Should This Be London’s Official Tourism Video? – It’s Got To Be London

Last month when I was back in Canada, one of my oldest friends said in all seriousness: “What is there to do in London anyway?” As the video above shows, pretty much nothing.

‘It’s Got To Be London’ was shot by Tim Benzie and Paul Joseph who are trying to convince their niece and her boyfriend to come to London instead of taking a cruise (as if that’s really an option). To be honest the last thing London needs is more tourists in the summer. (With apologies to my family members who will be doing exactly that)

Nevertheless, if you’re trying to convince someone to come here versus anywhere else in the world try sending them this video. You can find out more about the whole project from their website: http://www.itsgottobelondon.com.

Secrets of the District Line Presented By Geoff Marshall

Geoff Marshall’s at it again with more secrets of the Underground, this time looking at the District Line. Want to know where you can find a swastika on the Tube? Where you can find a 1932 (pre-Beck) map? Where you can see two fake houses in one the most expensive areas of London? Go under a river at platform level? Or which station has two names?

Continue reading Secrets of the District Line Presented By Geoff Marshall

Lies on the London Underground – More Tube Secrets

Matt Parker and Tom Scott share a few secrets about where and when it’s faster to avoid signs at various stations and go against the flow of people. Nothing new for tube junkies.

They also given an example when it’s faster to walk above ground than trying to use the tube to get between certain stations. Something I’ve learned during many of my tube walks.

The London Underground lies for a few reasons, but the main ones are to control large crowds to avoid crushes of people and because of the design of the tube map for easier reading.

Found via Hacker News

The Secret Bits of the Northern Line By Geoff Marshall

Want to learn the secrets to a few of the Northern Line stations? Well Geoff Marshall, best known for his 23 attempts to break the world record for the fastest time traveling around the entire Tube network shares them in this video. Learn about the highest & lowest points on the underground, secret exits and the one station where you can leave only to arrive back where you started.

I’m sorry to see that I missed several of these when I did my Northern Line station visits a few months ago, perhaps an excuse to revisit them.

For more videos watch:

Found via Londonist.

Watch London Timelapse By Mattia Bicchi

The second timelapse film from Mattia Bicchi this week, this one is simply titled London Timelapse. It features footage from November 2012 to February 2013 and includes locations such as City Hall, Covent Garden, Liverpool Street Station, Piccadilly Circus, Tower Bridge, London Eye, Westminster and Canary Wharf.

The shots of the Millennium Bridge and Battersea Power Station are particularly good with latter likely no longer possible in a few years time. Overall a really enjoyable timelapse, but I don’t think quite as good as his previous films: London Architecture Timelapse and Is Christmas Time. That said this is still miles ahead of most other timelapse film makers.

You can follow Mattia’s work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Watch Mark – Past Mistakes & Redemption in London – England Your England Short Film

Mark from the England Your England short film series tells the story of Mark who spent over a decade behind bars after being convicted for drug dealing. While it has been a difficult road, Mark has managed to find redemption by working as a counsellor for other people from similar backgrounds.

Mark’s chosen charity is User Voice, which is based on the idea that only offenders can stop re-offending. You can learn more about the film from the England Your England website.

Watch Patrick – Ageing & Independent Living In London – England Your England Short Film

Patrick, part of the England Your England short film series, is about 81 year old Patrick who continues to live an independent life in central London and helps those around him. It touches on ageing in the city and the feeling of alienation that sometimes results.

Each film in the series is helping to raise money for charity, with Age UK Camden being the chosen one for this movie. You can learn more about the making of the film and see other stills on the England Your England website.

Watch London Architecture Timelapse (Hyperlapse) By Mattia Bicchi

Big cities in general and London in particular seem to lend themselves to timelapse videos. If you’ve read this blog for any period of time you’ll know I’m a huge fan of timelapse films and one of my favourite film makers is Mattia Bicchi. He’s done some amazing videos over the last year or so, including the London Architecture Time Lapse above.

This is another wonderful video that features many of his tracking timelapse shots and many architecturally interesting locations in London, that while well known, aren’t famous. The full list of locations include:

  • Canary Wharf
  • Tower of London
  • Tower Bridge
  • Strata Tower
  • King’s Cross Station
  • Palestra Building
  • Royal Albert Hall (amazing tracking shot)
  • British Museum
  • RBS Building
  • Broadgate Tower
  • Wembley Stadium (amazing tracking shot)
  • Heron Tower
  • O2 Arena (amazing tracking shot)
  • St. Giles Building
  • The Shard
  • National Maritime Museum (amazing tracking shot)
  • Wellington Arch (great zooming shot)
  • St. Paul’s Cathedral (amazing tracking shot)
  • Houses of Parliament (great zooming shot)

Not sure how he’s able to find so many blue sky days in London. Among his best yet, so give it a watch.

You can follow Mattia’s work on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Watch Richard – Working & Sleeping Rough In London – England Your England Short Film

Richard from the England Your England short film series focuses Richard Roberts who both tunes pianos and sleeps rough with no fixed address. The film looks at our consumerist society and what we really need to be happy. I won’t say any more other than watch it.

Richard also runs a blog and you can find out more about the film here. The series is designed to raise money for charity with Westminster Boating Base being the chosen one for this movie.