Matt Harding

For the British musician of the same name, see Matt Harding (musician).
Matthew Harding

Matt Harding in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo, Japan on January 27, 2007.
Born Matthew Harding
September 27, 1976 (1976-09-27) (age 35)
Internet information
Web alias(es) Matt
Web hosting service(s) YouTube
Meme Where the Hell is Matt?
Website
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/

Matthew "Matt" Harding (born September 27, 1976), is an American traveler, video game designer, and Internet celebrity known as Dancing Matt for his viral videos that show him dancing in front of landmarks and street scenes in various international locations. Harding has since received widespread coverage of his travel exploits in major print and broadcast media outlets,[1][2][3][4][5] and was hired by Visa to star in their Travel Happy campaign.[6]

He is originally from Westport, Connecticut.[7] He began his game industry career working for a video game specialty store called Cutting Edge Entertainment. Harding later worked as an editor for GameWeek Magazine in Wilton, Connecticut, and then as a software developer for Activision in Santa Monica, California and then Brisbane, Australia.

Harding claims that a sarcastic joke about the popularity of shoot 'em up games led Pandemic Studios to develop the game Destroy All Humans!, on which he received a conceptual credit. Saying he "didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone", he quit his job and began traveling, leading to the production of his first video.[8]

On 11 December 2008, Matt Harding sarcastically revealed at the Entertainment Gathering that the videos were a hoax and that he is an actor, not a game designer, and the videos were made using animatronic puppets and extensive video editing.[9] A month later, during the MacWorld convention, Matt revealed the "hoax about the hoax" and joked about the fact many people took it seriously and the outrage it caused. He also made it very clear that the videos he made were indeed 100% real.[10]

Contents

Where the Hell is Matt?

Harding was known by his friends for a particular dance, and while video recording each other in Vietnam, his travel companion suggested he add the dance. The videos were uploaded to his website for friends and family to enjoy. Later, Harding edited together 15 dance scenes, all with him center frame, with the background music "Sweet Lullaby" by "Deep Forest". The original Song uses samples from a dying Solomon Islands language which was recorded in 1971 by a French ethnomusicologist at the Solomon Islands near Papua New Guinea. The song, "Rorogwela" was sung by a young woman named Afunakwa. According to the video "Where the Hell is Afunakwa" by Matt Harding, Afunakwa died in 1998.

The video was passed around by e-mail and eventually became viral, with his server getting 20,000 or more hits a day as it was discovered, generally country by country due to language barriers, before the launch of major video upload sites.

Harding created a second version of the video in 2006, with additional dancing scenes from subsequent travels, called "Dancing 2006". At the request of Stride, a gum brand, he accepted sponsorship[11] of this video, since he usually travels on a limited budget.

Harding released his third dancing video on June 20, 2008. The video is the product of 14 months of traveling in 42 countries. The background music/song of this video is known as "Praan" composed by Garry Schyman and sung by Palbasha Siddique, with lyrics adapted from the poem "Stream of Life," a part of the Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.[12]

As of August 2008, Harding is represented by Creative Artists Agency.[13] His videos are viewable on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo and his own site wherethehellismatt.com. His "Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)" video has been watched over 40,900,000 times on YouTube since 2011 and Harding's YouTube channel is ranked "#83 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Directors" as of December 22, 2010.[14][15]

Major media coverage

Harding's video clips have appeared on television shows including:

Harding was bumped from Good Morning America on September 8, 2005, due to coverage of Hurricane Katrina, but appeared on May 31, 2006, dancing outside the GMA studio in Times Square with footage from his videos displayed on the Panasonic Astro Vision screen on One Times Square.

In November 2006, Harding was invited to lecture at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, about the experience of making the video and subsequent fame. He also was filmed dancing with students from the college.[16]

In 2007, Jawed Karim, one of the founders of YouTube, stated that Harding's video is his favorite video posted to YouTube.[17]

On July 22, 2008 and again on July 25, 2010, NASA featured Harding's third video on their APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) website, titled "Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth", making claim of humans worldwide sharing a common love of dance. The website states that "few people are able to watch the above video without smiling".[18] Harding himself has joked that he is impressed with this, especially since the video has nothing to do with astronomy, nor is a picture.

