Where The Hell Is Matt?

Matt Harding in Yoyogi Park , Tokyo (2007)

Where The Hell Is Matt? is a series of short video clips . Depicted is Matt Harding , a young man who dances in various locations around the world. The films achieved cult status on the Internet .

person

Matt Harding in Cologne (2007)

Matthew "Matt" Harding (born September 27, 1976) is an American from Westport , Connecticut . Before his travels, he worked in the computer game industry for Pandemic Studios . After developing a concept for a child- and family-oriented game that his bosses rejected based on market research, he made the sarcastic suggestion to develop a game in which aliens destroy people. When the idea was enthusiastically taken up and Destroy All Humans! Harding announced in February 2003.

Using his savings, he went on a world tour and had himself - at the suggestion of a colleague - filmed in a wide variety of locations doing a comparatively simple dance, which he himself describes as "dancing like three-year-olds who trundle inexorably and fidget with their arms" . “I stopped developing it from that age.” When his savings ran out after six months, he returned to Seattle, cut the short video scenes into a film and published it on his website in 2005. The chewing gum manufacturer Stride Gum sponsored him another trip in 2006.

The following year, Harding explained to the company that his “bad dance isn't really that interesting, and other people are much better bad at it [sc. in dancing]. ”He therefore suggested that we travel around the world again and invite all the people who had written to him in the meantime to dance with him. Stride Gum got involved and also financed this trip, so that Harding was able to publish a third video in 2008. On July 22, 2008, "Where the Hell is Matt? 2008" was NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" .

Matt lives in Seattle , Washington with girlfriend Melissa Nixon in 2009 . On April 20, 2009, he announced his book Where The Hell Is Matt - Dancing Badly Around the World , which was published June 2, 2009.

In preparation for the 2010 soccer World Cup, the fourth video was made with locations exclusively in South Africa. In June 2012, four years after his third video, "Where the Hell is Matt? 2012", his fifth video, was released. In this video, Matt Harding and many other dancers dance in 71 locations in 55 countries and 11 US states. For this video Garry Schyman composed the background song "Trip the Light", which was sung by Alicia Lemke . On July 10, 2012, "Where the Hell is Matt? 2012" became NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" just like the 2008 video .

authenticity

In view of the great effort and the financial resources required, the authenticity of the video clips is regularly questioned. The following ambiguous entry can be found in the FAQ on his website:

" Question:: This is all a big hoax, isn't it? You did it with a green screen. You never left your house. It's true, isn't it?
Answer: Yes.
Answer to that: I knew it! I'm telling everyone! You're nailed, buddy!
Question: It's all a big hoax, isn't it? You did it with green screen. You never left your house. That's right, is it not?!
Answer: yes.
Answer to that: I knew. I tell everyone that. You're nailed down, buddy "

- wherethehellismatt.com/faq

Harding also took up the topic in the YouTube clip Outtakes he published and showed recordings around the excerpts from the well-known video clip, which are intended to refute blue screen recordings. The fact that the Stride company financed two of his trips and that well-known newspapers have reported on his travels, including the New York Times , which dedicated a lengthy article to him on July 8, 2008 , also speaks for the authenticity of the videos .

At the Entertainment Gathering conference in December 2008, Harding stated that the videos were fake, that he was not a game designer but an actor and that the videos were made with robots and extensive video editing. On his website he then stated that this statement was the joke and that of course he had made all the trips. At the MacWorld Expo he showed his satirical presentation, which was intended as an obvious hoax and parodied typical elements of conspiracy theories , but was misunderstood by some private individuals and journalists.

music

The song Sweet Lullaby by the band Deep Forest can be heard in the first two video clips, but in a modified, unofficial version in the second video. According to another video recorded by Matt Harding, the original lyrics are from a song called Rorogwela , which a musicologist recorded in 1971 in a village on the Solomon Islands near New Guinea; it was sung by a woman named Afunakwa.

