If you live in LA or have visited the sprawling city then you know that one of the things it is most known for is its traffic. Many LA residents spend hours in their cars each day, waiting at red lights, inching down the highway, but ‘Running On Empty’ turns Los Angeles’ traffic reputation on it’s head. This new video asks, “What if tomorrow everyone’s car disappeared?” and it really is a sight to behold.
The video’s creator, Ross Ching, lives in Los Angeles, drives in Los Angeles and like other LA residents, spends a lot of time sitting in traffic. Inspired by Matt Logue’s Empty LA project, a collection of photos of the streets of Los Angeles empties of cars, Ching decided to create a project of his own.
‘Running on Empty’ is a beautiful time-lapse video made up of shots of empty roads throughout the city. Its strange ghostly appeal has struck a chord with the Vimeo audience, where it has accrued just over 106,000 views since its upload on May 26.
Of course, the first question that comes to most people’s minds when they watch the video is “where did all the cars go?” Did Ching have to get a special permit to block off huge chunks of LA traffic while he shot his video? No. Surprisingly, these amazing moving images are the result of painstaking editing and masking. Check out these before and after shots:
What do you think of ‘Running on Empty’? How would you feel if you woke up one day to find your city quiet, serene and carless?