On November 2008, Matt and the vocalist Palbasha were interviewed by KFAI radio in Minnesota.[19] It is a behind-the-scene story about finding the musician.

Videos

First video

  1. Beijing, China.
  2. Hanoi, Vietnam.
  3. Delhi, Bengal Jungle, Agra;India.
  4. Moscow, Siberia;Russia.
  5. Bangkok, Thailand.
  6. Prague, Czech Republic.
  7. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
  8. Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Westport;USA
  9. Suhbaatar, Mongolia.
  10. Kilimanjaro Summit, Tanzania.
  11. Monte Alban, Mexico.
  12. Tsavo, Kenya.
  13. Impenetrable Forest, Uganda.
  14. Yangon, Myanmar.

Second video

  1. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia.
  2. Petra, Jordan.
  3. Machu Picchu, Peru.
  4. Venice, Italy.
  5. Tokyo, Japan.
  6. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.
  7. Brisbane, Australia.
  8. Luang Prabang, Laos.
  9. Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.
  10. Area 51, Nevada.
  11. Tikal, Guatemala.
  12. Half Moon Caye, Belize.
  13. Sossusvlei, Namibia.
  14. Routeburn Valley, New Zealand.
  15. Monument Valley, Arizona.
  16. South Shetland Islands.
  17. Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia.
  18. London, England.
  19. Very Large Array, New Mexico.
  20. Abu Simbel, Egypt.
  21. Easter Island, Chile.
  22. Haute-Picardie, France.
  23. Mutianyu, China.
  24. New York, New York.
  25. Ephesus, Turkey.
  26. Guam.
  27. Mokolodi, Botswana.
  28. Berlin, Germany.
  29. Sydney, Australia.
  30. Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
  31. Rock Islands, Palau.
  32. Mulindi, Rwanda.
  33. Neko Harbour, Antarctica.
  34. Kjeragbolten, Norway.
  35. San Francisco, California.
  36. Seattle, Washington.

Third video

  1. Mumbai, India
  2. Paro, Bhutan
  3. Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland
  4. Stone Town, Zanzibar
  5. Lancelin, Australia
  6. Lisse, Netherlands
  7. Christmas Island, Australia
  8. Kuwait City, Kuwait
  9. Teotihuacán, Mexico
  10. Seljalandsfoss, Iceland
    1. (Quick scenes of transition from dancing alone to with others) Dublin, Ireland
    2. Boston, Massachusetts, United States
    3. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    4. Atomium, Brussels, Belgium
    5. Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal
    6. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    7. San Francisco, California, United States
    8. Paris, France
    9. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    10. Washington DC, United States
    11. Chicago, Illinois
  11. Madrid, Spain
  12. Antseranana, Madagascar
  13. Brisbane, Australia
  14. Dublin, Ireland
  15. Buenos Aires, Argentina
  16. Chakachino, Zambia
  17. Istanbul, Turkey
  18. Wainivilase, Fiji
  19. London, England
  20. Stockholm, Sweden
  21. Auki, Solomon Islands
  22. Sana'a, Yemen
  23. Ala Archa Gorge, Kyrgyzstan
  24. Tagaytay, Philippines
  25. Demilitarized Zone, Korea
  26. Timbuktu, Mali
  27. Warsaw, Poland
  28. Austin, Texas
  29. Tokyo, Japan
  30. Poria, Papua New Guinea
  31. Miami, Florida
  32. Munich, Germany
  33. Tongatapu, Tonga
  34. Chicago, Illinois
  35. Thimphu, Bhutan
  36. Gurgaon, India
  37. Sydney, Australia
  38. Lisbon, Portugal
  39. Seoul, South Korea
  40. Soweto, South Africa
  41. New York, New York.
  42. Tokyo, Japan
  43. Vava'u, Tonga
  44. Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
  45. Panama Canal, Panama
  46. Wadi Rum, Jordan
  47. Lemur Island, Madagascar
  48. Auckland, New Zealand
  49. Batik, Morocco
  50. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  51. Atlanta, Georgia
  52. Mexico City, Mexico
  53. Brussels, Belgium
  54. San Francisco, California
  55. Taipei, Taiwan
  56. Vancouver, British Columbia
  57. Washington DC, United States.
  58. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  59. Cologne, Germany
  60. Singapore
  61. Alhambra, California
  62. Tel Aviv, Israel
  63. East Jerusalem, West Bank
  64. Paris, France
  65. Montreal, Quebec
  66. Nellis Airspace, Nevada
  67. Los Angeles, California
  68. Sao Paulo, Brazil
  69. Seattle, Washington

