Internet Itinerary: TurnHere and Travelistic

IT was introduced to the travel video website TurnHere (tagline: "Short films, cool places") a few months ago, but didn't get to explore it thoroughly at the time. Last week, we were introduced to another  such site, brand new Travelistic (tagline: "Watch where you're going"), and realized it was time to take a closer look. On a recent and relatively quiet evening at home, Emily camped out with her laptop and watched 17 short films. Suffice it to say she's now addicted:

The concept of watching short films before you travel is brilliant. I always try to watch a movie filmed in the location I'm going before I leave; in reality, I rarely have time to view a 136-minute film the day before I go. These websites have created the perfect solution: Spend one to five minutes watching short films (for free!) on your computer and you're ready to take off.

TurnHere exclusively features the work of independent filmmakers. According to their mission statement, 'Each TurnHere digital film is driven by an individual filmmaker's vision, translated into compelling storytelling, engaging narrators, insider perspective and high entertainment value.' Of the five I watched—Cincinatti; Columbus, Ohio; Athens, Georgia; Annapolis, Maryland; and Fall River, Massachusetts—this was certainly true. Most films cover U.S. destinations, but there are a sprinkling of international locations, including Roatán, Honduras; Krakow; and Sofia, Bulgaria. I had a nasty case of wanderlust after watching a short about Baan Kata Villa in Phuket.

Travelistic is less picky about submissions, trying instead simply to aggregate and categorize as many short travel films as possible. While I saw some quality videos (I especially liked Newport Beach, California and "Chinatown Bus"), there were several, like Taos and Salt Lake City, that consisted merely of 12- to 20-second clips of poorly shot footage.

That said, Travelistic has depth (in terms of quantity) and incorporates community well. Much like 43 Places, viewers and filmmakers may mark whether they've been or want to go to the location featured in each film. And, in good old Flickr style, filmmakers can tag their videos. I navigated the site in beta (trial) form, but now that Travelistic is open to the public (since Monday), I think it'll keep getting better.