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05-16-2010, 11:06 AM
Welsh Farmers Create Amazing 'Ewe Tube' Hit
10:27am UK, Sunday April 12, 2009
Katie Stallard, in Llandeilo
A group of Welsh sheep farmers have found sudden worldwide fame after posting a video of themselves on the internet "extreme shepherding".
Led by Bernard 'The General' Lewellyn, the seven shepherds spent two days creating the stunt.
In it, 300 sheep are herded across a hillside to form the image of a giant, animated sheep.
Then when darkness falls, they are kitted out in improvised LED vests and driven in groups across the slope in a Welsh, night-time, version of the old computer game Pong.
Never let it be said that these men have too much time on their hands.
The results are spectacular, but with global acclaim has come scrutiny - the shepherds have been accused of faking it with cunning computer trickery.
Sky News tracked down 'The General' for some answers.
Extreme shepherding
"It did happen," he said.
"Alright, perhaps not in one go, but certainly we did manage to get those solid shapes fairly easily.
"The legs, yes - we did cheat a bit there - if you look carefully you can see that the lines are actually crossing over each other.
"Well, any self-respecting shepherd will know that is impossible, but we still managed to get the shape.
"And with just a little bit of help from digitalised editing we got the whole thing."
The idea and the funding came from internet marketing company, The Viral Factory (http://usa.theviralfactory.com/), whose brief was to promote flat-screen TVs. Somehow that led them to sheep.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Apr/Week2/15260001.jpg Attaching lights to the sheep
"We did plan to float thousands of LEDs in balloons," creative director Daniel Evans explained.
"Or even throw balloons at each other, but then we remembered the classic advertising saying of 'If you have to sell something, you have to use sheep' and it all seemed to fall into place'."
The shoot took place over two days in February at Bernard's Castle Carreg Cennen farm in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
With nearly six million views on the web, the "extreme sheep" now have global domination at their hooves.
As for 'The General' and his men - they say there are no immediate plans to move to Hollywood... the priority for now is lambing season.
Bookmark the story
Welsh Farmers Create Amazing 'Ewe Tube' Hit
This must be how they find there favourite goat in the dead of the Arabian night
10:27am UK, Sunday April 12, 2009
Katie Stallard, in Llandeilo
A group of Welsh sheep farmers have found sudden worldwide fame after posting a video of themselves on the internet "extreme shepherding".
Led by Bernard 'The General' Lewellyn, the seven shepherds spent two days creating the stunt.
In it, 300 sheep are herded across a hillside to form the image of a giant, animated sheep.
Then when darkness falls, they are kitted out in improvised LED vests and driven in groups across the slope in a Welsh, night-time, version of the old computer game Pong.
Never let it be said that these men have too much time on their hands.
The results are spectacular, but with global acclaim has come scrutiny - the shepherds have been accused of faking it with cunning computer trickery.
Sky News tracked down 'The General' for some answers.
Extreme shepherding
"It did happen," he said.
"Alright, perhaps not in one go, but certainly we did manage to get those solid shapes fairly easily.
"The legs, yes - we did cheat a bit there - if you look carefully you can see that the lines are actually crossing over each other.
"Well, any self-respecting shepherd will know that is impossible, but we still managed to get the shape.
"And with just a little bit of help from digitalised editing we got the whole thing."
The idea and the funding came from internet marketing company, The Viral Factory (http://usa.theviralfactory.com/), whose brief was to promote flat-screen TVs. Somehow that led them to sheep.
http://news.sky.com/sky-news/content/StaticFile/jpg/2009/Apr/Week2/15260001.jpg Attaching lights to the sheep
"We did plan to float thousands of LEDs in balloons," creative director Daniel Evans explained.
"Or even throw balloons at each other, but then we remembered the classic advertising saying of 'If you have to sell something, you have to use sheep' and it all seemed to fall into place'."
The shoot took place over two days in February at Bernard's Castle Carreg Cennen farm in the Brecon Beacons National Park.
With nearly six million views on the web, the "extreme sheep" now have global domination at their hooves.
As for 'The General' and his men - they say there are no immediate plans to move to Hollywood... the priority for now is lambing season.
Bookmark the story
Welsh Farmers Create Amazing 'Ewe Tube' Hit
This must be how they find there favourite goat in the dead of the Arabian night