How To Reverse a River
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- Опубліковано 7 чер 2024
- The Chicago River is flowing backwards, rather than going downhill from inland Illinois into Lake Michigan instead it goes in the opposite direction. This isn’t some quirk of nature, but an engineering megaproject - indeed four engineering megaprojects - on a scale quite unlike anything else on Earth. So, what does it take to reverse a river?
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This video was brought to you by an unhealthy amount of coffee and our awesome Patrons at / atomicfrontier .
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Hi, I'm James. I explore the world looking for interesting engineering stories which explore complex issues in interesting ways. I hold a First-Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Australia and am currently studying a Masters of Space Systems Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
My website is www.atomicfrontieronline.com, I occasionally tweet from / atomicfrontiers , and you can join the Atomic Frontier Discord server to talk about cool engineering stuff at / discord . You can help support my work and see some cool behind-the-scenes content at / atomicfrontier .
Not a bad place to take a walk.
truly a 🗿moment
I would love two have this for australia. a huge canel net work to terraform the center of it.
@@strike6899 And where is the water coming from to do this terraforming?
How do you rotoscope the images behind you and the surroundings? Is that done manually or do you have some AI which figures out the foreground and background? Also love the single take!
@@timgooding2448 ocean.
Levels of difficulty:
Low - one-taking a video
Medium - reversing a river
High - the rotoscoping contained herein
Putting the water collection tunnels further and further out feels like something you’d do in Cities: Skylines.
Oh wow, you just gave me my next mega project idea in Cities Skyline, reversing a river to dump sewage
It really does lol
@@Soken50 Just produce enough sewage to reverse it.
That rotoscoping must have been a NIGHTMARE! The camera work is seriously impressive, too!
Thanks! Yup aftereffects was giving me grief so tried a few AI ones out and they were marginally better but still a nightmare! Glad you liked the camerawork - will pass your comment onto Julia!
@@AtomicFrontier seriously, with this kind of production value and quality, how come you don't make documentaries for the BBC or something? Or at least have a couple of million subscribers? I follow your channel since you substituted for Tom Scott some time ago and every video impressed me more than the one before. Please keep at it, you are an international treasure (or however the saying goes)
@@AtomicFrontier While not _perfect,_ they still look really good, so I'd say stick with the AI!
@@AtomicFrontier walking and talking... impresive. filming focuing walking forward and backward.... also very impresive.
@@dcallan812 Based on the somewhat low resolution this was filmed with a 360 camera. The camera person is just walking forward without aiming the camera. The framing is done in editing from the sphere like footage the 360 camera takes. The shadow of the 360 camera can be seen at 4:27
It's been a hot minute since you've been able to pull off a solid one take like this! I know not every video is suitable for these one takes. I'm impressed! Love the fluidity and the firm presentation, and I feel as though you've nailed it with bringing relevant facts. Can't wait for the next one!
Thanks! Yup they're a nightmare to make and only have a 50% success rate (the video about Red Delicious was actually a one take that got cut down because of audio issues), but they're a lot of fun too! Think the next one will be somewhere away from cities, busses, alarms, skateboarders, and joggers.
Let's not forget "whilst walking backwards". I wouldn't be surprised if juggling or an egg on a spoon are involved shortly :)
@@AtomicFrontier Obviously while I love a good "1 take" don't feel as if you're forced to do them if it makes production so much harder! I don't think anyone would lose much enjoyment from your videos if you had to do a cut once in a while
@@AtomicFrontier that red delicious video was a banger. your channel is one of the few that always gets me excited to receive the upload notification
I dislike the one takes
Great work! - Huge projects - think I might add Chicago to my hit list. Backflip into the river would have been a strong finish - but great stuff.
I was expecting that too!
Although it is "pretty clean" it's not actually clean enough to swim in. Runoff from storms often cause sewage overflows still, and there is uncertainty about how pollution from past industrial waste can resurface, but the biggest problem really is that the city didn't engineer it to swim in, preferring boats. There just isn't anywhere to actually get in and out safely, but there are apparently plans to improve that over the next decade.
