https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/dallas-got-rick-rolled-with-a-giant-qr-code-on-april-fools-day-13716928 * News + Latest News + News Archives + Education + Healthcare + Politics + Longform + Daily Newsletter + Weekly Newsletter * Food & Drink + Latest Food & Drink + Food & Drink Archives + Openings and Closings + Restaurant Guide + Top 100 Restaurants 2022 + 100 Best Bars in DFW 2021 + Food & Drink Newsletter * Arts & Culture + Latest Arts & Culture + Arts & Culture Archives + Visual Art + Theater + Movie Times + Things to Do + Calendar + Arts & Culture Newsletter * Music + Latest Music + Music Archives + Concert Reviews + Concert Calendar + Music Newsletter * More + Things to Do/Tickets + Best of Dallas + Slideshows + Promotions + Lists + Observer Careers + Local Advertising + Flipbook Archives + Things To Do Newsletter + Best Of Newsletter * Voice Media Group + Phoenix New Times + New Times Broward-Palm Beach + Miami New Times + Westword + Coupons Captain [ ] * News * Latest News * News Archives * Education * Healthcare * Politics * Longform * Daily Newsletter * Weekly Newsletter * Food & Drink * Latest Food & Drink * Food & Drink Archives * Openings and Closings * Restaurant Guide * Top 100 Restaurants 2022 * 100 Best Bars in DFW 2021 * Food & Drink Newsletter * Arts & Culture * Latest Arts & Culture * Arts & Culture Archives * Visual Art * Theater * Movie Times * Things to Do * Calendar * Arts & Culture Newsletter * Music * Latest Music * Music Archives * Concert Reviews * Concert Calendar * Music Newsletter * More * Things to Do/Tickets * Best of Dallas * Slideshows * Promotions * Lists * Observer Careers * Local Advertising * Flipbook Archives * Things To Do Newsletter * Best Of Newsletter * Voice Media Group * Phoenix New Times * New Times Broward-Palm Beach * Miami New Times * Westword * Coupons Captain [ ] Dallas Observer Support Us Dallas' independent source of local news and culture account * Welcome, Insider * Login * My Newsletters * Contribute * Contact Us * Sign out Arts & Culture News 300 Drones Formed a QR Code That Rick Rolled Dallas on April Fools' Day Danny Gallagher April 5, 2022 4:00AM Sky Elements Drone Shows organized a drone display over downtown Dallas on Friday just for a really big joke. screenshot from YouTube Internet fads come and go faster than a hiccup, but one that's somehow lasted almost as long as the internet itself is the "Rick roll." The term refers to an online prank in which the "Rick rollee" receives a URL address and it leads them to the music video for singer Rick Astley's hit debut single "Never Gonna Give You Up." The opening synthed "doo-de-doo-doo-doo-doo" has created more grins and eye rolls than when the song scored an ungodly amount of airplay in 1987. Sky Elements Drone Shows found a way to Rick roll a sizable portion of the city for April Fools' Day with 300 of its customizable drones by forming a QR code in the sky that linked to Astley's music video. @thriceasnice Drone QR code in the Dallas, TX sky line! # aprilfools #rickroll #dallas #drone original sound - Cody Gohlke Preston Ward, the chief pilot and general counsel for Sky Elements Drone Shows, says the idea for the prank came from marketing guru and ideas guy Jared Guynes a couple of weeks before April 1. Guynes is the spiky haired guy behind ambitious attractions such as the Vanilla Ice and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reunion show in 2014 and Jared's Epic Nerf Battle at AT&T Stadium, which is now an annual event. "We were thinking about something we could do for April Fools, and we were talking to Jared," Ward says. "We just did a QR code on the [ Halo series for Paramount+] at South By Southwest in Austin and he suggested we Rick roll everybody." Guynes texted his idea to Ward saying, "You will be the first company on Earth to 'Rick roll' someone with drones." "When I realized that drone technology had progressed to the point where they had enough to make a scannable QR code in the sky, it sort of came to me all at once that it would be possible to program QR code to literally Rick roll somebody from the air," Guynes says. Ward says they used 300 drones each with a GPS tracking system and a high-powered LEDs capable to shining at a rate of 1,000 lumens. The 100-foot wide, 250-foot