The music Praan for the video clip from 2008 was written exclusively for the video by Garry Schyman and sung by 17-year-old Palbasha Siddique. The text is in Bengali and is based on the poem Stream of Life by Rabindranath Tagore from his work Gitanjali .

marketing

In 2012 the following videos and songs are available in stores:

• the theme song "Praan" from 2010
• The background song "Trip the light" for the video from 2012
• the outtakes video for the video from 2012, which shows many scenes and locations that were cut in the original,

Video locations

First video (2005) Beijing , China Hanoi , Vietnam Delhi , India Moscow , Russia Bangkok , Thailand Agra , India Prague , Czech Republic Angkor Wat , Cambodia Bengal Jungle, India Los Angeles , California , United States Süchbaatar-Aimag , Mongolia Kilimanjaro , Tanzania Siberia , Russia Monte Albán , Mexico Tsavo , Kenya Impenetrable Forest, Uganda Yangon , Myanmar Westport , Connecticut , United States Seattle , Washington , United States New York , New York , United States Third video (2008) Mumbai , India Paro , Bhutan Giant's Causeway , Northern Ireland Stone Town , Zanzibar Lancelin , Australia Lisse , Netherlands Christmas Island , Australia Kuwait City , Kuwait Teotihuacan , Mexico Seljalandsfoss , Iceland Cutscene Dublin , Ireland Boston , Massachusetts , United States Toronto , Ontario , Canada Atomium , Brussels , Belgium Praça do Comércio , Lisbon , Portugal Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada Paris , France San Francisco , California , United States Melbourne , Victoria , Australia Washington, DC , United States Chicago , Illinois , United States Madrid , Spain Antseranana , Madagascar Brisbane , Australia Dublin , Ireland Buenos Aires , Argentina Chakachino, Zambia Istanbul , Turkey Wainivilase, Fiji London , England Stockholm , Sweden Auki, Solomon Islands Sanaa , Yemen Ala Artscha Gorge , Kyrgyzstan Tagaytay, Philippines Demilitarized Zone , Korea Timbuktu , Mali Warsaw , Poland Austin , Texas Tokyo , Japan Poria, Papua New Guinea Miami , Florida Munich , Germany Tongatapu , Tonga Chicago , Illinois , United States Thimphu , Bhutan Gurgaon, India Sydney , New South Wales , Australia Lisbon , Portugal Seoul , South Korea Soweto , South Africa New York , New York , United States Tokyo , Japan Vava'u , Tonga Cape of Good Hope , South Africa Panama Canal , Panama Wadi Rum , Jordan Lemur Island, Madagascar Auckland , New Zealand Batik, Morocco Amsterdam , Netherlands Atlanta , Georgia , United States Mexico City , Mexico Brussels , Belgium San Francisco , California Taipei , Taiwan Vancouver , British Columbia , Canada Washington, DC , United States Rio de Janeiro , Brazil Cologne , Germany Singapore Alhambra , California Tel Aviv , Israel East Jerusalem , West Bank Paris , France Montreal , Quebec , Canada Nellis Airspace , Nevada , United States Los Angeles , California , United States São Paulo , Brazil Seattle , Washington , United States

Second video (2006) Salar de Uyuni , Bolivia Petra , Jordan Machu Picchu , Peru Venice , Italy Tokyo , Japan Galapagos Islands , Ecuador Brisbane , Australia Luang Prabang , Laos Bandar Seri Begawan , Brunei Area 51 , Nevada , United States Tikal , Guatemala Half Moon Caye , Belize Sossusvlei , Namibia Routeburn Track , New Zealand Monument Valley , Arizona , United States South Shetland Islands Chuuk , Federated States of Micronesia London , England Very Large Array , New Mexico Abu Simbel , Egypt Easter Island , Chile Haute Picardy, France Ephesus , Turkey New York , New York Mutianyu , China Guam Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana Berlin , Germany Sydney , Australia Dubai , United Arab Emirates Chelbacheb Islands , Palau Mulindi, Rwanda Neko Harbor, Antarctica Kjerag , Norway San Francisco , California , United States Seattle , Washington , United States Fourth video (2010) In preparation for the 2010 soccer World Cup, the fourth video was made with locations exclusively in South Africa. Nelson Mandela Square , Sandton , Johannesburg The Pinnacle , Mossel Bay Hout Bay , Cape Town Table Mountain , Cape Town Cape Town Stadium , Cape Town Mbombela Stadium , Nelspruit South African Airways Boulders Beach , near Cape Town Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto . Johannesburg Robben Island Soccer City , Soweto , Johannesburg Table Mountain , Cape Town Cape of Good Hope Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit Blyde River Canyon , Mpumalanga Nelson Mandela Square , Sandton , Johannesburg Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon , Mpumalanga Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto . Johannesburg Hout Bay , Cape Town Nelson Mandela Square , Sandton , Johannesburg Mac Mac Pools, near Mac-Mac Falls , Mpumalanga Lesedi Cultural Village , near Johannesburg Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon , Mpumalanga Lesedi Cultural Village , near Johannesburg Soccer City , Soweto , Johannesburg Table Mountain , Cape Town Johannesburg Boulders Beach , near Cape Town The Pinnacle , Mossel Bay Nelson Mandela Square , Sandton , Johannesburg Soccer City , Soweto , Johannesburg South African Airways

