Crazy Contraptions

(Synopsis: It would be nice if a team from Blast Lab turned up again on this show, but that's probably too much to hope for...)
(Synopsis)
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== Synopsis ==
== Synopsis ==
-
A sort of inversion of [[The Great Egg Race]] in which teams compete to create "chain reaction machines" to carry out a simple task in the most complicated way. In one section they have to demonstrate a particular scientific principle and in another they need to incorprate a particular object. Knockout series structure.
+
A sort of inversion of [[The Great Egg Race]] in which teams compete to create "chain reaction machines" to carry out a simple task in the most complicated way. In one section they have to demonstrate a particular scientific principle and in another they need to incorporate a particular object. Knockout series structure.
-
Unfortunately, with so many moving parts (and on this occasion that's not a metaphor), there's very little time to focus on the various engineering challenges in any depth, and then the finale is critically undermined by choppy editing. To show off a chain reaction machine properly, the action needs to flow in, as close as possible, a single continous shot. 48 edits in 70 seconds really won't cut it - or rather it ''will'' cut it, to ribbons, robbing us and the teams of the big "wow" moment at the end. Shame.
+
Unfortunately, with so many moving parts (and on this occasion that's not a metaphor), there's very little time to focus on the various engineering challenges in any depth, and then the finale is critically undermined by choppy editing. To show off a chain reaction machine properly, the camerawork needs to be as well choreographed as the machine itself, capturing the whole thing in a single flowing shot if at all possible. 48 edits in 70 seconds really won't cut it - or rather it ''will'' cut it, to ribbons, robbing us and the teams of the big "wow" moment at the end. All a bit of a shame, because this could have been a fun twist on the build-a-machine genre, if only the contestants' ingenuity had been matched on the production side.
== Trivia ==
== Trivia ==

Revision as of 12:07, 7 May 2022

Contents

Host

Richard Hammond

Co-hosts

Judge: Zach Umperovitch

Insert presenter: Shini Somara

Broadcast

Optomen for Channel 4, 29 April 2022 to present

Synopsis

A sort of inversion of The Great Egg Race in which teams compete to create "chain reaction machines" to carry out a simple task in the most complicated way. In one section they have to demonstrate a particular scientific principle and in another they need to incorporate a particular object. Knockout series structure.

Unfortunately, with so many moving parts (and on this occasion that's not a metaphor), there's very little time to focus on the various engineering challenges in any depth, and then the finale is critically undermined by choppy editing. To show off a chain reaction machine properly, the camerawork needs to be as well choreographed as the machine itself, capturing the whole thing in a single flowing shot if at all possible. 48 edits in 70 seconds really won't cut it - or rather it will cut it, to ribbons, robbing us and the teams of the big "wow" moment at the end. All a bit of a shame, because this could have been a fun twist on the build-a-machine genre, if only the contestants' ingenuity had been matched on the production side.

Trivia

Officially billed as Richard Hammond's Crazy Contraptions.

See also

Simply Complicated

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