Fourth Video - South Africa

In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Matt Harding created a special video to celebrate the occasion in which he performed the Diski Dance in locations across South Africa. He uploaded the video to YouTube on March 5, 2010. The following locations were shown in the video in the order listed. Some locations were visited several times.[20]

  1. Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
  2. The Pinnacle, Mossel Bay
  3. Hout Bay, Cape Town
  4. Table Mountain, Cape Town
  5. Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town
  6. Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
  7. South African Airways
  8. Boulders Beach, near Cape Town
  9. Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto. Johannesburg
  10. Robben Island
  11. Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg
  12. Table Mountain, Cape Town
  13. Cape of Good Hope
  14. Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit[21]
  15. Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga
  16. Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
  17. Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga[22]
  18. Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto. Johannesburg
  19. Hout Bay, Cape Town
  20. Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
  21. Mac Mac Pools, near Mac-Mac Falls, Mpumalanga
  22. Lesedi Cultural Village, near Johannesburg
  23. Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit
  24. Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga
  25. Lesedi Cultural Village, near Johannesburg
  26. Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg
  27. Table Mountain, Cape Town
  28. Johannesburg
  29. Boulders Beach, near Cape Town
  30. The Pinnacle, Mossel Bay
  31. Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg
  32. Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg
  33. South African Airways

Videogame development credits

Harding's development credits include:[23]

