"The Scorpio Illusion" illusion?

[Rogue Crew]

On Walter Graff's company website, BlueSky, there's a commercial Walter did for the Robert Ludlum novel, "The Scorpio Illusion".
(see it here)
Quicktime
http://bluesky-web.netfirms.com/ludlum.mov
Windows Media Player
http://bluesky-web.netfirms.com/ludlum.wmv

We are invited to figure out how Walter did the final shot.


You're about to see one of Walter's all-time favorite productions. It is a table-top special effect shot using only the real product and no electronic effects. See if you can figure out how the last shot was done.
Here's my guess:

The book sitting on a table is actually a poster of a the book sitting on a table and it's streched on a horizontal frame a foot or so above a glass dining or coffee table with the camera at a low level (high hat on the floor?) aimed up at the glass. Above all this, the real book (probably weighted) is dropped onto the back of the poster. It bursts through and lands on the glass table top.

ALTERNATE
There's a little wobble at the very end, after the book lands, so either the glass top table has slender legs or another frame with clear Milar stretched across it was used instead of the glass table.

[drummerboy678]

"The book sitting on a table is actually a poster of a the book sitting on a table and it's streched on a horizontal frame a foot or so above a glass dining or coffee table with the camera at a low level (high hat on the floor?) aimed up at the glass. Above all this, the real book (probably weighted) is dropped onto the back of the poster. It bursts through and lands on the glass table top. "


Thats exactly what I'd say... looks good to me

[dvpixl]

but the book doesn't look like it's dropping, it looks like it's moved forward. because although the wobble exists, the movement is too slow for a drop. it seems like composite work. the rip was either made up or ripped by something else. or the book was attached to a stick and they pushed it down but i highly doubt it was a real book that was dropping onto anything.

[Rogue Crew]

but the book doesn't look like it's dropping, it looks like it's moved forward. because although the wobble exists, the movement is too slow for a drop. it seems like composite work. the rip was either made up or ripped by something else. or the book was attached to a stick and they pushed it down but i highly doubt it was a real book that was dropping onto anything.

Well of course, they could have filmed it slo-mo. Also, they said "...using only the real product and no electronic effects."