4 HN users recommended this explainer4 months2017–2026score 4.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026
HN points to it as a short, funny look at how cities stand in for other places on screen, and at the film industry's local effects.
A video essay from Every Frame a Painting about Vancouver, a major film production city that almost never appears onscreen as itself. It shows clips of films and TV shot there that pass the city off as somewhere else.
“There's also a much shorter, funnier one called "Vancouver Never Plays Itself” (HN, 2017)
One of my favourite Youtube channels, Every Frame A Painting, talks about this in Vancouver - except that the movies are rarely set in Vancouver: [this video]
I recommend "Los Angeles Plays Itself" to any interested in seeing the juxtaposition of what you see in movies/tv with the reality. There's also a much shorter, funnier one called "Vancouver Never Plays Itself" - [this video]
Shorter, funnier video on cities standing in for others
This made me rewatch Vancouver Never Plays Itself [1] from Every Frame a Painting. It didn’t have as many examples of Vancouver playing New York as I remembered, but it’s still an interesting demonstration of how a city is made to appear not to be itself on screen. 1: [this video]
> The idea is that this would promote more use of local businesses. It does not usually work out that way though. Great Youtube video on this topic, especially since you're likely talking about Vancouver: [this video]
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