How To Reverse a River

The Chicago River is flowing backwards, rather than going downhill from inland Illinois into Lake Michigan instead it goes in the opposite direction. This isn’t some quirk of nature, but an engineering megaproject - indeed four engineering megaprojects - on a scale quite unlike anything else on Earth. So, what does it take to reverse a river?

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Hi, I'm James. I explore the world looking for interesting engineering stories which explore complex issues in interesting ways. I hold a First-Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Western Australia and am currently studying a Masters of Space Systems Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

[MedlifeCrisis]

Levels of difficulty:
Low - one-taking a video
Medium - reversing a river
High - the rotoscoping contained herein

[pangolian]

That rotoscoping must have been a NIGHTMARE! The camera work is seriously impressive, too!

[the_kraken]

Putting the water collection tunnels further and further out feels like something you’d do in Cities: Skylines.

[limesta]

It's been a hot minute since you've been able to pull off a solid one take like this! I know not every video is suitable for these one takes. I'm impressed! Love the fluidity and the firm presentation, and I feel as though you've nailed it with bringing relevant facts. Can't wait for the next one!

[JulianOShea]

Great work! - Huge projects - think I might add Chicago to my hit list. Backflip into the river would have been a strong finish - but great stuff.

[FianFreigeist]

First: I think you did well explaining the issues and solutions! Second.... is that a more than 7 minute long one-take?! That's just as insane as the post work with all the rotoscoping and masking! I really enjoyed it :D

[dashielemerson]

I got so excited when he stared walking forward instead of cutting that this video is gonna be excellent! Your reputation proceeds you!

[jazzlovr]

Walk-and-talks, especially at length, cannot be easy. This is one of your best works yet; congratulations.

[Hdtjdjbszh]

This long, single take, style of recording is so impressive! This guy and Tom Scott are the only people who I have seen do it well, at least the only people who aren't actual BBC documentary makers

[omichels]

Love how the first shot of the video begins with the river flowing right to left, and at the end of your walk the camera ends up seeing the river moving left to right. Absolutely amazing take!

[Tra-vis]

Really love your use of augmented reality. Subtle, not overbearing, and very useful

[JerGol]

The single take delivery, coupled with solid info, enthusiastic delivery, and clever graphics make this channel a real treat.

[feldamar]

You...you are outdoing yourself everytime. This was phenomenal. The pictures in the background, sound balancing, the script. You are improving so much so well!
And this is quite the gold standard already.

[philipphermann]

Another interesting project that concerns water supply is the Bodensee-Wasserversorgung. Built in the 1950s, they take water from lake constance in a depth of 60 m, treat it and feed it into a 1700 km long network of pipes - some of the water travels over 400 m uphill from the point it is collected. Around 4 Million people are dependend on that water, tough many cities also mix it with their own water from wells that would on their own not be enough for the local demand.

[okayreche]

Had to watch twice because the first watch through I was blown away with your mastery of the one-take with that unreal camera work and choreographed trek. So happy Tom Scott introduced me to you.

[setharnold]

It's been said a few times but The Algorithm appreciates engagement so I'll say it again: fantastic. One very long take, amazing camera work, beautiful in-place graphics, and an interesting story I hadn't heard yet.

[CaptainCandycorn]

My dude just did this whole thing in one take and it's fantastic. One of my favorite channels.

[MarkReviews]

I love ALL Atomic Frontier content, but these single-take videos are next-level. The amount of must be insane.

[TM]

It was funny watching people walk by, some in t-shirts and some in full winter attire. Made it look like you were traveling through different climate zones rather than just traveling a quarter mile. Cool video.

[someguy]

Is this a recurring Challenge? One take for an entire Vid. Magnificent. you keep getting more fluid and confident with each video you put out and your narrator voice is getting better and better. love your content, looking forward to the next one.