09x06 - Opt: An Illusionary Tale

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

What a blizzard!

I can't believe

We're going rock climbing
in this weather.

It's a good thing we have
this safety rope.

Otherwise, we could get blown
right off this cliff!

Cut!

Wait!

That's not in the script.

O.k., Everybody,
let's reset.

Take five,
levar.

Ahh.

Hi. That mountain-climbing scene

Looked pretty convincing,
didn't it?

But none of it was real.

Usually you can believe
what you see,

But sometimes
your eyes can be deceived.

Just take a look
around this studio--

That wind, the storm,

Even this rock is fake.

They're all special effects
designed to fool you.

Let's take this snow,
for example.

It's plastic,

And there's no big cloud
up there sending it down.

The plastic is sifted
through a snow machine.

It looks like
a big mesh barrel,

And when you crank it,

The snow falls
through the holes.

You can sift the snow
slow or fast.

O.k., Barbara,
really crank it up.

Ha ha ha!

This is great
for regular @owfall,

But if you want
a blizzard,

You have to see
wind blowing the snow,

So we have a wind machine.

Ha ha ha!

Now this is what I call
a blizzard.

Now let's take a look
at this scenery.

There are some pretty cool
tricks here, too.

This rock is really
hardened foam

Sculpted to look like a rock.

It's hollow behind,

And it's propped up
by these pieces of wood.

Now, where did we get
those mountains in the distance?

This is where it really gets
high-tech.

This wall is painted a special
color called ultimatte blue.

The blue is special
because it can disappear

And let another picture
take its place.

Ultimatte blue
is the special ingredient

That tricks you into thinking

There's a mountain
in the background.

Where does the mountain
come from?

It's a photograph.

The camera takes a picture
of the photo,

And it's electronically
put in place of the blue wall.

So here's how it works.

You put your scenery,
like the rock,

In front of an ultimatte
blue wall.

Then, with the flick
of a switch,

You add your background.

The blue wall never changes,

But what you see
on your tv does.

Then you just have to add
your actor and special effects.

O.k. Snow, please!

And action, levar.

What a blizzard!

I can't believe
we're going rock climbing

In this weather!

It's a good thing
we have this safety rope.

Otherwise, we could get blown
right off this cliff!

Cut!

With a little
television technology,

We made you think
I was caught in a snowstorm.

You can't always believe
what you see.

There's another way
your eyes can be fooled.

It's called optical illusion.

An optical illusion makes you
think you see one thing

When you really see another.

The pictures in this book, opt,
are all optical illusions.

Opt is a book
you can really get into,

So let's take a walk
in the land of opt.

Opt, an illusionary tale,
by arline and joseph baum.

Here I am in the land of opt

Where optical illusions
are everywhere.

Take this envelope,
for example.

Look at the red
and the blue lines.

Which one is longer?

Is it the red line or the blue?

Actually,
the lines are the same size.

They only look different

When seen against
the background of the envelope.

The center line
divides the envelop

Into a big box
and a little box,

So even though the red
and blue lines are equal,

Your eye assumes the bigger box
has a longer line.

It's just an optical illusion.

What about these lines
with the arrows?

Are they the same
or different sizes?

The bottom line is longer,
don't you think?

Well, what do you think now?

They're the same.

When the ends of the arrows
face out,

You think the line
looks longer.

It isn't really, but it looks
that way to your eye.

As a castle guard,
I cherish my trident.

I especially love this one.

How many prongs do you see?

There are two
on the bottom,

And on the top,
three.

Two on the bottom,
and on the top, three.

A trident like this
can only be drawn.

It could never exist
in real life.

Flowers fair, flowers bright.

Which flower has
the larger center,

The black or the white?

The black one looks bigger

Because it's surrounded
by small circles.

The white center looks smaller

Because it's surrounded
by big circles.

Here. I'll prove it.

See? The flower centers
are really the same size.

Optical illusions
are fun to look at and make.

Here are some optical illusions
you can create.

This is just a couple drawings,

But when I flip it,
the lights change.

This pencil's made out of wood,

But I'll make it
look like rubber.

