Posted on Mar 06, 2008 - 12:37am by John P. in Videos
Thanks to Peggy for sending me this video of a stunt pulled off by Improv Everywhere, whose slogan is “we cause scenes”. The setup is that 207 people all walking through Grand Central Station in New York all freeze in place at the exact same second, and hold still for a full 5 minutes.
Most interestingly, it’s inspired people in 28 other cities in 13 countries to stage their own freeze mission. Thousands people worldwide in places like Romania, Poland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand have come together to make time stop for five short minutes. Below is a roundup of all of the videos of the various global freeze events.
The Original in New York’s Grand Central Station
And then all the follow up events…
Berlin, Germany
Bielefeld, Germany
Blacksburg, Virginia (Virgina Tech)
Bloomington, Minnesota
Boston, Massachusetts
Chicago, Illinois
Constanta, Romania
Dublin, Ireland
Durham City, UK (Durham University)
Edinburgh, UK
Leszczynski, Poland
London, UK
Los Angeles, California
Miami, Ohio
Montreal, Canada
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Paris, France (promo video for upcoming freeze event)
Those are some pretty good videos. There are so many of them!
I’m not sure how they did it. Between the need to blink and urges to scratch and sneeze, I’ve got to give these people credit!
I liked the first one, and I expect that all of the others were similar. I did enjoy looking for ones that took place in familiar locations. San Diego!
How were these thing marketed/publiscised? I am in the UK but have not seen any news reports – they are certainly the sort of things that would at least catch a closing piece on the main news channels.
There was also another time when dozens or hundreds of folks croweded an A&F in New York without shirts to duplicate the models on the walls. It was interesting to say the least :)
I am sure the LA police has some has some good tapes of it…hehe
I can see this freezing – thingy many times here in the PI.
if you go to a shop or restaurant and want something what is not right there persent and visible for the salesperson or waitress, you will here a friendly “for a while Sir” and then the situation freezes. You will recognise no movement, noise or anything. A few minutes later the world starts moving again and you get the person back who will tell you “sorry Sir, out of stock, maybe next week…”
lol. I only saw the first video for now but it was amazing. Seeing the reactions from the people was very funny indeed. I would have probably acted like those people as well if I saw a bunch of people “frozen”. Very interesting indeed. I will see the rest of the videos later as well.
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Thanks to Peggy for sending me this video of a stunt pulled off by Improv Everywhere, whose slogan is “we cause scenes”. The setup is that 207 people all walking through Grand Central Station in New York all freeze in place at the exact same second, and hold still for a full 5 minutes.
Those are some pretty good videos. There are so many of them!
I’m not sure how they did it. Between the need to blink and urges to scratch and sneeze, I’ve got to give these people credit!
I liked the first one, and I expect that all of the others were similar. I did enjoy looking for ones that took place in familiar locations. San Diego!
How were these thing marketed/publiscised? I am in the UK but have not seen any news reports – they are certainly the sort of things that would at least catch a closing piece on the main news channels.
These are truly amazing videos, i’ve never seen anything quite like it before the reactions of people as they wonder what happens is funny.
I haven’t watched them all yet but my fav has got to be the NY one.
These sorts of things are fun. Back in 02 or so, a coworker was into a big movement where people “fooned” in front of places of interest.
Here’s the definition from Urban Dictionary (definition #8):
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?page=2&term=foon
There was also another time when dozens or hundreds of folks croweded an A&F in New York without shirts to duplicate the models on the walls. It was interesting to say the least :)
It’s a type of flash mob. it’s amazing how many people participate in them! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_mob
This happens every day on the freeways here in LA, but nobody ever bothers to film it…
I am sure the LA police has some has some good tapes of it…hehe
I can see this freezing – thingy many times here in the PI.
if you go to a shop or restaurant and want something what is not right there persent and visible for the salesperson or waitress, you will here a friendly “for a while Sir” and then the situation freezes. You will recognise no movement, noise or anything. A few minutes later the world starts moving again and you get the person back who will tell you “sorry Sir, out of stock, maybe next week…”
cheers and a great weekend to all
Rhoody
performance art for the masses, no talent needed, but very funny in any event. mime to the power of 5!
No talent needed? Are you kidding me?!
wow, pretty cool
lol. I only saw the first video for now but it was amazing. Seeing the reactions from the people was very funny indeed. I would have probably acted like those people as well if I saw a bunch of people “frozen”. Very interesting indeed. I will see the rest of the videos later as well.
Sounds very interesting.Its fascinating to watch.How strange it will be if you move into a market & suddenly everyone stops.Amazing.!!