Why are they doing this? Why are they doing this?

June 25, 2011 8:20 AM

Seagull steals video camera (1m41s).
posted by BeerFilter (81 comments total)

You can't let Steven go anywhere.
posted by mrzarquon at 8:23 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

Mine!
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:24 AM on June 25, 2011 [28 favorites]

This trumps pretty much every GoPro ad ever made. Advertising: even a seagull can do it.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 8:24 AM on June 25, 2011 [10 favorites]

Seagull screaming stole it stole it.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:31 AM on June 25, 2011 [8 favorites]

So ... how did they get it back?
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:32 AM on June 25, 2011

"what is this? i can't eat this!"
posted by pyramid termite at 8:36 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

I suspect that the person that actually lost the camera is not the person that found the camera....
posted by tomswift at 8:36 AM on June 25, 2011

Sheer bloody-minded detective work. They tracked the vector of the apathaestic wing whilst simultaneously interviewing all witnesses and subjecting them to transmiathic conjunctoforvision. Then they ran across the park and picked up their cam. A lesson for us all, I think.
posted by h00py at 8:37 AM on June 25, 2011 [6 favorites]

Why did he leave it on the ground, recording?
posted by Anything at 8:37 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Between this and a post I made about a month ago, I'm coming to the conclusion that either animals secretly harbor a powerful desire to film themselves, or there is something about gopro cameras that makes them really steal-worthy.
posted by quin at 8:39 AM on June 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

One of the interesting things in this is how familiar the increasing tempo and heaviness of the breathing sounds when the bird takes off.
posted by Anything at 8:40 AM on June 25, 2011

wow, Cannes.
posted by beisny at 8:40 AM on June 25, 2011

French seagulls are so rude.
posted by beisny at 8:42 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

One of the interesting things in this is how familiar the increasing tempo and heaviness of the breathing sounds when the bird takes off.

getting off can be a lot of work, especially when there's a camera involved
posted by pyramid termite at 8:44 AM on June 25, 2011 [10 favorites]

He ran. He ran so far away.
posted by punkfloyd at 8:46 AM on June 25, 2011 [62 favorites]

Oh, and that low, mournful WHAAAA it lets out right after it lands really tickled me for some reason.

I really want to anthropomorphize it into "Oh no! Not again! Why do I keep doing this?!"
posted by quin at 8:46 AM on June 25, 2011 [7 favorites]

I was wondering if it was screaming 'Why can't I eat this? Whyyyy?
posted by lesbiassparrow at 8:54 AM on June 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

Mm, yes, his camera angles seem very influenced by Nouvelle Vague and therefore not quite so innovative anno 2011. On the other hand, his political statement re Google Earth is refreshing, and his plaintive call for his BFF/SO to get the fuck down from that tower for his/her close up is a telling commentary on modern society and rather moving.
posted by likeso at 8:58 AM on June 25, 2011 [14 favorites]

(BeerFilter, this made me LOL)
posted by likeso at 8:59 AM on June 25, 2011

Stupid city gull. A true seagull would have dropped it from a great height onto rocks to break it open and expose the edible bits inside.
posted by Iron Rat at 9:01 AM on June 25, 2011 [21 favorites]

French seagulls are so rude.


I was a little surprised this wasn't footage of the bird grabbing the camera directly out of his hands and then laughing at him.
posted by louche mustachio at 9:01 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm going to repost this from another thread:

seagulls are one of the worst kind of animals that exist

I went on a first date with a lovely lady, to the beach. For some reason she had in her car a very fancy set of bocce balls that were to be a gift for her parents anniversary. She thought we could go ahead and play one game on the beach. I don't know what you call the silver target ball, but while we were playing a seagull swooped down, grabbed it, and flew off toward the sea.