I bet you think
I'm making a knot.

It looks like a knot,
but it's not.

I can make my thumb look like
it's broken in two pieces.

This illusion makes you think
you're seeing purple,

But you're really seeing
red and blue.

I can make this pencil
look broken.

All I need
is this glass of water.

It's an optical illusion.

I can have two faces in one--
a bearded man,

And just me.

Ha ha ha!

Some optical illusions
are quick and easy to make,

Others require
great skill and care.

This artist
puts tremendous effort

Into creating
optical illusions.

When you look at
his paintings, you'll see why.

To fool you, he paints skies
where there should be ceilings,

And he paints windows
with real scenes on the walls.

He pays perfect attention
to every detail,

So his paintings
look absolutely real.

Look at those cats
tangled in yarn.

They're drawn so lifelike,

You expect them to jump down
and bat that ball of yarn.

This kind of painting is called
trompe l'oeil,

Which is french for
"trick the eye."

Usually the whole picture
is an optical illusion.

It's designed to make you think
something,

Like this table with jewelry,
is real,

When it's a painting.

When you see trompe l'oeil,

You can count on
something surprising you.

Here, it's the blackbird perched
outside the picture frame.

Real as it looks,
it's part of the painting.

It's trompe l'oeil.

My name is christian thee.

I'm a painter,
and I paint trompe l'oeil.

To be able to paint
trompe l'oeil,

You must understand
how the eye works--

How to make things look
far away,

How to make things look close.

Here's an example.

We're going to establish
a horizon line.

That's where
the land meets the sky

When you look
off in the distance.

A vanishing point
is where things disappear

In this drawing we'll do
of railroad tracks.

Here's a pair of railroad tracks

That are going to diminish
right into the horizon.

The railroad ties up close
are further apart.

As they get closer
to the horizon,

Getting further and further
away from you,

The tracks get closer together.

The railroad ties
get closer together.

If we wanted to put
telephone poles,

We could put
a telephone pole here.

Find out how it goes
into the distance

By attaching
our vanishing points

To the top and bottom
of the telephone pole,

And then continue drawing
telephone poles

Within those lines,

And we have
telephone poles

That get smaller
and smaller.

Until finally,
they would disappear
over the horizon.

A bird on
this telephone pole

Would be a tiny dot
on this telephone pole,

Thus creating
the illusion of distance.

What I like about trompe l'oeil
is that anything is possible.

Today, what I want

Is a view out of a door.

You're looking across a balcony
to a park.

In that park is a carnival

With a roller coaster
and a ferris wheel.

That would be
a fun painting to have.

When I'm preparing a painting,
I create a plan

So I know exactly what I'll do
before I do it.

The more precise your drawing,

The more illusion
you can create.

The tools that I use
are the pencil, the paintbrush,

The straightedge,

But the most important tool

Is the imagination.

I think with any talent,

You fine-tune it to the point

Where you can do exactly what
you want with that paintbrush.

The line, the shape,
the sharp edge to an object

Is what basically
fools the viewer

And creates the illusion.

Now that I'm close to finishing
my carnival painting,

I wanted to do something to add
special magic to the painting,

So I made the lights
of the ferris wheel

And the roller coaster operate
and the other lights twinkling.

A trompe l'oeil painting

Causes you to want to look
out the window that's painted,

Pass through the door
to touch it.

And when I've succeeded,
nothing pleases me more.

In opt, there is a first-rate
art gallery,

And each picture
is more than it seems.

In this case,
there are two pictures in one.

In one picture, there's
an old woman facing sideways.

Here's her eye, nose,
mouth, and chin.

Got it?

O.k. In the other picture,

There's a young woman
looking back.

Here's her eye, cheek, chin,
and necklace.

You can't see both women
at the same time,

But switch your attention
back and forth,

And each will appear.

Here's an illusion that really
makes you see things.

Where the white lines cross,

Gray spots appear.

You see them?

O.k. See these boxes?

Let's count them.



And if we turn them upside down,

There should still be six,
right?

Ha ha ha ha! Wrong!

Now there are...

It all depends
on how you see it.

Ha ha ha ha!

