Some people just have this insatiable passion for innovating and creating and going beyond the realm of what’s considered “normal.” One such passionate individual is William H. Baker, an Indie Filmmaker who recreates complex movie scenes at his home, that too on a budget. Based in West Michigan, US, William is also known as “Pro Improviser.” The YouTuber literally uses household items and his immense creativity to closely replicate popular shots from movies that originally required a huge budget and plethora of resources to create. His YouTube and Instagram are the result of his hard work and talent.
Such filmmakers are driven by a relentless desire to tell original stories, question conventional norms, and bring their creative visions to life on the screen, doesn’t matter if it’s a smaller screen. Indie filmmakers work with way fewer resources than big-budget Hollywood projects, frequently relying on their originality, resourcefulness, and sheer commitment to their craft. And William proves this through his creations, especially the one where he recreates Oppenheimer‘s nuclear explosion effects using general grocery items.
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Recreating Oppenheimer’s Nuclear Explosion
The young YouTuber was massively impressed with the nuclear explosion effect created in the world-acclaimed Oppenheimer, and more so since it was created without CGI. After carefully combing through the movie’s trailer for hints about how Nolan created chemical reactions and blast effect visuals, William joked about recreating it with a friend of his and the rest is history. He engaged in hours of research for every shot to recreate 3 of the main effects used in the actual one. He undergoes multiple rounds of trial and error for every shot, to ultimately mirror the original scene from the movie.
The YouTuber achieved the final result by using a combination of grocery items from Walmart like a fish tank, glitter, water, cornstarch, glue, oils, and a frying pan to get the desired effects. He further relied on long-exposure photography, chemical mixtures, and an elaborate sphere to replicate the shots. The result is an impressive recreation of some of Oppenheimer’s most visually distinct moments. What’s more interesting is that a YouTuber has replicated these iconic shots at a fraction of Nolan’s $100M budget.
“Through lots of experimentation and testing, it was surprising just how close we were able to recreate the practical effects from Oppenheimer without any VFX of our own. I still can’t believe what we were able to do,” William posted while sharing the video. “It was tons of work, and it’s not perfect, but I’m happy with what we accomplished!” He thanked his friends for constructing the nuke and all the other help. Ever since the video was shared a few days ago, it has gone viral by accumulating 3M views already and the numbers are only increasing.
As the movie’s exploration of a harrowing, world-changing moment captured cinemagoers, many are equally blown away by Baker’s efforts:
“This is what YouTube is all about. Thanks for bringing joy and creativity into your workflow! Such a fun watch,” praised a YouTube user. “The editing for this video is amazing! It’s almost like we’re watching a movie version of a YouTube video!” joined a second.
“It’s LITERALLY Identical, So Good!” a user commented on the Instagram reel. “I went to see the movie just because of u and I got to tell u bro u did a great job🤜🤛” said another user. One called him the Walmart Christopher Nolan, “This movie was made thanks to Walmart groceries department 😂😂😂”
“Amazing job editing and reproducing the effects! I would really like to see the reaction of Nolan to this one. I am sure he would be amazed,” wrote another user, and we couldn’t agree more!
More Outstanding Work
Beyond movie scene recreations, William also replicates music videos and OTT shows or breaks down particular shots from a scene through readily available materials.
He visualised the iconic “Joji’s Slow Dancing In The Rain” music video as a part of @shotdeck‘s Recreations Contest.
He gave a step-by-step breakdown of how he created fake sunlight on a cloudy day.
The YouTuber mirrored a shot from Wes Anderson’s: The Grand Budapest Hotel. Upon describing his experience, he wrote “Believe it or not, but I initially picked this shot cause I thought it’d be easy… boy was I wrong😅“
Working with glitter is tricky, but William aced this Euphoria recreation.
With William H. Baker’s creations being incredibly similar to the original shots, it’s clear that incredible things can be accomplished with just practical effects if you’re willing and passionate. The success of the YouTuber’s efforts highlights his potential and the importance of time and effort in achieving stunning visuals.
