10 cool facts about Sony’s gorgeous flower eruption ad filmed at Costa Rica’s Irazú Volcano

The same company that released 300,000 bouncy balls in San Francisco has unleashed 8 million flower petals in Costa Rica’s Irazú Volcano National Park. The video capturing the release of the petals was created to sell the new Sony 4K Ultra HD TV. The viral video blew up Friday morning. To explain just how much work went into the shoot, we listed 10 of the most awesome details about the video’s production (which you can watch below, although not in 4K…)

1. The Sony production team paid a $300 fee to use Irazú Volcano National Park – the standard official charge in Costa Rica for this type of park use.
2. The Sony team donated a washing machine to the park officials.
3. 4K is four times full HD. “We all thought HD was amazing but 4K is something else. It is a whole new level. From a creative point of view, it’s amazing to be able to see all those details and it’s like having life right in front of you,” says James Turner of Sony.
4. The camera they used to film the video, the Sony F65, shoots the highest resolution for any camera on the market.
5. There is no CGI (computer generated imagery) in the video. Everything was shot in 4K with Sony’s revolutionary F55 and F65 cameras, as used on movies Oblivion and After Earth.
6. An 11-person special effects team was required to film the live action.
7. The petals were not actually placed in the active part of the volcano. Instead, the Sony team used about 3 tons of imported equipment: giant fans, air cannons, and a 35×35 meter cloth to simulate the effect of a volcanic crater lake.
8. 8 million petals were used to represent the 8 million pixels on Sony’s 4K Ultra HD TV.
9. The 8 million petals used weighed 3.5 tons.
10. All the petals used were real and biodegradable.

According to Alba Ramírez, of the Costa Rica National System of Conservation Areas, the Sony production team “left the park exactly like it was before. They picked up everything.” Good job, Sony.

To see more, check out Sony’s behind the scenes video: