Apocalypse Later: Trippy video combines surfing, end-of-the-world effects

The greatest video game ever? Scenes from the sequel to Battle: Los Angeles? Neither: Just a guy with his GoPro surf camera and iMac creating a pretty awesome special effects video. Just 241,000 views on YouTube as of this writing, but I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot more very soon.

Why let a little thing like the Apocalypse ruin a good day of surfing?

Uploader keef70 says he shot ‘Apocalypse Later, Surf Now’ at Sunset Point, Los Angeles, with footage from a GoPro camera, and used visual effects to bring the world to a fiery end on the waves.

The music is “The Whales” by The MERMEN on the album Krill Slippin’.

The effects were done in Maya, motion tracking in Mocha, and compositing in After Effects. And all on an iMac.

Meanwhile, from the YouTube comments section:

FAKE
mefeedia

Y r the waves so small for the giant explosions in the water…-__- I think fake
manchester0united

So to recap, if he had made the waves bigger, YouTube commenters would have thought the world was really under attack.