TimeLapse Digital

[Taylor Moore]

This is a rig a very old friend of mine made, it cost him a ton of money to engineer but now allows us to sell complex timelapse shots with huge resolution. It can easily be modified to use a 13mega-pixel camera.
It is presently being used in Vancouver to shoot some effects shots for a series called "Touching Evil"
My friend Rene Beland is the inventor and we are looking at doing some head modifications to expand it's abilities. As well as exporting co-ordinate data for upload to 3D and tracking.

www.moorefilms.com/timelapsedigital.wmv small 8mb 320x240 30fps

www.moorefilms.com/timelapsedigitalhuge.wmv big 640x480 32mb 15fps

 

[Sol M.]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Very smooth! I was expecting just simple static timelapse shots, so I was wondering why development of the rig would have cost so much, but once I saw the first pan, I understood completely!

Obviously you were going for the feel of the Baraka type films in this short promo vid, and you totally captured it! Is this rig computer controlled? You could easily do film rez stuff, and then some (especially with a medium format camera with a 20 megapixel digital back!).

There are so many possibilities for something like this!

 

[Taylor Moore]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

You got it man, it is designed to work from 4k film rez images to as small as you want to go. You drop in point A then Point B and define how long you want either the shot to play in reel time or...etc.

Koyanasquatci and Barraka have been the big inspiration.

 

[Carrington Benz]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Taylor,

Stunning!

Love it - wow!!

Now how the hell was that possible with a dv cam - I know you mentioned a rig but - what is the basic method - I mean - does it pan a slight movement every hour filming at 1 frame - I still can't seem to work timelapse out with the dvx ?

I only know of filming stuff & speeding it up in post which is totally  unpractical & just crap.

You also posted a very cool clip (I think it was you ?) of a guy jumping up & gliding thru the air like a bird - I still dont know how that works ??

The only thing I can think of is that, you would jump - move a step then jump again & so on etc etc.
When in fcp - take out the frames of the guy standing on each jump - then frame blend the jumps to produce the flying effect .. maybe ?

Anyhow - would love to know

 

[Taylor Moore]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

No it is not a DV camera, it is a highly modified Kodak digital camera with servos on the pan, tilt and zoom axis.

I believe the flying piece is in the ScreenGrab section...
The flying is done either through compositing in an guy on wires and tracking him to the BG or editing just the air part of a jump and then doing speed interpolation to possibly extend the duration of the shot.

 

[centripetal]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Really beautiful!
Please tell me, have you had any problems with flicker? And if so, how did you overcome it?
Amazing stuff.

 

[Sol M.]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Just curious, is this computer controlled (meaning pc/mac controlled), or does it have it's own controller hardware?  I want one, then I'll have a reason to get one of those 20 megapixel digital backs!

Also, some of the more dramatic shots in films like baraka for me were where the camera actually moved throughout the environment (as if it were dollying through).  Any plans to add such a capability to this rig?

 

[Taylor Moore]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Yes it is computer controlled (PC proprietary software), operator adds keyframes then software drives servos and camera exposure. Files are downloaded to external drive.

The camera on track is the next big task...just give me another axis.

 

[centripetal]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

Can you say if flicker was ever a problem?
I'm trying to do the same thing as a hobby with digital stills but brightness flicker occurs and I'm having problems getting rid of it. Thanks.

 

[Taylor Moore]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

We had no problems with flicker...

 

[Sol M.]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

I knew I heard "Touching Evil" mentioned in this forum!  I was watching the series premier of it tonight on USA and when I saw the timelapse on it, I noticed how smooth the pans were, and I immediately remembered this post.   Awsome stuff!  Seeing it on broadcast really showed its quality (as opposed to a web video).

Now I really want to see some high-rez stuff in the theaters from this thing!

Kudos to your friend for making this rig!  ;D

 

[Taylor Moore]

Re: TimeLapse Digital

I knew I heard "Touching Evil" mentioned in this forum! I was watching the series premier of it tonight on USA and when I saw the timelapse on it, I noticed how smooth the pans were, and I immediately remembered this post. Awsome stuff! Seeing it on broadcast really showed its quality (as opposed to a web video).

Now I really want to see some high-rez stuff in the theaters from this thing!

Kudos to your friend for making this rig!

For Sure Jive, I will pass that on to Rene in 2 weeks when I go out shooting with him in Van. It was quite weird driving along Santa Monica Blvd and seeing a huge billboard with an a ad for the show...my old friends are DP and Camera ops and Rene's Moco rig...