Over the last few years motion controlled time-lapse videos have exploded on the internet. As the cost of the equipment has come down, and the quality of digital video equipment has gone up, people are producing some really spectacular short films. One that really stands out for me is “Ancients” by Nicholas Buer. For the full back story on the video below click through to Vimeo. What I love about this short film is, unlike a lot of time-lapse landscape shorts, Buer uses framing to capture reflections of the stars in the foreground, or dropping the stars out of focus to create a dreamy bokeh behind a silhouette of tree branches. The editing, cinematography, and motion control all add up to a really nice piece with some stand out features. There is no list of equipment used, but this is all available at 4K resolution so I’m assuming he probably used a RED, a Cinema EOS or the equivalent.
Time Lapse Video
“Huelux” Randy Halverson’s Film Lets You Know Spring is Just Around the Corner.
Yesterday at this time most of the central midwest was in the midst of an epic snowstorm. I know in the area of Kansas City I live in we got at least 10 inches of snow which is a reminder that winter isn’t over for at least six more weeks. If it’s anything like last year, I bet we have snow late into March. With that said, the video below is a reminder that Spring and Summer are just around the corner, and soon we will all be talking about how hot it is.
Randy Halverson shot Huelux from April-November 2013 in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah enduring many of the challenges you are faced with when shooting time-lapse footage, especially the weather. His goal was to capture the Milky way, and Aurora Borealis, but cloud cover and storms hampered his attempts. What he did get was some amazing footage of night time thunderstorms as well as the the stars and magnetic fields at play. For more info on the film, and the gear used go to his Facebook page here, or click through to Vimeo to see the full write up on his process and equipment. The 4K version which I highly recommend watching is available here.
36 Cities, 21 Countries, 90 Nights.
I love traveling to Europe. I’ve been a number of times, and would go back in a heart beat given the opportunity. I was supposed to go to Italy earlier this year, but with the move and a couple of other things that trip has been postponed. The video below, by Luke Shepard is a tribute to some of Europe’s greatest architecture. The time lapse footage was shot in 36 cities across 21 countries over the course of 3 months. It really is a pretty stunning piece of work. The shots almost have a 3D quality to them, which is a testament to Shepard’s talents as a photographer.
A Super Cell Thunderstorm in Texas.
Summer is almost upon us, and Kansas City feels like a hot sticky mess outside. It’s 92 degrees and I think the humidity is the same. All of this adds up to ripe conditions for thunderstorms. The video below is a time-lapse captured by Arizona native Mike Oblinski near Booker Texas on June 3rd, 2013. The video was shot on his trusty Canon 5D with a 14mm Rokinon f2.8 lens. The video shows the super cell thunderstorm as it develops and changes over time becoming more and more powerful.
Modular 4 