Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Suddenly obsessed with Where the Hell is Matt?

You might have heard of this video, I had, but I just watched it for the first time today when a blog I just subscribed to mentioned they found themselves strangely moved by it. This was a theater and dance blog, not a travel blog! So I decided to see what it was all about. The editing is great, the set up is perfect: handing the camera to someone else, we're not sure if it's a stranger or a friend (if I read up a bit I bet I would find out but I'm going with gut reactions here). The dancing is goofy, yes, but a moment later when the setting changes I pretty much stopped even thinking about the goofiness. The transition is great, Matt stays in pretty much the same spot but he's gone from India to Bhutan. You think you've pretty much got the video all figured out at this point? Just keep watching. There's so much more. Plus, I notice something new every time I watch it. Like just now I noticed the dog dancing with him in Kuwait! Matt gets some company just before the one minute mark and there are flashes of several recognizable locations (San Francisco! Paris! Chicago! These were the easy ones for me.) that are given their front and center moment throughout the rest of the video but it gives the viewer a little jolt. I told you there's more to it. Now is when a few themes start to present themselves: Happy huge crowds, jubilant children, a few strangers that may have just been in the right place at the right time. Dublin! I bet that's Saint Stephen's Green... see the little ankle height "fence" to keep you off the grass? I love the kids in the Solomon Islands, who out-dance Matt. Hey, Munich! I'm going there! Cool. My absolute favorite moment is when Matt joins the choreography of the scene around the 2:35 mark. This is when I started to get chills. I love the transition from Bethesda Terrace in NYC to a very similar yet oh-so different structure in Tokyo. Lemur Island, hilarious!!! Remind me to look up where that was in Amsterdam, it looks like the bridge on the Singel canal near our apartment, but who knows? Brussels into San Francisco... I am such a goober, I started to tear up. The world is such a huge and small place. I love how you get see a vibe from a place from the way the people there danced. Cologne in front of the Dom into one of the few sights I got to see in Singapore... *sigh* totally starting to cry and it's so silly. Space-Monkey--you better make it to the 3:52 mark!

I've watched this video a couple of times this morning and the effect is the same every time. I don't know what it all means but I've been looking for meaning in what I'm about to set off into the world to do... and I can tell this relates.

I just wanted to share... I hope you enjoy it. (If you go to the actual YouTube page there is higher quality viewing available with a click at the lower right corner of the picture.)

4 comments:

growingagardenindavis said...

That does give me chills...have to watch again to try to catch everything...or at least a bit more!

Hiding behind the lens! said...

So weird, I chanced upon this video before I heard about it elsewhere and thought it was super cool too.

jess said...

That was awesome! Thanks for sharing.

space-monkey said...

I saw this video on another friend's Blog - and I loooooooove it. You're not alone - my eyes welled up, too. Yes, I like the bit at 3:52 :)