Motionboard
Original · Linear launch film · 0:17–0:20YouTube ↗
Motionboard recreation

Domino Wave

A row of cubes flips 90 degrees one after another with a phase offset, while the camera pans along the line.

Full recipe

Why it works

Each cube does only a simple flip, and the phase offset combines into a sense of forward motion. The material is a uniform matte dark gray, with faces told apart only by the top light. The slogan means moving forward, and the direction of the motion matches it.

Spec

Timing
Film 10.8s. White flash fades 0.05-0.75s. Pass 1 from 0.34s (flip 0.6s, 0.10s offset); arrow sweep 0.95-2.45s; pass 2 from 2.5s (turn 0.72s, 0.10s offset); slogan words from 2.78s, 0.1s apart, out at 5.9s; pass 3 from 3.75s (flip 0.6s, 0.07s offset, right to left); camera push 6.2-7.5s; flash 7.42s; end card 7.66s; mark 8.2s, wordmark 8.32s, ring 8.55-9.35s
Easing
Flip cubic-bezier(0.65,0,0.35,1) on every wave; camera pan linear at 2.03 units per second; arrow power2.inOut; push t^2; slogan words and wordmark expo.out; flash power2.in 0.2s then power2.out 0.7s; ring stroke power2.inOut 0.8s
Camera
Perspective camera (24 degree field) tracking along the row at 2.03 world units per second, about 15% of frame width, from (-8, 3.9, 13.5) looking at (0.5, 1.15, 0), with a roll of -0.1 rad (5.7 degrees); lens radius 0.30 for depth of field. From 6.2s it dives toward cube 7 and ends 1.28 units in front of its face as the roll eases to 0
Subject
A row of 36 matte cubes (edge 1.45, spacing 2.2, hovering at 1.32). Pass 1 turns each cube 90 degrees in the view plane with a 0.1 unit hop; pass 2 turns each 180 degrees with a 0.8 unit hop; pass 3 runs right to left, rolls each cube 90 degrees along the row with a 0.22 unit hop and brings the ring face toward the lens. Cube 7 carries an orange hex ring (#ff5a1f), the others a dark groove. A white extruded arrow with a trail sweeps above the row
Sync
The five slogan words (Every write lands in order.) fade in 0.1s apart from 2.78s, following the left-to-right sweep of pass 2; the arrow passes before it. The push into cube 7 ends in a white flash at 7.42s that resolves into the end card, where the mark and wordmark Basalt appear
Style
Light gray studio gradient background; matte cubes #5a5b60 with 0.07 bevels and a hex groove on one face; top softbox key light with soft shadow, thin rim strips, a floor reflection at 20% opacity and a 0.3 vignette; slogan Inter 500 64px, wordmark Inter 600 120px, letter-spacing -0.045em

Prompt

Express forward motion with a shot called Domino Wave, 10.8s. Light gray studio gradient background, with a row of 36 matte dark gray cubes (#5a5b60, edge 1.45, spacing 2.2, hovering at 1.32, 0.07 bevels) seen by a 24 degree perspective camera from (-8, 3.9, 13.5) looking at (0.5, 1.15, 0) with a roll of -0.1 rad and a depth-of-field lens radius of 0.30. Pan the camera along the row linearly at 2.03 units per second, about 15% of frame width. Run three waves with cubic-bezier(0.65,0,0.35,1): pass 1 from 0.34s turns each cube 90 degrees in the view plane (0.6s, 0.10s offset, 0.1 unit hop); pass 2 from 2.5s turns each 180 degrees with a 0.8 unit hop (0.72s, 0.10s offset); pass 3 from 3.75s runs right to left and rolls each cube 90 degrees along the row (0.6s, 0.07s offset, 0.22 unit hop). Sweep a white extruded arrow with a 6 unit trail across the top of the row at 0.95-2.45s with power2.inOut, and write the slogan along the row, rotated -11 degrees, word by word 0.1s apart from 2.78s with expo.out 0.7s and an 8px blur, fading out at 5.9s. From 6.2s dive toward cube 7, which carries an orange hex ring (#ff5a1f), with a t^2 ease, flash white at 7.42s, then show the mark at 8.2s, the wordmark at 8.32s and the ring stroked on over 0.8s from 8.55s, with a 4% push to 10.8s. Top softbox key light with soft shadow and a floor reflection at 20% opacity, no other decoration.

People describe it as

  • A row of blocks flipping over in turn like a conveyor track
  • Blocks flipping one after another to move forward
  • Cubes rolling over in sequence like dominoes

Often confused with

  • Branching GrowthBranching Growth is node count growing; Domino Wave is a fixed number of objects flipping in turn.
  • Foreground Wipe & FlashForeground Wipe & Flash is a scene transition; Domino Wave is an action within a scene and ends with a white flash.
Recipe file (.md)

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