Parodies

References

  1. ^ Benji Lanyado (December 23, 2006). "Dance, dance, wherever you may be". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDNiue2N. Retrieved 2006-12-28. "In the year we became obsessed with YouTube and MySpace, perhaps it's no surprise that a blog of a bloke doing a silly dance around the world got five million hits [...] Tis the season to give out awards. So, here's another one. My award for Alternative Travel Hero for 2006 goes to (cue drum roll, split screen of smiling nominees) ... Matt Harding." 
  2. ^ Andrea Sachs (October 22, 2006). "The Guy Who Danced Around the Globe". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDM15iMn. Retrieved 2006-12-28. "So, where the hell is Matt? We found him in Seattle, but before that, Matt Harding, 30, was everywhere. In 2003, the video-game maker performed a silly free-form dance in more than a dozen countries, which he filmed and then posted on his Web site at http://www.wherethehellismatt.com." 
  3. ^ James Gilden (September 3, 2006). "Amateurs' talent: Giving us a local perspective on the world". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-internet3sep03,1,6277665.column?coll=la-travel-headlines. Retrieved 2006-12-28. "THE man in the video is doing some sort of quirky dance in a foreign land, arms flailing and flopping, feet moving as if walking over hot coals. There is nothing graceful or beautiful about the dance. Nonetheless it communicates an infectious joy that defies easy characterization. In short, it is fun to watch. [...] "It's just something I've always done," said Matt Harding, who created and stars in the video. "It's that dance that kids do when they're 2 or 3 years old." 
  4. ^ Kristin Jackson (October 5, 2006). "Dancing around the world (and Web)". Seattle Times. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDNzonS2. Retrieved 2006-12-28. "It's a 20-something's fantasy: Travel around the world, dance a lot and get paid to do it. [...] Matt Harding of Seattle made that dream come true. And he's turning into an Internet star, thanks to a short video he made of his recent trip that's become wildly popular on the Web." 
  5. ^ Mike Musgrove (July 13, 2008). "Product Placement Creeps Into Amateurs' YouTube Offerings". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/12/AR2008071200141.html. Retrieved 2008-07-14. "Matt Harding has this silly dance he does, this running-in-place thing where he waves his arms around spastically. If it had a name, you might call it the Excited Toddler." 
  6. ^ Travel the world with the currency of the world, 20 November 2008. Press release by Visa. "Visa's new travel-focused commercial recreates the dance made famous by internet celebrity Matt Harding in his self-made quirky video travel diaries."
  7. ^ McGrath, Charles (2008-07-08). "A Private Dance? Four Million Web Fans Say No". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDP8FJWx. Retrieved 2008-07-08. "Mr. Harding, who grew up in Westport, Conn., skipped college at the suggestion of his father," 
  8. ^ Jordan Smith (August 26, 2005). "Dancing Matt coming to town". Austin Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDPxw6P5. Retrieved 2006-12-16. "Harding didn't. "I … didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone," he said" 
  9. ^ "Matt Harding: Where the Hell is Matt? a Hoax". FORA.tv. December 11, 2008. http://fora.tv/2008/12/11/Matt_Harding_Where_The_Hell_Is_Matt_an_Elaborate_Hoax. 
  10. ^ "Not to dwell but...". January 09, 2009. http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/2009/01/seattle-washington-not-to-dwell-but.html. 
  11. ^ "Meet Matt". Stride gum. Archived from the original on 2007-03-20. http://web.archive.org/web/20070320072824/http://www.stridegum.com/whereismatt.asp. Retrieved 2006-12-16. "We really liked the idea of a ridiculously long dance round the world. So we supported him on his second tour." 
  12. ^ "Where the Hell is Matt (2008)". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&fmt=22. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
  13. ^ "It Was a Musical Thing and You Were Supposed to Dance". http://wherethehellismatt.typepad.com/blog/2008/08/traverse-city-m.html. 
  14. ^ "mattharding2718 Channel". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDQqM8Ds. Retrieved 2007-03-15. "#100 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Directors #12 - Most Viewed (This Month) #7 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Directors" 
  15. ^ "Directors - Most Subscribed (All Time)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDR6GJyJ. Retrieved 2008-07-10. "#99" 
  16. ^ Harding, Matt (2006-12-14). ""Where the Hell is Matt?" Lecture Part 1 of 3". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. http://www.webcitation.org/5aRZyWIFg. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
  17. ^ "YouTube co-founder tells grads to be persistent, take risks". http://www.cs.uiuc.edu/news/articles.php?id=2007May15-266. Retrieved 2008-10-14. 
  18. ^ "Astronomy Picture of the Day". ASD at NASA. 2008-07-22. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. http://www.webcitation.org/5aRaALDTS. Retrieved 2008-08-29. 
  19. ^ "Matt and the vocalist Palbasha were interviewed by KFAI radio in Minnesota". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEPlVmn5YLY. Retrieved 2008-11-14. 
  20. ^ "Where the Hell is Matt in South Africa?" on YouTube
  21. ^ - Camp Jabulani Official Website
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ "Matthew Harding". MobyGames. Archived from the original on 2008-07-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5ZDVnibB0. Retrieved 2008-07-10. "Games Credited Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow (2006), Bethesda Softworks LLC [...] Destroy All Humans! (2005), THQ Inc. [...] Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Activision Publishing, Inc. [...] Army Men RTS (2002), 3DO Company, The [...] Dark Reign 2 (2000), Activision Publishing, Inc. [...] Battlezone II: Combat Commander (1999), Activision Publishing, Inc. [...] Battlezone (1998), Activision, Inc. [...] Zork: Grand Inquisitor (1997), Activision, Inc." 

External links