6 ms·

The weird thing about these Apple product videos in the last few years is that there are all these beautiful shots of Apple's campus with nobody there other tha

by flkiwi 2y ago

The weird thing about these Apple product videos in the last few years is that there are all these beautiful shots of Apple's campus with nobody there other than the presenter. It's a beautiful stage for these videos, but it's eerie and disconcerting, particularly given Apple's RTO approach.

davidczech 2y ago
I think it’s usually filmed on weekends
- monocasa 2y ago
  You would just think that with a brand so intrinsically wrapped around the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it, you'd want to show the people who made it if you're going to show the apple campus at all. It kind of just comes off as one of those YouTube liminal space horror videos when it's that empty.
  - hammock 2y ago
    The Apple brand is - foundationally - pretty solitary. Think about the early ipod ads, just individuals dancing to music by themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSgBsCVpqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSgBsCVpqo You can even go back to 1983 "Two kinds of people": a solitary man walks into an empty office, works by himself on the computer and then goes home for breakfast. https://youtu.be/4xmMYeFmc2Q https://youtu.be/4xmMYeFmc2Q
    - flkiwi 2y ago
      It's a strange conflict. So much of their other stuff is about togetherness mediated by technology (eg, facetime). And their Jobs-era presentations always ended with a note of appreciation for the folks who worked so hard to make the launch happen. But you're right that much of the brand imagery is solitary, right up to the whole "Here's to the crazy ones" vibe. It's weirdly dystopian. I didn't realize it bothered me until moments before my comment, but now I can't get it out of my head.
      - bjornsing 2y ago
        "Here's to the crazy ones" is weirdly dystopian? :)
        flkiwi 2y ago
        In a strange way, yes, with the premise that the world is otherwise the realm of uncreative, uninspired people. But the comment was addressed more at the odd lifelessness of the imagery.
  - matrix87 2y ago
    > the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it > liminal space horror reminds me of that god awful crush commercial
    - asadm 2y ago
      they apologized for that one.
    - LeafItAlone 2y ago
      I had not seen that one, so I looked it up. This was reminder to me that art is subjective. I don’t get the outrage. I kinda like it.
  - filoleg 2y ago
    > You would just think that with a brand so intrinsically wrapped around the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it, you'd want to show the people who made it if you're going to show the apple campus at all. I would think that a brand that is at least trying to put some emphasis on privacy in their products would also extend the same principle to their workforce. I don’t work for Apple, but I doubt that most of their employees would be thrilled about just being filmed at work for a public promo video.
    - astrange 2y ago
      There are legal issues with it too, or at least they think there are. They take down developer presentations after a few years partly so they won't have videos of random (ex-)employees up forever.
      - monocasa 2y ago
        What legal issues could arise from a recording of an employee publicly representing the company?
        astrange 2y ago
        Privacy and likeness rights, that kind of thing. And licenses expiring on stock photos or whatever's in the background.
  - Cthulhu_ 2y ago
    If only in some shots, but they are such a valuable company that they simply cannot afford the risk of e.g. criticism for the choice of people they display, or inappropriate outfits or behaviour. One blip from a shareholder can cost them billions in value, which pisses off other shareholders. All of their published media, from videos like this to their conferences, are highly polished, rehearsed, and designed by committee. Microsoft and Google are the same, although at least with Google there's still room for some comedy in some of their departments: https://youtu.be/EHqPrHTN1dU https://youtu.be/EHqPrHTN1dU
  - theshrike79 2y ago
    Easier to track continuity between takes if you don't have people in the background.
reaperducer 2y ago
I used to think the videos with all of the drone fly-bys was cool. But in the last year or so, I've started to feel the same as you. Where are all the people? It's starting to look like Apple spent a billion dollars building a technology ghost town. Surely the entire staff can't be out rock climbing, surfing, eating at trendy Asian-inspired restaurants at twilight, and having catered children's birthday parties in immaculately manicured parks.
- astrange 2y ago
  The neighboring city charges $100k per newly constructed unit for park maintenance fees. So there actually are a lot of nice parks. https://x.com/maxdubler/status/1778841932141408432 https://x.com/maxdubler/status/1778841932141408432
- flkiwi 2y ago
  Oh I think they're very well done and very pretty! But lately this discomfort has started to creep in, as you note. Like something you'd see in a WALL-E spinoff: everyone has left the planet already but Buy n Large is still putting out these glorious promo videos using stock footage. Or, like, post-AI apocalypse, all the humans are confined to storage bins, but the proto-AI marketing programs are still churning out content.
hoherd 2y ago
I interviewed there in 2017 and honestly even back then the interior of their campus was kind of creepy in some places. The conference rooms had this flat, bland beige that reminded me of exactly the kind of computers the G3 era was trying to get away from, but the size of a room, and you were inside it.
saagarjha 2y ago
The Mac mini video from yesterday has employees: https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/mac-mini/2024/58e5921e-f447-487a-a789-3452c23b8400/films/announcement/mac-mini-announcement-tpl-us-2024_16x9.m3u8 https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/mac-mini/2024/58e5921e-f4...
- flkiwi 2y ago
  That by itself raises an interesting editorial question. Apple (like most big companies) doesn't do things randomly re: high impact public communications like this. I'm curious what made the Mac mini a product that merited showing people doing things, with a computer that is tied to one location, vs. a Macbook Pro's comparative emptiness, for a computer that can go anywhere and be with anyone. It could be as simple as fun vs focus.
  - a012 2y ago
    I imagine the Mac mini is really small now if it could be powered via USB PD then I think it’s no problem to put it in a backpack with a kb and touchpad then bring it home then to the office. This is because I notice there are many people just bring their MBP to the office then plug it to a big screen. The downside is just you can’t work anywhere like with a MBP, but the usability is mostly the same (to me)
brailsafe 2y ago
Incidentally, when I passed through the hellscape that is Cupertino/San Jose a few years, I was a little shocked that as a visitor you can't even see the campus; it's literally a walled garden. I guess when I was initially curious about the campus design during its build, I assumed that even a single part, maybe the orchard, would be accessible to the public. I guess based on the surrounding urban development though, the city isn't exactly interested in being livable.