First: I think you did well explaining the issues and solutions! Second.... is that a more than 7 minute long one-take?! That's just as insane as the post work with all the rotoscoping and masking! I really enjoyed it :D
This is tom scott level of one takes.
Yep, this is a single take on the level of the Tom Scott Dasani video.
I got so excited when he stared walking forward instead of cutting that this video is gonna be excellent! Your reputation proceeds you!
*precedes
Walk-and-talks, especially at length, cannot be easy. This is one of your best works yet; congratulations.
And here I was thinking it was their worst work in a long time. The backwards walking, rotating, oh wait I've to rotate the other way etc really distracted me from the topic. After watching I had to put the video away and just listen to what they were saying.
@@codex4046 Yeah I felt a similar way, while the production quality is still great I feel all the things he had to think about while talking impacted the narration :/
This long, single take, style of recording is so impressive! This guy and Tom Scott are the only people who I have seen do it well, at least the only people who aren't actual BBC documentary makers
A single take, very impressive!
Love how the first shot of the video begins with the river flowing right to left, and at the end of your walk the camera ends up seeing the river moving left to right. Absolutely amazing take!
Left to right then right to left your dyslexic bud
Another interesting project that concerns water supply is the Bodensee-Wasserversorgung. Built in the 1950s, they take water from lake constance in a depth of 60 m, treat it and feed it into a 1700 km long network of pipes - some of the water travels over 400 m uphill from the point it is collected. Around 4 Million people are dependend on that water, tough many cities also mix it with their own water from wells that would on their own not be enough for the local demand.
Very interesting, thank you. Did not know that this existed. It's astonishing.
@@whuzzzup if you are there, you can visit it free of charge as far as I know
Really love your use of augmented reality. Subtle, not overbearing, and very useful
I like how their solution to polution in their lake was to put it somewhere else, really far away, so it's not their problem anymore.
Watching this I wonder how much time did it take to plan, memorise, and execute the choreography, so you're in the right place at the right time, while talking all the time.
Indeed! Apple Keynote levels of choreography well done!
You...you are outdoing yourself everytime. This was phenomenal. The pictures in the background, sound balancing, the script. You are improving so much so well!
And this is quite the gold standard already.
And guess what if he added 20 more seconds to this video he could make money on it but this man's integrity 👏
The single take delivery, coupled with solid info, enthusiastic delivery, and clever graphics make this channel a real treat.
Had to watch twice because the first watch through I was blown away with your mastery of the one-take with that unreal camera work and choreographed trek. So happy Tom Scott introduced me to you.
Great work, yet again! Brought be back to the days when I walked around the same place to and fro work! Loved the camera work, the single take as well as the information you shared on the walk. You're top tier UA-cam material!
It's been said a few times but The Algorithm appreciates engagement so I'll say it again: fantastic. One very long take, amazing camera work, beautiful in-place graphics, and an interesting story I hadn't heard yet.
Beautiful, original, video! Nice. FYI, the "next big thing" in Chicago is called the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan (TARP), or as it is known locally, "Deep Tunnel."
Thanks! Ok now just gotta hope someone from the MWRD sees the video and invites me to take a look!
I'm really excited for it, because frankly it might just save our asses from the increasing flash floods climate change will likely cause. If we added more water retention infrastructure throughout the city, such as bioswales and blue roofs, we might be okay.
@@AtomicFrontier Call, show them the video, ask for a tour. You do great work, and I'm guessing there's quite a few people at MWRD who would love to show you the massive tunnels, especially if you seemed friendly to the project. These monster projects are always controversial... and there's been more than a few billion dollars wasted... but it keeps generations of Chicagoans working... and maybe always will? 🤔 😊
MWRD regularly hosts tours of the O'Brien wastewater facility, so that's definitely possible to do a run there. Although I doubt you'd get into the Deep Tunnel project, since there's a lot of liability there and I'm sure they want to keep you above ground. The Thornton Reservoir opened up a few years ago as part of TARP. It's an active quarry they use to store runoff from heavy rains from our combined sewers until they can process it.
My dude just did this whole thing in one take and it's fantastic. One of my favorite channels.
