Reblogged: David Pogue’s Behind the Dancing Matt Videos
Reblogged: Behind the Dancing Matt Videos – NYTimes.com.
“Matt Harding was a video-game designer in his early 20s, traveling the world. On a whim, he put together the now-immortal video, “Where the Hell Is Matt?” It consisted entirely of short clips of Matt, a non-dancer, doing his “stupid dance” in one famous world location after another, edited to a great, soaring song. The result had a power, a universality, a happiness, that drove it to become of YouTube’s most popular videos.
And now Matt released his 2012 video. It’s a big departure — and it’s a masterpiece. Every couple of years, Matt has followed up with another, similar movie. Each time, he raised the stakes. Underwater dancing. Zero-gravity dancing. Dancing with other people in each country.
And now Matt released his 2012 video. It’s a big departure — and it’s a masterpiece.
This time, it’s not Matt just swinging his arms, stepping in place. This time, he actually learned to dance, often in the style of the country he was visiting. As a result, there’s a feeling of collaboration, of immersion, that wasn’t in the earlier video.”
Some years ago, I posted on that 2008 video while on a business trip. My kids and I loved it. The music video certainly was one that simultaneously brought a smile to your lips, gave rhythm to your feet and pondered the thought for why this remains a rare joy in the world. I’d have to agree with David Pogue that Matt upped the ante with his 2012 take. I heartily recommend today’s article by the N.Y. Times Tech pundit, along with Matt’s video.
4 Responses to “Reblogged: David Pogue’s Behind the Dancing Matt Videos”
Thanks for sharing, I remember seeing his first video from a few years back and like you just loved it. I heard someone say it was a fake, but that seems to no longer be the case.
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They’re some great videos, alright. Thanks, mumbles.
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thanks for the joy
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Thanks for that, and for you sharing it, too.
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