by flkiwi 2y ago

davidczech 2y ago

I think it’s usually filmed on weekends

monocasa 2y ago
You would just think that with a brand so intrinsically wrapped around the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it, you'd want to show the people who made it if you're going to show the apple campus at all. It kind of just comes off as one of those YouTube liminal space horror videos when it's that empty.
- hammock 2y ago
  The Apple brand is - foundationally - pretty solitary. Think about the early ipod ads, just individuals dancing to music by themselves. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSgBsCVpqo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dSgBsCVpqo You can even go back to 1983 "Two kinds of people": a solitary man walks into an empty office, works by himself on the computer and then goes home for breakfast. https://youtu.be/4xmMYeFmc2Q https://youtu.be/4xmMYeFmc2Q
  - flkiwi 2y ago
    It's a strange conflict. So much of their other stuff is about togetherness mediated by technology (eg, facetime). And their Jobs-era presentations always ended with a note of appreciation for the folks who worked so hard to make the launch happen. But you're right that much of the brand imagery is solitary, right up to the whole "Here's to the crazy ones" vibe. It's weirdly dystopian. I didn't realize it bothered me until moments before my comment, but now I can't get it out of my head.
    - bjornsing 2y ago
      "Here's to the crazy ones" is weirdly dystopian? :)
      - flkiwi 2y ago
        In a strange way, yes, with the premise that the world is otherwise the realm of uncreative, uninspired people. But the comment was addressed more at the odd lifelessness of the imagery.
- matrix87 2y ago
  > the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it > liminal space horror reminds me of that god awful crush commercial
  - asadm 2y ago
    they apologized for that one.
  - LeafItAlone 2y ago
    I had not seen that one, so I looked it up. This was reminder to me that art is subjective. I don’t get the outrage. I kinda like it.
- filoleg 2y ago
  > You would just think that with a brand so intrinsically wrapped around the concept of technology working for and with the people that use it, you'd want to show the people who made it if you're going to show the apple campus at all. I would think that a brand that is at least trying to put some emphasis on privacy in their products would also extend the same principle to their workforce. I don’t work for Apple, but I doubt that most of their employees would be thrilled about just being filmed at work for a public promo video.
  - astrange 2y ago
    There are legal issues with it too, or at least they think there are. They take down developer presentations after a few years partly so they won't have videos of random (ex-)employees up forever.
    - monocasa 2y ago
      What legal issues could arise from a recording of an employee publicly representing the company?
      - astrange 2y ago
        Privacy and likeness rights, that kind of thing. And licenses expiring on stock photos or whatever's in the background.
- Cthulhu_ 2y ago
  If only in some shots, but they are such a valuable company that they simply cannot afford the risk of e.g. criticism for the choice of people they display, or inappropriate outfits or behaviour. One blip from a shareholder can cost them billions in value, which pisses off other shareholders. All of their published media, from videos like this to their conferences, are highly polished, rehearsed, and designed by committee. Microsoft and Google are the same, although at least with Google there's still room for some comedy in some of their departments: https://youtu.be/EHqPrHTN1dU https://youtu.be/EHqPrHTN1dU
- theshrike79 2y ago
  Easier to track continuity between takes if you don't have people in the background.

