we mess with the saturation to make it look miniature and toy-like. and then the lower layer is the one that has the defocus or blur on it that really helps you focus on the subject. >> tony's bosses at wgn loved the result. their miniature chicago has become a youtube hit. and the station's most popular on-air promo. >> i think i've gotten so many hits on a video like this is because people love their city. i mean, chicago's a great town. >> it's just the pure pleasure of seeing the city look different. so sort of charming and harmless in a way. >> sam calls his new york video the sand pit. in its first seven months, it has more than 750,000 online hits. >> i didn't really expect the response to be as big and positive as it has been. it's something i thought would maybe generate interest for me and be popular, but i didn't expect it to kind of explode in