Napoli Time Lapse
I just returned from a wonderful 2 week production in Italy. The trip confirmed that I still want to retire in Tuscany and that I am still madly in love with the Mediterranean. Seriously – this is the place for me.
We shared some unbelievable food, wine, and sites in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The second half of our trip was spent in Naples. Napoli is an amazing city on so many levels and a place that I will definitely return to – I can’t wait to go diving along the Amalfi Coast as well.
We took a boat ride along the coast and it brought back so many wonderful childhood memories of mine. I spent many summers along the mediterranean with my father, ranging from Perpignan in the south of France all the way down to Corsica.
I have a LOT to share with you on this blog regarding the gear we used on this 2 week production (for a TV pilot.) That will keep me busy for sure in the upcoming weeks on this blog as we brought quite a few prototype pieces with us – definitely stay tuned.
For now, here is a quick time lapse video of a beautiful scene from Napoli. I love time lapses as much as anyone out there – but I think that they take on an entirely new dimension once you are able to actually move the camera itself.
In this case we used a Kessler CineSlider which is basically a motorized dolly that can do some pretty remarkable things. I fell in love with this setup not only for time lapse – but also for video moves when we combined the motorized slider with the Revolution Pan & Tilt System. I’ll be sharing a lot of behind the scenes video as I mentioned above in the upcoming 1-2 weeks to show you how this was shot. For now here’s a quick snapshot of this relatively straighforward setup. 
This time lapse was shot on a Canon 5D MKII, a Canon 24~70mm 2.8, a Canon TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller Unit a B+W 77mm Circular Polarizer mounted on a Kessler CineSlider, an elektra DRIVE and ORACLE Controller with a Manfrotto 498RC4 Ballhead supported by two Manfrotto 190CXPRO3 Carbon Fiber tripods.
I also wanted to make sure to thank the Italian Crew members – they were fantastic professionals that were also an incredible pleasure to work with!
Alfonso Gallardo – Gaffer
Matteo Zanchi – Key Grip
Davide Mastropaolo – Audio
Marco Coppola – Production Manager
Francesca Faccilongo – Researcher
Pierluigi Inarta – PA
Raffaele Sciscia – PA
Piero – PA
Allesandra Sansone – PA
Jolanda Varriale – Makeup
Cristina Fileni – Makeup
Allessandra Amabile – Makeup
Beautiful timelapse. double rainbow, what does it mean?
Vincent Laforet Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 11:25 am
@Al, LOL – the timing w/ the YouTube video could not have been better… if some of you don’t know what we’re talking about – there’s an incredibly funny video on YouTube about a double-rainbow that came out in the past week…
Richard van den .. Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 9:06 am
@Vincent Laforet, YouTube Link?
Michael Nease Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 10:43 am
@Richard van den Boogaard, Here’s a link to the Double Rainbow guy’s video. Really funny!!!
Michael Nease Reply:
July 30th, 2010 at 10:43 am
@Michael Nease, forgot to paste the link: http://youtu.be/OQSNhk5ICTI
Wow that is beautiful stuff!
WOWHHH…. DOUBLE RAINBOW!!!!
It’s soooo beautiful.
What does it mean???
All kidding aside, beautiful video Vince.
How did you address the usual flickering effect across frames that timelapses typically suffer from?
Sebastian Kubatz Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 2:06 am
@Derek Pearcy, yeah that would be nice to know for me too.
@ Vince, I have been in Italy and Tuscany several times and I really understand you when you say you want to retired there one day.
Italy has some lovely places and the people are nice too.
If you gonna travel there next time, let me know and I can tell you some interesting places and locations not only for shooting but also for relaxing.
Vincent Laforet Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 11:29 am
@Sebastian Kubatz, Derek / Sebastian – three things:
First I don’t consider myself a time lapse expert – see Tom Lowe’s work at Timescapes.org for expert advice
Second: we shot everything in full manual exposure mode to eliminate any variation in exposure which would have been deadly
Third – most of the final time lapses were sped up 300%-600%.
That’s a really nice one. Great association with the music and this rainbow… cherry on the cake !
I’ll wait for you to came back here in italy, Vincent!
Wow, the composition works so well, very cool, I love it
This is beautiful. No Surprise. A few years ago I shot a time-lapse piece for the Ace Hotel in Portland, Oregon.
http://basilphoto.com/acehotel-2min-v2.mov
It was mostly handheld(as I was experimenting, and didn’t have any gear), and often I was moving through a scene shooting approx. 1fps having my talent move extra slow too. I shot it on the Canon 1Ds mk2, and 1Dmk2. Tonight I’m going to try a similar technique with the 1Dmk4 at a club in Bangkok. It’s great being able to shoot at 10fps without the buffer filling up.
