The Mac Ad

[geoboy]

I think it's just an optical illusion. You have two geometrically symmetrical objects crossing each other. And the bottom of the iPod is darker because the sledge hammer's handle is casting a shadow on it, contributing to the illusion. Plus, just look at the entire image. The woman looks like she was photoshoped onto a different background. But that all doesn't matter, because it still looks believable in motion, which is the original intent of the commercial.

I've noticed that about a lot of pictures. Sometimes a still image of video will look fake, while in complete motion looks entirely believable. And I'm not just talking about CG images. It can happen with any ordinary video if conditions are right.