And you never know
which way it will go

In the land of opt.

You can find optical illusions
on television,

In books, and in art.

You can also find them
in nature.

Animals use optical illusions,
like disguise and camouflage,

To hide from their enemies.

Animals who blend in
with their environment

Remain hidden
until they move.

Do you see the bird?

Do you see the frog?

From a distance,
this white hare is invisible,

And this owl looks
exactly like its tree.

Disguises work underwater, too.

There is a flounder
in this picture

Who perfectly matches
the ocean floor.

You can only see
his eyes and gills move...

And the flounder
can change color

If it swims to where the bottom
looks different.

Here's another camouflaged fish

Who looks just like the clumps
of seaweed and sand

That surround him.

You only notice him
when he moves.

This horned lizard
can barely be detected

As it lunches on scurrying ants.

The insect world is full
of camouflaged surprises.

This walking stick
looks just like a twig.

Here's a leaf clipper

You can't tell
from the branch it's on.

And doesn't this caterpillar
look like tree bark?

Here's one who anchors
a thread to a tree

To hold itself
in a branchlike position.

Only because it's moving

Can you tell this insect
from a leaf.

Even this little thorn bug

Can be fooled
by these caterpillars.

It will go all the way
to the top

Without realizing
it's on a fellow creature

Until it's shaken off.

This green insect
looks like the serrated edges

Of the elm leaves it eats.

In this picture,

The insect

Resembles the dead brown edges
of the hornbeam it munches.

See it eating now?

Here's a perfect example
of how well camouflage can work.

This hungry little bird

Doesn't realize
inches away under the branch

There's a full meal

Disguised to look
like the branch itself.

That's the beauty
of camouflage.

In this world
of optical illusion,

You might find yourself
looking at everything twice.

Here are some books
that deserve more than one look,

But you don't have to
take my word for it.

I'm clexida ortega,
and I just found out

How animals
can trick your eyes

In this book--
hide and seek.

For animals, fooling your eyes
is serious business.

It helps protect them
from their enemies.

Take a close look
at this picture.

You might be able
to see an animal, or maybe not.

Some spiders
look just like flowers.

This seaweed is really a fish.

Are these thorns or bugs?

They're bugs!

Whenever you go outside,

Look carefully at the trees,
the grass, and even the ground.

You never know
what might be hiding there.

Here's a book
that's really different.

Look at the world

From a caterpillar's
viewpoint

In if at first
you do not see.

It's about a little caterpillar

Who's tired of eating
the same old food.

His adventure starts

When he looks
for something different to eat.

He makes a new discovery.

Things are not always
as they appear.

For example,
ice cream looks appealing,

But wait!
They're really two clowns,

Not somebody's dessert.

Here's a nice white mushroom,

But it turns into
two ugly witches

Before his very eyes.

I love everything
about this story.

It's fun.

It might even make you laugh.

I'm nyssa fajardo.

There are many
more surprises

Waiting for you
in this book.

Are you the kind of kid
who likes modern science?

I've got a book
that's a real eye-opener.

It's called lenses!

I loved it.
It's about the way you see.

The test for color blindness
is really neat.

Can you see the giraffe?

How about the fish?

My favorite part
was the optical illusions.

These pictures
play tricks on your eyes,

Like this picture of a vase.

No. I mean two people.

No. A vase.

I'm graham pierce,

And if you like having fun
with technology,

You should look at lenses!

You know, most of the time
your eyes don't deceive you.

The world
is a pretty reliable place,

But keep your eyes open

Because every once in a while...

An optical illusion
just might play a trick on you.

I'll see you next time.

Today's reading rainbow
books are...

Opt--an illusionary tale
by arline and joseph baum,

Published by viking penguin,

A division
of penguin books usa, inc.

Lenses! Take a closer look

By siegfried aust,
illustrated by helge nyncke,

Published by
lerner publications co.

If at first you do not see

By ruth brown,

Published by
henry holt and co., Inc.

Hide and seek,
an oxford scientific films book

Edited by jennifer coldrey
and karen goldie-morrison,

Published by g.p. Putnam's sons.