In what I expected to be seen as the single most heroic act of my life, I threw a bocce ball and hit the seagull, which dropped the target ball just on the edge of the water. This girl was incensed at my cruelty, insisted on leaving, and wouldn't speak to me again.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:04 AM on June 25, 2011 [48 favorites]

I'm 54 years old, and I've seen a lot of videos, but this is, without hyperbole, the best video I've ever seen in my life.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:04 AM on June 25, 2011 [19 favorites]

Trans-species film-making at its best! With commentary!
posted by Jode at 9:05 AM on June 25, 2011

That menacing last look was way too good to be true.
posted by bleep at 9:08 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

I half expected to see the gull arrive at a hideout where numerous of his fellows drop off their ill-gotten items for an albatross crime boss.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:09 AM on June 25, 2011 [5 favorites]

That menacing last look was way too good to be true.

Yeah. I'm looking askance at this, too.

Eventually someone with some knowledge will arrive to explain how this hoax was perpetrated, and we skeptics will share a knowing glance.
posted by notyou at 9:13 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Erm, the tags include "cannes lions 2011", the advertising industry awards that are just being held in Cannes. That, the fade to black at the end, plus the user's other video "what we do" identify this as a clever bit of advertising.
posted by progosk at 9:15 AM on June 25, 2011 [8 favorites]

So, the lighting was really beautiful and that last reveal made me think Cloverfield.
posted by Brainy at 9:15 AM on June 25, 2011

Eventually someone with some knowledge will arrive to explain how this hoax was perpetrated, and we skeptics will share a knowing glance.

Numerous cameras with GPS + numerous gulls = 1 good shot of menacing look, sounds, etc. Humor achieved. Viral activated.

Still funny.
posted by Celsius1414 at 9:16 AM on June 25, 2011

That menacing last look was way too good to be true.

YES YES why was that sinister beady little gull eye so delightful whyyyy

i mean aside from the fact that i am clearly still drunk from last night
posted by elizardbits at 9:35 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

the advertising industry awards that are just being held in Cannes. That, the fade to black at the end, plus the user's other video "what we do" identify this as a clever bit of advertising.

Yeah how often do you see videos titled "Whatever whatever my Canon" The fact that so many of these "viral" videos mention in the title that they were shot on a GoPro makes me suspicious.
posted by delmoi at 9:35 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

Night of the Living Bird.
posted by katillathehun at 9:37 AM on June 25, 2011

as if no one has ever trained a seagull before??? he puts the camera down pretty much in front of the seagull. this has to be viral.
posted by spicynuts at 9:53 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Viral or not, it's a good video.
posted by ymgve at 9:56 AM on June 25, 2011

The fact that so many of these "viral" videos mention in the title that they were shot on a GoPro makes me suspicious.

I concur.

Since GoPro are "[t]he world’s best selling wearable HD cameras for sports," I am a bit skeptical.

"GoPro cameras. So easy to use, even a seagull can!"

As has been said in this thread and elsewhere, "how did he end up locating the camera?"
posted by ericb at 10:01 AM on June 25, 2011

Judging by the other videos uploaded by the same user, it does seem to be a "viral" video.
posted by KokuRyu at 10:03 AM on June 25, 2011

If "viral" now means "viral marketing", what do we call viral videos that are not viral marketing?
posted by found missing at 10:03 AM on June 25, 2011 [6 favorites]

PI discretely places night-vision video cameras around the criminal boss's house, hoping to catch him in cahoots with local politicians.

Seagull grabs one and flies away with it, causing the PI to panic. Someone finds it and posts it, saying 'seagull stole my camera'. Girl sees video online and shows her crime boss father.

Father decides to have a word with the PI....
posted by eye of newt at 10:05 AM on June 25, 2011

One of the interesting things in this is how familiar the increasing tempo and heaviness of the breathing sounds when the bird takes off.

Yeah, it sounds like it's coming from a human. It's so familiar sounding it's hard to gauge when the seagull initially takes flight.

Which is actually exactly how it feels when I dream I'm flying. One second I'm still on the ground, the next I'm scooping at the air with my hands, breathing hard from the exertion of climbing - and then I can relax after gaining enough altitude and floating along or gliding.