Always fascinating information and beautifully presented. More of this please!
I honestly thought he was going to step back into the river after the sign off lmao
Yup that was origional script but Julian (and the city website) said no. Sorry :(
Lovely presentation. You strung together and explained a lot of events that I, as a native Chicagoan, already knew about but you made so much clearer. Love the one take camerawork, the historic slide overlays. Very very well done.
Is this a recurring Challenge? One take for an entire Vid. Magnificent. you keep getting more fluid and confident with each video you put out and your narrator voice is getting better and better. love your content, looking forward to the next one.
Truly amazing presentation, camera work and post processing. Neither has been easy.
My man you're just getting better and better each video, I jumped on your channel after your Tom Scott video and he couldn't have said it better himself "someone who's going to have my job in a few years" incredible stuff man
How did you remember all of that? And still speak with such clarity? Magic!
I love ALL Atomic Frontier content, but these single-take videos are next-level. The amount of research/preparation/writing/rehearsal must be insane.
Wonderful job, loved the subtle cues and details in the long take. Your skills as a presenter and the work of the cameraman are fantastic.
Wondering if "america's first sewer system" at @1:16 and the adjacent hotel signage is subtle or just a coincidence.
I was waiting for you to jump in at the end. A beautiful job of filming and adding in all the geo stable images. Best production value I've seen in a long time!!
I haven't seen one of your videos in about a year but it's good to see that your unique blend of Rare Earth, Tom Scott, Alpha Phoenix, and your own methods has only gotten better! I regret not subbing a year ago, but now I have some videos to catch up on
This is so clean, holy editing. Informative without needing to be 45 minutes long and still captivating! Good stuff.
Incredible video, I love the way you include imagery along the sidewalk, it's like you turn the city into a living museum, very nice! Also, absolutely blew my mind :)
they call it augmented reality
Love how precise this was. Very well put together
This is my favorite video of yours to date, thanks for making it.
Amazing one take shot. Glad to see it get recognition! Loved this video as I was just in Chicago last week. My hotel is in the background at the start of the video! We also did a kayak tour on the Chicago River and the guide explained about the river project. Granted in not as much detail as you did lol
Love these one take walking videos, great to see another one. I'm always so impressed and engaged by your physical and mental co-ordination and that of your camera crew as well... And fascinatd by the content as well, of course.
The thought that went into planning this informative tour is amazing. Great job on producing this! :D
I want to say I really love your ending quote "keep looking up". I love how optimistic it is and I always look forward to hearing it at the end of your videos :)
Thanks, thats really nice of you! I like it too
Absolutely awesome one-take! congrats to you, julia and julian for the amazing presentation, camera work and music!
One shot - very impressive! And another great video with a fascinating subject and detailed research.
that was one of the lowest key super impressive things I've ever watched, and am so sorry that with all the work that went into researching, planning, writing, learning, rehearsing, retrying, filming, editing, and probably other steps I haven't even considered, that my main takeaways were "so that's how the Undercity came to be", "glad they didn't accidentally tunnel right under Demonreach", and "so much effort and ingenuity and Ethniu nearly broke it all!"
Very well made video that was super interesting to watch! It was cool how you walked backwards with the cameraman walking forwards instead of the other way around, which is usually the case :)
The minute you started walking in the beginning blew my mind! The way you include pictures is just next level. It made me so happy so watch this :)
Great work, you manage to pick topics that are informative, interesting and refreshing.
Incredible work James. Doing everything in one take is amazing!
Beautiful storytelling and camerawork + editing again !! Pleasure to watch.
It's quite impressive you do these in one take while walking across town, and it works well for these videos where you are talking about something where you don't need to cut between a bunch of locations.
This video is so freaking impressive in so many ways, wish this channel would get more recognition!
I have to watch the video again, I was too fascinated watching how well you walk backwards.
