A couple of things. Firstly, speed the footage up. Speed can affect perceived weight. That’s why model shots of spaceships are filmed with a high frame rate, then slowed down: it makes the models look bigger and heavier. Faster objects appear smaller and lighter, like toys.
Also, it looks like some of the elements in that Sony comp really were models (I could be wrong!). This is tough, but you could film models and then add them to your scene. You can find a good way of doing that in this video tutorial.
For the blurry vignette, well, just add an adjustment layer to the comp, give it a circular mask, feather it out, make it subtracted, then add a lens blur effect. Instant macro-style depth of field!
Finally, I would say a good part of the effect is sold in the camera angles. The camera is really high up, the perspective of a kid looking down on a model city. If you get good camera angles, you’re set.
Simon Bonner
youtube.com/simonsaysfx