Though I doubt a seagull has to deal with falling out of the sky like a rock every time they remember they can't actually fly, or someone on the ground spots them serenely floating in mid-air.
posted by loquacious at 10:08 AM on June 25, 2011

Octopuses are nowhere near as talented behind the camera.
posted by gman at 10:20 AM on June 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is really, really great. It's the perfect film.
posted by pwally at 10:32 AM on June 25, 2011

I thought we were done with this Dogme shit.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:35 AM on June 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

I think videos posted as real that turn out to be "fake" - AKA viral marketing videos- should be grounds for an immediate deletion.
posted by dunkadunc at 10:38 AM on June 25, 2011

Alternate title: Harmony Korine's Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 10:40 AM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

Eventually someone with some knowledge will arrive to explain how this hoax was perpetrated, and we skeptics will share a knowing glance.


A question though, is your enjoyment of this video grounded entirely in whether or not it is "true"? If you enjoy the video as is: an enteraining interaction where bird meets video, what does it matter if it's a commercial for some stupid camera?
posted by Fizz at 10:49 AM on June 25, 2011

In the beginning of the video the camera is at ground level, moving toward the bird. I'm having a hard time visualizing any reason for this except to get the shot. I suspect there is some sort of bait attached to the camera.

"what does it matter if it's a commercial for some stupid camera?"

Because an unusual serendipitous event is a very different and more interesting thing than an easily replicable contrived hoax.
posted by Manjusri at 11:10 AM on June 25, 2011 [7 favorites]

Will someone please let me know if I should be amused or outraged!
posted by shothotbot at 11:14 AM on June 25, 2011 [4 favorites]

/adfilter The gold winning video in the film category at Cannes Lions Skittles touch the rainbow
posted by HLD at 11:18 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

This video makes it abundantly clear that seagulls have the right lift/weight ratio to carry a coconut (gripped by the husk) from a tropical climate to a more temperate one! We've been going about this all wrong for years!
posted by Hey Dean Yeager! at 11:26 AM on June 25, 2011 [5 favorites]

I think videos posted as real that turn out to be "fake" - AKA viral marketing videos- should be grounds for an immediate deletion.

Ah, this takes me back.
posted by Flashman at 11:42 AM on June 25, 2011

Ad or not, this literally made me laugh out loud, so I'm glad I saw it.
posted by Robin Kestrel at 11:42 AM on June 25, 2011

Isn't everything fake ?
posted by Pendragon at 11:57 AM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

It may be fake, but given my experience with seagulls, it certainly feels true to me, the thieving, sneaky, nasty little bastards.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 12:50 PM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

The next day the seagull surrendered to the police voluntarily and told them his mother didn't raise him that way.

In Caddo District Court, he pleaded guilty. The judge sentenced him to 15 years in prison for first degree robbery.

Which is especially weird because that seagull is very very white...
posted by hincandenza at 12:53 PM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

So re-incarnation is true, and Hitchcock has returned ... as a seagull.

How fitting. (Nice cameo there at the end, Hitch!)
posted by paulsc at 1:05 PM on June 25, 2011

The BBC strapped cameras to falcons for the "Animal Camera" show. The goshawk at the end is incredible -- it has a 2m wingspan and makes some amazing turns while flying very fast through a very dense forest.
posted by autopilot at 1:54 PM on June 25, 2011 [11 favorites]

I hear European swallows can carry coconuts.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:57 PM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Loved that. StickyCarpet's comment gave me an excellent belly laugh.

Those naughty seagull rascals.
posted by nickyskye at 2:13 PM on June 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Clearly some kind of staging but still cool.
posted by Justinian at 3:05 PM on June 25, 2011

autopilot: wow! I could watch footage of that goshawk all day. Thanks.
posted by Barry B. Palindromer at 3:12 PM on June 25, 2011

If I promise never to purchase a GoPro camera, am I allowed to enjoy this?
posted by Flunkie at 3:17 PM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

Judging from all of the go-pro vids I've seen the audio on this is way too good and clear. Fake or not, though, this was great fun!
posted by snsranch at 3:50 PM on June 25, 2011

WAIT, WHY DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THE "ANIMAL CAMERA" SHOW?

Seriously, this is a cool show.
posted by gc at 4:13 PM on June 25, 2011

"Enjoy this video along with us, as we really try to believe a seagull would actually pick up a tiny GoPro video camera and fly with it for a few blocks, depositing it on a rooftop. We’d also like to believe that its owner would be able to find the camera afterward.

After you’ve virtually soared along with the sea bird on its majestic flight — where you can hear it breathing and see its perspective from aloft — and after you’ve laughed out loud at the goofy sounds the 'seagull' makes toward the end of the video, come back to earth for a moment.

Realize that the company that makes the GoPro camera is quite adept at viral videos. Another hint: According to the video’s YouTube description, the seagull allegedly 'stoled' that camera in Cannes, France, the location of a well-known film festival.

Probable conclusion: After scores of action videos featuring snowboarders and daredevils, apparently GoPro has branched out into skillfully produced simulated Seagull Cams. Brilliant.

Here’s another example of GoPro’s viral video prowess in a more straightforward clip that garnered 3.1 million views." *

posted by ericb at 5:58 PM on June 25, 2011

Even if it isn't "real", it's still well-done.
posted by bleep at 6:21 PM on June 25, 2011

On vacation once, my father bought an ice cream cone. As he left the store, a seagull came down and took the ice cream out of the cone. He went back in and they replaced the ice cream. To be safe, this time he walked out with his hand guarding the ice cream, holding it right near his mouth. A second seagull flew between his hand and his mouth and stole the second scoop of ice cream.

The third time he came out with a cup of coffee.
posted by jeather at 6:43 PM on June 25, 2011 [3 favorites]

Well, shit....I fell for it!
posted by tomswift at 7:51 PM on June 25, 2011

Even if it isn't "real", it's still well-done.

Nothing is real.
And nothing to get hung about.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 8:26 PM on June 25, 2011 [2 favorites]

damn. least the seagull knew not to drop it from 30ft in the air. :D
posted by NotSoSiniSter at 8:44 PM on June 25, 2011

I've never before given thought to what a shot from an airborne bird would look like, but I imagine we're supposed to believe he grabbed it by the strap, in his beak? I don't see where else a bird would grab a camera. If this was the case, it would be flailing wildly back and forth, not gliding smoothly through the air as though attached to a radio-controlled helicopter like they do with small cameras these days.
posted by drjimmy11 at 11:02 PM on June 25, 2011

Well, one could say birds are the ultimate panopticon, so this is some sort of meta statement by the seagull about surveillance and the all perceiving gaze of technology in this post-postmodern world. Brava!
posted by 1000monkeys at 11:48 PM on June 25, 2011

Okay ... I'll say it: French seagull don't give a shit.
posted by bwg at 1:12 AM on June 26, 2011 [1 favorite]

Huh, looks like they picked J. J. Abrams to direct The Birds remake.
posted by abcde at 1:42 AM on June 26, 2011 [2 favorites]

Has to be a fake...not enough pooping.
posted by retronic at 1:55 AM on June 26, 2011

Lion steals videocamera
posted by Jofus at 7:28 AM on June 26, 2011

Today I saw a dead baby seagull at the SF pride parade.
posted by cman at 11:42 PM on June 26, 2011

Absolutely a viral. He mentioned he found on top of a castle wall later and had to climb up to get it. And you knew it was there...how? Plus the mention of the camera type?

Seriously, MeFi, stop enabling this crap.
posted by DU at 5:28 AM on June 27, 2011

Seriously, MeFi, stop enabling this crap.

Yeah, quite possibly a viral. Entirely possible. It's still an excellent video, though, and my hat's off to whoever conceived and produced it, if it is in fact a viral.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:38 AM on June 27, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3lNyDlfQNs

"First, we outfitted the camera with a GPS tracking device so we could retrieve it, then we baited the camera by smearing it with mashed up frites [french fries]. The frites worked really well. Seagulls actually wanted to take it right from our hands!

Of course, we did many takes, with many different seagulls, and many excursions through Cannes tracking down the camera.

The one you see is just the best result of the many attempts."
posted by atomicmedia at 10:09 AM on June 29, 2011 [3 favorites]

Nyan Cat steals GoPro.

(Also: well done Lukas - you nailed the format, and chose your moment perfectly.)
posted by progosk at 3:36 AM on July 1, 2011 [1 favorite]