Category: Community

Geocaching is delightful because of the people who play it — adventure-seekers, makers, parents, astronauts and (sometimes) celebrities. Read their stories.

Geocache of the Week
/ Janelle /

Na konci cesty — Geocache of the Week

Mystery
GC4QKMP
by Bučáci
Difficulty:
3
Terrain:
2
Location:
Plzensky kraj, Czech Republic
N 50° 00.401 E 013° 09.125
St. George's Church
St. George’s Church.

Lukova, Czech Republic is an idyllic country village with a population of 700. There you will find an old abandoned church from the 14th century that has seen better days. Local Petr Koukl knows the church well:

There’s no question the [St. George’s] church has seen a lot: it suffered several fires, it was allegedly damaged by the Husittes, it was rebuilt several times. The last straw, though, was the collapse of part of the ceiling during a funeral service in 1968 which chased the mourners out. After that the church was closed and not reopened again.

 

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/ Alex /

6 Tips for Submitting a Film to GIFF

The Geocaching International Film Festival is returning for another year of epic geocaching moments captured on camera.

If you’re a filmmaker, a geocacher, or something in between, GIFF 2017 is your chance to have your geocaching film viewed by thousands of people on movie screens all over the world. Submissions are due August 1, 2017.

But before you start filming, check out these tips all GIFF filmmakers should follow!

1. Know the rules for submission

Seriously. Read the rules. In the past we’ve had to reject films that:

  • Are longer than 4 minutes. We immediately disqualify these entries.
  • Show footage of a geocache that they either don’t have permission to spoil or that doesn’t follow all basic requirements for hiding a geocache. If you’ve received permission to show an active geocache, make a note of that in the film submission form.
  • Include footage that is not family friendly. By “family friendly” we mean: no nudity, sexually explicit or suggestive content, profanity, firearms or other weapons, racist, harassing or otherwise offensive content or content that would be inappropriate for children, such as violent or frightening content. Several times in the past, we’ve had to disqualify film entries for scenes that are too frightening for young kids.
  • Use footage, music, photos, etc. that they don’t have rights to.  Here are some free, fair-use music resources:
2. Tell a story only you can tell

There’s nothing wrong with your film being about a geocaching love story, a race to the FTF, or a geocaching montage, but be aware that we’ve seen those themes a lot in the past. After watching the finalist films from previous years, where do you find the art in geocaching? How do you make this game your own? And don’t forget that your film can be fiction or in a documentary style.

3. Make it global

Geocaching is an international game, and so is every GIFF audience. Try to show an element of the geocaching experience that people in different corners of the world can connect with. Try to find a balance between a film that is personal to you and one that others can relate to.

4. Make it visual

Show, don’t tell! Film is visual medium—you’ll have your audience hanging on tenterhooks by keeping the voiceover and dialogue short and sweet. This GIFF 2015 finalist film was able to do a lot with no dialogue at all.

5. Less is more

Just because you can submit up to 4 minutes of video doesn’t necessarily mean you should. Ask yourself, “What is the simplest way I can tell this story?” Then, add more if you can’t resist. This will help you focus on what is truly important and keep your audience engaged. 2015 GIFF finalist, Travel Bug Story, tells a sweet and simple story in under 2 minutes!

6. Focus on quality

We understand if geocaching comes before filmmaking on your hobby list—we’re not looking for Hollywood here. We are, however, looking for videos that will look and sound good on the big screen. As much as you may love your GoPro, simply wearing it around while you go geocaching usually doesn’t make for the best footage. If you can, use a tripod and an external mic. If you can’t, have your actors speak close to your on-camera mic and use a natural tripod like a tree limb or your friend’s shoulder. The 2015 finalist, The Future of Geocaching, is a great example. For more technical tips, check out Vimeo’s Video School.

 

Submit Your Film

 

 

 

The Froggy GeoCoin when it was brand new
/ Janelle /

3 countries + 2 geocachers + 1 geocoin = an incredible twist of fate

Gabi, Mary, and the My Froggy Friend geocoin
Gabi, Mary, and the My Froggy Friend geocoin

A German geocacher and a Canadian geocacher walked into a geocaching event… well, they actually met at an event, and through a twist of fate, discovered they had something amazing in common.

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/ Ellis /

Harry Potters Abenteuer — Geocache of the week

Multi-Cache
GC6ACTD
by blackschneck
Difficulty:
4
Terrain:
3.5
Location:
Germany
N 45° 26.069′ E 012° 20.332′

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” — J.K. Rowling, author of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

If you’ve ever read any of the Harry Potter books or seen any of the movies, you’ll know non-magical people are called muggles. You may also know in the geocaching community, muggles are non-geocachers. This is not the only thing that geocachers and Harry Potter lovers have in common. They both share the same excitement in creating magic and discovery in everyday life. Now, you too can discover what it’s like to be a Hogwarts student while on the epic Multi-Cache journey to find Harry Potter’s Abenteuer.

The journey begins just 60km north of Frankfurt, where the cache is located in the picturesque hills of the Lahn valley. There, you will embark on a series of 18 stages that are each inspired by a different scene of the Harry Potter books and movies. Each stage was designed in detail by the cache owners, blackschneck, also known as Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

One such stage invites you to embody the appearance of Harry Potter himself with a Gryffindor scarf, broomstick, round eyeglasses, and wand. There is so much detail to this cache that there are certain items that must be carried from one stage in order to complete the next stage. Because of this, only one team of 2-4 people are allowed to find the cache per day. To prevent multiple teams on the same day, there is a calendar to schedule your visit. Before you come, the cache owners will email you with all the information you need for your magical experience.

In their words:

Ever since we started to cache we’ve always wanted to make a Harry Potter inspired cache. Because we are big fans of the books and movies. After two visits to the original movie sets in England, we started getting ideas how we could make it happen. We’re extremely happy to see all the positive feedback in the logs by old and new Harry Potter fans. They give us new energy to keep repairing and improving the cache. And now it’s your turn to come and explore Harry Potter’s world in Hessen.

Things to take with you:

  • Mobile phone or GPS
  • Rechargeable battery pack
  • QR code reader
  • UV lamp
  • 2.0 liters of water
  • Umbrella and/or rain gear
  • Food and drink
  • Long pants
  • A good mood and a love for puzzling

There is not a short log on the cache page, but AR-Team’s thoughts on Harry Potters Abenteur summarize the experience well:

We had thought we were normal cachers, as Harry believed he was a normal boy. At least we thought that until the 11th of August when the owl letter reached us and called us to play GC6ACTD —Harry Potter’s Abenteur. The trip to the magical land of the Harry Potter cache was an unforgettable experience for us. Like Harry, we jumped into the adventure, which brought us to many different spectacular stages where we fought against beasts, classmates, and fabulous creatures. At the starting coordinates we arrived at the land of cachers, witches and wizards.

At each stage, we were surprised with how the dedication and detail that was put into this cache and all of its stages. Awesome. After a good 7 hours we completed the amazing cache and we will always remember this experience.

We find here is a magical cache of the category “exceptional cache – exquisitely recommended”! And the bar is truly raised to a new level of quality. Thank you blackschneck for the endless effort and time that has been put into every single detail!

After 5 km (3 mi), 18 stages, and a  6-10 hour re-creation of the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter, you will surely want to sit back and enjoy some butterbeer. Now grab your broomstick and wand and be on your way!

 

Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world.
Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.