Even if this film makes you feel like you're playing high-definition SimCity on an Oculus Rift, what you're seeing is ordinary video footage of Sydney, Australia.

(Tiny Sydney from Filippo Rivetti on Vimeo.)

Filippo Rivetti, a photographer and filmmaker born in Italy and now living in Australia, shot the footage from Bondi Beach, Sydney Tower Eye, Pylon Lookout, Dudley Page Reserve.

The effect you're seeing is called "tilt-shift," "miniature faking," or "diorama illusion" and it works by blurring the top and bottom of the image, which simulates the narrow depth field that's characteristic of close-up photography.

Here's a basic example, using two versions of the same photo of Jodhpur, India.

Here's the original photo.

(Paul Goyette/Wikimedia Commons)

And here's the tilt-shift photo.

(Paul Goyette/Wikimedia Commons)

Pretty simple, and that's how Rivetti turned footage of a beautiful city into footage of a beautiful tiny city.

If you want to try it on your own photos, check out the web-based photo application, TiltShiftMaker.