tall QR code hovered over Love Field for approximately 20 minutes on Friday night. "The one thing about drone shows is they may look small," Ward says, "but when you see them and the scale, you go, 'Whoa, that's really big.'" Ward says they only had a short window to prep the drones and animate the light display but that's typical for these kinds of projects. Sky Elements has done sky drone designs for NASCAR events and Reunion Tower at New Year's Eve and is also working on displays for Oakland A's and Kansas City Royal's games. "We're used to working with tight time frames," Ward says. "We had a client the other day and we turned around four custom animations for them." It's not known exactly how many people saw the drones in the sky but Ward says they tracked "a couple hundred" scans of the QR code on the night of the flight. The hits increased exponentially as videos of the drone display started to make the rounds on social media. "I didn't think that they would go for it because it really is like an entire day of setup and an incredible amount of logistics and trailers and putting all the little drones in the field but they actually agreed to it and the rest is history," Guynes says. "It's literally history because nobody's ever done it before." KEEP THE DALLAS OBSERVER FREE... Since we started the Dallas Observer , it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we'd like to keep it that way. With local media under siege, it's more important than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" program, allowing us to keep offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food and culture with no paywalls. Make a one-time donation today for as little as $1. Danny Gallagher has been a regular contributor to the Dallas Observer since 2014. He has also written features, essays and stories for MTV, the Chicago Tribune, Maxim, Cracked, Mental_Floss, The Week, CNET and The Onion AV Club. Follow: Facebook: Danny Gallagher Twitter: @thisisdannyg Trending Music * Meet the Man Who Wants to Reunite Vanilla Ice with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles * Bon Iver Brought a Complex Beauty to Irving on Sunday * The Roxy Music Reunion Might Be the Best Concert of 2022: 7 Reasons We're Stoked * Sponsored Content From: [%sponsoredBy%] [%title%] [newsletter] Don't Miss Out SIGN UP for the latest Music news, free stuff and more! Join Today Sign Up Become a member to support the independent voice of Dallas and help keep the future of the Observer FREE I Support Dallas Observer Learn More Latest Stories * Maren Morris Knows What Really Matters: Love and Taco Trucks By Alex Gonzalez Apr 4, 2022 * The Roxy Music Reunion Might Be the Best Concert of 2022: 7 Reasons We're Stoked By Vincent Arrieta Apr 1, 2022 * 10 Best Concerts of the Week: Spiritualized, Deep Ellum Arts Festival, Tanya Tucker and More By David Fletcher Mar 31, 2022 More >> Join the Observer community and help support independent local journalism in Dallas. Dallas Observer Insiders Get the latest updates in news, food, music and culture, and receive special offers direct to your inbox. Sign Up Now No Thanks Become a member and go ad-free! Support Our Journalism Privacy Policy This Week's Issue * Editorial * Homepage * News * Food & Drink * Arts & Culture * Music * Restaurant Guide * Marketing * Coupons * Promotions Newsletter * Flipbooks * More * About Us * Staff * Observer Careers * Circulation * Classifieds * Local Advertising * Terms of Use * Privacy Policy * Contact Us * Back to Top * California Privacy Policy * California Collection Notice * Do Not Sell My Info * Editorial + Homepage + News + Food & Drink + Arts & Culture + Music + Restaurant Guide * Marketing + Coupons + Promotions Newsletter + Flipbooks * More + About Us + Staff + Observer Careers + Circulation + Classifieds + Local Advertising + Terms of Use + Privacy Policy + Contact Us * Back to Top California Privacy Policy California Collection Notice Do Not Sell My Info Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our terms of use, our cookies policy, and our privacy policy The Dallas Observer may earn a portion of sales from products & services purchased through links on our site from our affiliate partners. (c)2022 Dallas Observer, LP. All rights reserved. Powered By Foundation * Quantcast