3,305 captures of Google Maps to go around the world
The architect of such genius is the Italian Matteo Archondis, a communication and graphic design student, who on February 8 celebrated the 12th anniversary of Google Maps with the video Google Maps: Hyperlapse Around the World, a travel experience in the form of hyperlapse . “I decided to celebrate the anniversary of Google Maps like this because I like the technique of timelapse and hyperlapse and I wanted to develop a creative video using only Google Maps” Archondis tells Traveler.
To carry it out, Archondis had the patience to capture image by image on Google Maps, as if it were a question of putting together a timelapse or a hyperlapse with photographs. “I just did 3,305 screenshots on Google Maps, moving each image until I got the motion and zoom effect” he explains. The entire process took him two weeks: two days for the screenshots, five to put them together, and seven for the sound design. “The hardest part was stabilizing it. because the video was very shaky and there were no anchor points in the clips,” he adds.
As for locations, “I chose the ones that were mapped in 3D so that the effects would be more interesting. I decided to start with Italy because it is my country and where I live. In general, I did not follow a fixed criteria, I just chose important cities and places that I liked and that I remembered”. The result you can judge for yourself.