reaperducer 2y ago

I used to think the videos with all of the drone fly-bys was cool. But in the last year or so, I've started to feel the same as you. Where are all the people? It's starting to look like Apple spent a billion dollars building a technology ghost town. Surely the entire staff can't be out rock climbing, surfing, eating at trendy Asian-inspired restaurants at twilight, and having catered children's birthday parties in immaculately manicured parks.

astrange 2y ago
The neighboring city charges $100k per newly constructed unit for park maintenance fees. So there actually are a lot of nice parks. https://x.com/maxdubler/status/1778841932141408432 https://x.com/maxdubler/status/1778841932141408432
flkiwi 2y ago
Oh I think they're very well done and very pretty! But lately this discomfort has started to creep in, as you note. Like something you'd see in a WALL-E spinoff: everyone has left the planet already but Buy n Large is still putting out these glorious promo videos using stock footage. Or, like, post-AI apocalypse, all the humans are confined to storage bins, but the proto-AI marketing programs are still churning out content.

hoherd 2y ago

I interviewed there in 2017 and honestly even back then the interior of their campus was kind of creepy in some places. The conference rooms had this flat, bland beige that reminded me of exactly the kind of computers the G3 era was trying to get away from, but the size of a room, and you were inside it.

saagarjha 2y ago

The Mac mini video from yesterday has employees: https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/mac-mini/2024/58e5921e-f447-487a-a789-3452c23b8400/films/announcement/mac-mini-announcement-tpl-us-2024_16x9.m3u8 https://www.apple.com/105/media/us/mac-mini/2024/58e5921e-f4...

flkiwi 2y ago
That by itself raises an interesting editorial question. Apple (like most big companies) doesn't do things randomly re: high impact public communications like this. I'm curious what made the Mac mini a product that merited showing people doing things, with a computer that is tied to one location, vs. a Macbook Pro's comparative emptiness, for a computer that can go anywhere and be with anyone. It could be as simple as fun vs focus.
- a012 2y ago
  I imagine the Mac mini is really small now if it could be powered via USB PD then I think it’s no problem to put it in a backpack with a kb and touchpad then bring it home then to the office. This is because I notice there are many people just bring their MBP to the office then plug it to a big screen. The downside is just you can’t work anywhere like with a MBP, but the usability is mostly the same (to me)

brailsafe 2y ago

Incidentally, when I passed through the hellscape that is Cupertino/San Jose a few years, I was a little shocked that as a visitor you can't even see the campus; it's literally a walled garden. I guess when I was initially curious about the campus design during its build, I assumed that even a single part, maybe the orchard, would be accessible to the public. I guess based on the surrounding urban development though, the city isn't exactly interested in being livable.