Millions watched the viral video titled "Golden Eagle Snatches Kid."  Many thought it was real, while skeptics lead the charge that ultimately revealed it to be a brilliant and elaborate hoax perpetrated by four students in Canada.

Image: NBC's Today Show

As we mentioned in our update yesterday, the scam was part of a classroom assignment called  “Hoax the Internet” from the film school, Centre NAD in Montreal.

NBC scored the first American interview with the school and the students. Thursday morning they appeared on the Today Show.

Image: NBC's Today Show

The two-month process involved creating the computerized images that were then digitized and placed into the scene in the park.

Image: NBC's Today Show

According to one of the hoaxers, students were promised a grade of "100" if their video managed to generate more than 100 views on the web. Grades should not be a problem for this team. At press time, the overachievers are approaching 20 million views for their entry.

Team member Normand Archimbault explained it all to the Today Show:

We did all the basic steps of creating a 3-D element for a film. We rigged the eagle, the kid, and then we integrated it with the clip.

The full "Today" show segment with further explanation is below: