This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Music videos by the alternative rock band OK Go are nothing if not creative. Their previous video "Here It Goes Again" featuring treadmill dancing was mesmerizing, and their newest video, "The Writing's on the Wall", is even more compelling, especially for those of us interested in matters of perception. The video is over 4 minutes in duration and appears to have been recorded in a single take (which must have made the 4 minutes seem an eternity to both the band members and the filming crew). The band members move around with exquisite choreography, demonstrating literally dozens of visual illusions in the process. Most of the perceptual phenomena featured are examples of perspective illusions that rely on a particular vantage point -- the camera's.
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For additional examples of this type of perspective illusions, you can read our Illusions column articles "Urban Illusions" or "Sculpting the impossible: solid renditions of visual illusions"
