Movement, food and learning are ordinary parts of a trip. Give each one a clear visual idea, and they can become three short films that make you want to pay more attention to the next place you visit.

Rick Mereki’s MOVE, EAT and LEARN trilogy takes that approach. The films share a journey and a team, while each chooses a different way to organise what the viewer sees.

Andrew Lees in front of a patterned building façade in a historical MOVE still
Andrew Lees in front of a patterned building façade in a historical MOVE still. Photo: Rick Mereki. The film production covered 38,000 miles.

Watch the three films in their own right

MOVE uses a repeated forward step to connect changing surroundings. EAT turns attention towards food, while LEARN builds its idea around trying and discovering things.

The creator pages credit Mereki, Tim White and actor Andrew Lees, and identify STA Travel Australia as the commissioner. The three films came from a 44-day production across eleven countries in 2011.

The person repeatedly seen in the frame is Lees. Mereki and White’s direction, camera work and editing give that performance its wider visual structure.

MOVE: choose a way to notice the place

Movement need not mean covering an enormous distance. For your own day, choose one route that lets you see something change: a walk from a station into an old centre, a public boat journey or a path from a neighbourhood towards the waterfront.

Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees
Andrew Lees before a columned building in a historical MOVE still
Andrew Lees before a columned building in a historical MOVE still. Photo: Rick Mereki. The production used two cameras.

Notice the transition rather than treating it purely as time between attractions. The buildings, sounds and pace can tell you something about how the place fits together.

Our closer look at MOVE explores the film’s repeated-step technique and a manageable way to try a similar visual idea.

EAT: give one meal a little attention

Choose a dish or ingredient you are curious about. Ask a respectful question if the setting allows, read how it is described and take time to notice flavour and texture.

You do not have to seek the most unusual food or turn the meal into a performance. Familiar dishes can reveal regional differences too, and your own dietary needs still matter.

Our comfort-food travel feature offers examples of using something approachable as an opening into a place.

LEARN: leave with one new ability or idea

Pick something small enough to enjoy: a useful phrase, a drawing exercise, an introduction to a craft or a better understanding of a building you keep passing.

If you join an activity, let the teacher set the pace and explain what participation involves. A short introductory session can be satisfying without pretending you have mastered a skill in one afternoon.

The learning-through-travel guide helps connect curiosity with a specific question.

Put the three together gently

One pleasant route, one attentive meal and one small discovery can give a day a clear shape. You can do all three close to home or within a single neighbourhood abroad.

The trilogy’s speed belongs to filmmaking. Your version can be slower, with plenty of room between the moments. The useful idea is to take an active interest in the journey, the food and the people who can help you understand something new.

Debbe’s happy-dance travel diary offers another lighthearted example of using a repeated action to connect moments from different places.

Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees
Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees
Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees
Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees
Travel still from MOVE, directed by Rick Mereki and featuring Andrew Lees

Production figures describe making the films

The historical introduction reported eighteen flights, two cameras and a large volume of recorded material across the forty-four-day journey. Those figures describe production effort, not a recommended pace for an ordinary holiday. Much of what is recorded during a project never appears in a short finished sequence.

Watch the travel trilogy and identify the separate embedded film

The embedded player shows Plot Device, a separate film associated with Red Giant. Its credits belong to that film and should not be used to identify the maker or performer in the MOVE stills. To watch Rick Mereki’s travel trilogy, use the clearly named MOVE, EAT and LEARN links above, which lead to the individual creator pages.

Andrew Lees supplies the repeated on-screen presence, while Rick Mereki and Tim White shape the production behind it. Follow the direction of movement across two successive stills and the organising idea becomes clear: a consistent action lets the setting change dramatically without losing the viewer. For a modest personal project, try the same framing in a few permitted places and record each location. The principle is continuity, not the need to travel through eleven countries or imitate the production's pace.

From recorded footage to the finished travel films

The production account also described roughly a terabyte of recorded footage. Alongside the reported eighteen flights, 38,000 miles and two cameras, that figure helps explain the difference between a finished short film and the work needed to make it. A brief final sequence can represent repeated takes, transfers and material that never reaches the edit.

For a personal travel film, a smaller version of the idea is easier to finish: choose one recurring action, keep a note of the location for each clip and record enough context to identify the scene later. The location notes serve the same purpose as a good still-image caption, linking a memorable moment to a place rather than leaving only an anonymous montage.