News

Jim Fiscus Creates Motion Piece for Motorola

Feb 04, 2013



by Kristina Feliciano

Jim Fiscus creates motion piece for Motorola that gets more than 1 million views on YouTube—even though no one in the piece actually moves.

The term “parallax effect” describes the process of creating the appearance of motion using layers of imagery. It’s a complicated technique, but it makes for a spectacular viewing experience if you can pull it off. The parallax effect is what Jim Fiscus used to create a motion piece for Motorola that has racked up more than 1 million views on YouTube in just shy of a month—making it a viral hit.

Which is interesting because nothing in the piece actually moves. “It has the appearance of motion because the background moves, and the viewer’s POV shifts. It’s pretty neat,” says Jim, who was commissioned by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners.

Jim’s motion piece is a part of an international ad campaign appearing in airports all over the world, so besides the intricacies of nailing the parallax effect, he and his team also had to make wardrobe, styling, and casting choices appropriate to different countries.

There’s also a print component that Jim photographed. The ad above is the first to be released.