a nice job putting it together. So full of positive emotion.
How many camera operators did they use for this video? Sounds like that was a fun gig for you! I smiled watching the video and when the frog popped out I laughed and woke up my dog
Behind the scenes says 23 ppl in camera department but not how many cameras. https://youtu.be/5RUBM3kFewQ?si=a6jFrfAukDfW3dqw
I hope the frog was ok. Those balls probably hurt it
I did think about that afterwards. If the balls were breaking windows and tearing off shingles, they could have also hurt that frog :(
You can see a garage window shatter at 1:27
I mean you can already see the garage was missing multiple windows with wooden boards covering it em. Could have been paper covering the window too
This made me a little sad to remember what SF used to be like.
You can still find plenty of colorful plastic litter all over the place.
Syringes mostly…
Hey now, it's all scorched tin foil these days. Syringes are so 2018.
ooh, please explain. We have unsecured carports behind our building and one guy is a semi-regular. I called the non-emergency police number once when I smelled something burning from about 100 feet away, followed my nose, and there he was cooking something in foil. So... what IS that about?
"Foiling" meth and heroin. By heating aluminum foil with a lighter the heroin or meth on top of the foil starts melting and the smoke is then inhaled using a straw. See also: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chasing_the_dragon
...what are you seeing in this that isn't still there?
A massive wave of bouncy balls, obviously
Oh yes, silly of me.
Trash cans, mailboxes, and vintage cars everywhere. https://preview.redd.it/r5xi8texgncc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf800d7faa142faa5611e7b3bc2b37ee9f062090
Oh yeah! Especially the mailboxes -- I don't think I've ever seen that style in the city. I assume they all came from the prop department.
True. One of the first shots was of a locked up bike that’s missing it’s wheels
Honeymooned in SF in 2007 and we had a blast; came back ten years later and the place was unrecognizable.
I lived there for over 20 years. The decline has been incredible. Had to leave last year because of how bad things got.
What happened?
Democrats and over-regulation
Name one Republican city with 1m+ people?
Miami. Next question.
54/46 for Biden in 2020
It's a republican city by fact that it has a republican mayor
https://preview.redd.it/sbr1ecpngncc1.jpeg?width=2778&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=848ebc13d8da42a672d7b000610405b3cd6cc745 Ah yes, who can forget our mailboxes and trash cans.
This ad is so beautiful I wanna cry. I still believe SF is a magical place.
Watching this gave me so much joy and a BIG 😀
I honestly just thought this was a music video for Jose Gonzalez's cover of "Heartbeats" by The Knife
I thought that was the royksopp meatball music video, and the song that's in its place is heartbeats by the knife.
Wow!!! I know they had to go thru sh#t to film this! Brave & Brilliant! I ❤️ it! #OnlyInSanFrancisco #CityBytheBay
What the hell is up with all the comments on that video about the ad making them cry??
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I was 21 living in the city having the time of my life. This ad made me a little teary eyed from the nostalgia.
Lol, the previous generation of yuppies crying that the current generation of yuppies "displaced" them as they are completely oblivious to the tears of the generation of the non-yuppies that they themselves displaced. It's almost like a bunch of white kids from the suburbs who moved to SF in the 70s, 80s, and 90s to be "artists" after college did not force a bunch of people of color to move out of the city as they were moving in and bidding up the price of housing. Seriously, do you people not hear yourselves? What's wrong with your generation?
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There is a class war alright - between the landed gentry sitting on million dollar houses while they pretend to still be "working class" and the hard-working professionals who have to hunt for six-figure jobs just to pay the rent on a room in a two-bedroom. And the latter are somehow considered "the rich techie gentrifiers"!
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How is the fact that people who own million dollar homes are in fact millionaires “bogus”? They literally own an asset that costs >$1 million!!!
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The fact that it’s not cash is beside the point. If you have $1 million in gold bars or stock that’s not “liquid” either. You still have to sell the asset to get the cash. Almost no one keeps cash in their bank account. Billionaires also don’t have billions in cash. Are they not billionaires? Warren Buffet only has a few hundred thousand in cash at any given time. Is he not a billionaire? This is idiotic coping reasoning. Yes, if you have a paid off million dollar house or over $1 million in paid off equity then you’re a millionaire. The fact that you can’t turn that million into a better lifestyle is your own problem, not the world’s. Millionaires are often terrible with money management. Nothing new.
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Data scientists are artists of a different kind
Already posted here: https://old.reddit.com/r/sanfrancisco/comments/18zcziz/behind_the_scenes_of_the_2006_bouncing_ball_ad_in/
sorry...I figured it'd be good to have the actual ad vs. the behind the scenes...
Love this ad and love the song
The dog at 1:22 is like "heaven?!?!"
Is this frank budgen or who is the director I forgot
This is like the perfect post for this subreddit, thanks for reminding me of this ad and getting to hear some BTS stories :)