Experiencing (Sur)real Locations
It's like taking a trip and never leaving the farm.
On
location in Scania, a region in southern Sweden, film maker Anders Weberg
collected video material for use as the raw footage for several short
films. Weberg manipulated raw material, creating dreamlike and surreal
imagery. Complete with GPS coordinates in (.gpx) and (.kml) formats, links
to the movies can be found at www.surrealscania.se
but first let me prepare you for your visit.
First, choose your coordinates and use Google Earth to zoom in and have a look around from an aerial perspective. Then, view the associated short film and experience the location as if you just woke up from a drunken stupor, with no idea where you are or how you got there. In the end, you are left with a better feeling of what this place is really like.
What is a place like?
As seen from Google Earth, you get an idea of the lay of the land, but aerial photos are a sterile measure of spatial relationships and do little to stimulate our senses. On the other hand, if you were to find yourself there, led by your GPS receiver, your senses would be filled with the reality of the location and little would be left for your imagination.
Here, the filmmakers agenda is to market the locations, causing you to imagine about about each place, perhaps even motivating you to go to visit them. Even if you no desire to travel, the film will certainly influence your pre-conceived notions about the places.
Geocachers can relate to place marketing. As a geocacher myself, I can appreciate the detailed descriptions and photos of geocache locations. Although some may argue that marketing has no place at geocaching.com (pun intended) the fluff is a factor in my decision whether or not to seek a particular cache.
Clearly Weberg has a knack for making out-of-the-way places appealing. Before watching the films I would have never thought about traveling all the way to Sweden to visit a wet and dirty road running through a barren field or a heavy industrial harbor.
Special thanks to Anders Weberg and the collaborative efforts of Robert Willim, who have created who have created yet another resource for virtual travel.