Fifth video (2012)

1. Kigali , Rwanda
2. Seville , Spain
3. Vienna , Austria
4. Schuykill Haven, Pennsylvania
5. Damascus , Syria
6. Poria, Papua New Guinea
7. Pyongyang , North Korea
8. Beirut , Lebanon
9. Athens , Greece
10. Lesedi , South Africa
11. Kapong , Thailand
12. Caracas , Venezuela
13. Bali , Indonesia
14. League City , Texas , USA
15. Great Barrier Reef , Australia
16. Al-Muzahmiyya , Saudi Arabia
17. Oakland , California , USA
18. Detroit , Michigan , USA
19. Terelj , Mongolia
20. Rangali Island , Maldives
21. Ruwa , Zimbabwe
22. Budapest , Hungary
23. Port-au-Prince , Haiti
24. Erbil , Iraq
25. Maui , Hawaii , USA
26. New Orleans , Louisiana , USA
27. Quezon City , Philippines
28. Kabul , Afghanistan
29. Toulon , France
30. Beijing , China
31. Jerusalem , Israel
32. Opuwo , Namibia
33. San Juan , Puerto Rico
34. Belgrade , Serbia
35. Boise , Idaho , USA
36. Edinburgh , Scotland
37. Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , USA
38. Robben Island , South Africa
39. Toronto , Canada
40. Dresden , Germany
41. Lyon , France
42. USS Abraham Lincoln , Pacific Ocean
43. Houston , Texas , USA
44. Bratislava , Slovakia
45. Melbourne , Australia
46. Cairo , Egypt
47. Hong Kong , People's Republic of China
48. Tallinn , Estonia
49. Helsinki , Finland
50. Kyoto , Japan
51. Cleveland , Ohio , USA
52. Kalafasia , Solomon Islands
53. Medellin , Colombia
54. Barcelona , Spain
55. Manchester , England
56. Karachi , Pakistan
57. Prague , Czech Republic
58. Zurich , Switzerland
59. Rome , Italy
60. San Jose , Costa Rica
61. Milan , Italy
62. Rafah , Gaza Strip
63. Taoyuan , Taiwan
64. Port of Spain , Trinidad and Tobago
65. Cambridge , Massachusetts , USA
66. Moscow , Russia
67. San Diego , California , USA
68. Baltimore , Maryland , USA
69. Denver , Colorado , USA
70. Saint Petersburg , Russia
71. Seattle , Washington , USA

Web links

Commons : Matt Harding  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Official website
• Benji Lanyado: Dance, dance, wherever you may be , The Guardian , December 23, 2006
• Mike Musgrove: Product Placement Creeps Into Amateurs' YouTube Offerings , The Washington Post , July 13, 2008
• Matt Harding: Dancing To Connect To A Global Tribe , NPR : this i believe , March 29, 2009 ( excerpt from the program )

Videos:

• Video 1 (2005) on YouTube
• Video 2 (2006) on YouTube
• Video 3 (2008) on YouTube
• Video 4 (2010) on YouTube
• Video 5 (2012) on YouTube

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Christian Putsch: The world traveler jumping jack , Welt Online , January 29, 2007.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} wherethehellismatt.com/about .
3. ↑ APOD: 2008 July 22 - Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth . NASA website July 22, 2008.
4. ↑ entry to wherethellismatt.com of 20 April of 2009.
5. ↑ APOD: 2012 July 10 - Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth . NASA website July 10, 2012.
6. ↑ Cf. Charles McGrath: A Private Dance? Four Million Web Fans Say No , New York Times , July 8, 2008.
7. ↑ Matt Harding: Where The Hell Is Matt? to 'Elaborate Hoax , FORA.tv, December 11, 2008.
8. ↑ entry to wherethehellismatt.com of 6 January of 2009.
9. ^ David Pogue / Paul Kent: Matt Reveals the Hoax is a Hoax at MacWorld , 2009