Discovery recently launched a new show called Time Warp. Basically, the idea is that scientist Jeff Lieberman and digital imaging expert Matt Kearney use high speed photography to slow various actions way, way down. I was skeptical at first, considering it seemed like another blatant attempt to capitalize on an aspect of Mythbysters, where high speed photography is as much a part of the experience as explosions and Adam Savage getting injured. To some degree Time Warp is ripping off MythBusters a bit. I point this out only because other recent attempts at doing this have been abysmal failures. This is probably because they took one aspect of the show and didn’t do it nearly as well as the original. The success of Mythbusters has something to do with the mix of science, quirky hosts, explosions and interesting imagery. No one aspect is really the key to it.
Time Warp is different, in that they really do seem to have something unique. To start with, their high speed images are stunning. Then they combine this great photograpic technique with really interesting subject matter. They’ve shot and slowed down everything from The Fuel Girls to Cirque du Soleil and pro skateboarders to a guy that puts various body parts in animal traps and everything in between. While I think the show’s hosts are still trying to find their footing a little bit, they both seem to be smart, likable guys who seem to been really into what they’re doing.
Some of the more interesting things they shoot don’t even seem that interesting on the surface, like popping water balloons or punching people in the face. Somehow, though, just about anything is a lot more entertaining at 1000 frames per second. It turns out you miss a lot of things at normal speed. Anyway, you should check it out. Discovery has a bunch of full episodes of the show available online.
Also, this cracks me up every time I watch it.
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