Absolutely astounding video great editing keep it up dude
BRAVO James! well done, production
loved this one
Watched a lot of your videos as someone from Illinois when I saw the title I knew you would be here. Hope you had a fun trip to Chicago.
wow, just found your channel. The way you presented this with embedded images and a walking presentation was really cool. well done 👍
Your video-production is amazing. I love the camera and afterefects. Only downside is that I was enjoying the video quality so much I almost forget to focus on your speech. This deserves more views. You earned my subscribe
Yet another exceptional piece of work James!
Your production quality is over the moon as always! I look forward to the next one!😄
I am deeply glad to see my beloved Chicago River getting your attention! This is great.
great video as always James!
Always a good time! Thanks for sharing!
I've watched several of this channel vids, the content is always great, but hey!, the production is awesome too.
I absolutely adore your channel, content, and style of recording. Was half expecting an outtake….. where a jogger bumped into you or ruined your shot at the very end,
You then would break down yelling in obscenities ! 😂😂😂
This channel is superb! Always interesting to watch
That blending of the CGI pannels with the on-site art installation "pannels" is **smooth**. 👌
That camera work is earning you a sub. Cheers.
Wonderful as always!
you're absolutely brilliant, as an orator and an educator. Camera work is superb.
exceptional good package
My God man, video quality was already great but this one really stood out to me. Thank you for putting in the time and effort.
Very well presented and interesting. Thank you for sharing!
insane one take jake, the best to ever do it
Very impressive video effects and explanation of a subject with more detail than I previously knew. Our county’s sewer treatment plant is so advanced we put in huge pipes to return the cleaned water to the lake we draw our raw water from.
I love your videos soo much! Amazing content!
Yet another super cool and super informative video! Thank you so much I found this so cool! 😀
Nice graphics inlays. At first I was impressed that you went to the expense and effort of making and placing those murals on the stairs and then saw that they were moving a little....and then then faded away. Well done.
Seattle WA did a similar thing on a smaller scale with the Hiram Chittenden Locks the ship canal, rerouting the Black River in Renton and raising the level of Lake Washington by 16(?) feet.
Nice presentation.
Excellent video, keep up the good work
Wow this Chap has a really promising future. I'm always listening to your videos. Always great and Informative. The only topping on the cake for this video was if you did a back flip into the clean river at the end!! Love your Work!!
Hello! Cool to see you at my state of residence, hoping Chicago treats you well! River North is very nice to explore :)
Most aesthetically pleasing video ever filmed! What a beautiful remarkable walk!
James this is next level content, mate. All that text! Amazing work!
Sick delivery!
Loved the pictures seamlessly floating in space as you walked along, was that a seamless take from memory?
Wow, all in one take! Well done you guys, great video.
You packed a ton of really neat stuff in this video dang
All in one take. Very impressive and informative!
What a great video. Thank you ❤️
Excellent video, well done!
Did not expect it to be one take! Insane!
how did you manage to do all this without cuts, the camera person falling over or someone running into the shot? This was incredible
Great work on this video! Thank you so much for your work. Excellent presentation in great style. Just watched this after the asteroid shielding video... Man, you have a very very bright future ahead of you :)
1:37 there's even some buildings remaining whose main floors never were lifted that survived the fire. the ones that come to mind are right outside the Millennium station, right through the east exit from the South Shore platform
It was funny watching people walk by, some in t-shirts and some in full winter attire. Made it look like you were traveling through different climate zones rather than just traveling a quarter mile. Cool video.
Really nice editing with the frames everywhere .
This was a great video! As a chicagoin, even I learned something new
Dude this video was an editing masterpiece! Great content too, but damn! Those added images though!
Dude! You're REALLY good at this!
The editing was distractingly good. It's like you looked for a reason to walk through Chicago and have virtual canvases showing its history.
I loved the subject, I loved the thoroughness of the research...
You mentioned aftereffects giving issues and I can see errors around you while you were walking, but I'm pretty sure that's the computer being dumb and underpowered.
Discovered you from Tom Scott and have loved your high production value content ever since
That editing though. At the first few steps with the pictures, I assumed they were tourist signs and information boards, took me a few seconds to realize they are moving towards the camera.
Epic editing.
Seriously impressive work!
destroying the bubble curtain and electrified fence to allow carp to invade the lake sounds like something an obscure supervillain would do