Basil
How did you secure the gear against theft during the time-lapse?!
Love the iron-work framing and the camera move. Would similar zooms in post look pixelated?
Vincent Laforet Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@Caribefatboy, We were in a secure location with someone w/ their eyes on the rig at all times – mostly to make sure no one walked by it or bumped into it… let alone in front of it.
You’ll notice this is a PUSH – in other words the camera is moving towards the subject – it’s an entirely different “feel” than what a zoom in post would do (as in Pan & Scan.) The truth is with the 5D MKII you can definitely pan and scan (zoom and move up/dow right left) there’s more than enough resolution – but it simply doesn’t have the same effect – it’s the exact same issue w/ pushing and pulling a camera on a dolly vs zooming in or out from a stationary position – two entirely different looks. This one was subtle I’ll admit – but I think it’s appropriate
Vincent Laforet Reply:
July 29th, 2010 at 11:35 am
@Caribefatboy, We were in a secure location with someone w/ their eyes on the rig at all times – mostly to make sure no one walked by it or bumped into it… let alone in front of it.
You’ll notice this is a PUSH – in other words the camera is moving towards the subject – it’s an entirely different “feel” than what a zoom in post would do (as in Pan & Scan.) The truth is with the 5D MKII you can definitely pan and scan (zoom and move up/dow right left) there’s more than enough resolution – but it simply doesn’t have the same effect – it’s the exact same issue w/ pushing and pulling a camera on a dolly vs zooming in or out from a stationary position – two entirely different looks. This one was subtle I’ll admit – but I think it’s appropriate
How did you get permission to use the Radiohead song?
Dean Reply:
August 4th, 2010 at 2:54 am
@Erik, I was thinking that. I think its a case of Vincent advertising them with the itunes plug…
Just a 0.2 cents suggestion from an italian Reader.
If you are looking to quiet pristine beaches, amazing landscapes and dive sites forget Napoli or Capri and go to Sardinia instead!
Maddalena and Tavolara area in Sardegna are just much better than the overhyped overcrowded Napoli and Capri area. 😉
http://www.sardegne.it/foto/maddalena1(custom).jpg
http://www.domizil-mediterran.de/Web%202007%20neu/images/CodaCavallo%20Strand%202.JPG
5d Shooter and cave diver
Fantastico, ma io spero anche vieni a Mallorca y Menorca fantastics islands in mediterranean sea Peace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhdNaxwnpzg&feature=related
Really interesting time-lapse. Great work. Camera movement makes it so good.
Wow… yeah that’s it.
Vincent, Beautifully shot and elegantly edited. Question: did you license the Radiohead track or is simply mentioning their name and song title sufficient in this case?
Thanks,
CD
Oops, posted this in the wrong post. Sorry.
Vincent, love your work, love the blog, but did you know that you cannot view the videos on it from an iPhone or iPad? Same with your website! As the Apple guy that you are, can’t you get Mr. Jobs on the blower and talk him into flash support on these devices?
How great would the iPad be with a USB port and Flash support??? How many photographers have flash websites and use Flash to protect their work?
Mahalo,
Bry
Vincent, have you seen the timelapse Hayaku video? It blew me away, more than anything else I’ve seen. He used the controller and pan/tilt head from bmumford.
http://vimeo.com/12112529
http://www.bmumford.com/photo/camctlr.html
@Derek Pearcy @Vincent
Regarding the timelapse flicker. It’s often a case of mismatched between your exposure and the interval between shots. Like film, where you have a frame for 1/48 of a second, then nothing for 1/48, then another frame. Timelapse works best if the interval is the same. For example, exposure is 20 seconds. Then wait 20 seconds, then take another 20 second exposure. Same time between shots as the exposure.
Amazing stuff, Vincent!
I own and operate a Glidetrack at the moment, but I am seriously considering a switch to the CineSlider and upgrade it with the rotating head (electra drive and oracle).
Amazing composition, this would make a really creative “canvas” for credits or opening titles.
this is also worth a look if interested in complex time lapse camera moves
http://vimeo.com/6686768
Absolutely breathtaking! Looking forward to the bts vids!
That’s pure awesomeness Vincent,
I lived in italy for several years as a child,and I too would like to return and live out my life there.
Quick Question?
What year Cadillac is the one used in the HDDSLR Workshop student short film?
Cheers
I LOVE how you framed it in the wrought iron…excellent!
Nice to see that you dropped by my home town! Thx for giving it the proper advertising that it truly deserves! BTW amazing work!
Oh my God!!! I can’t believe you where so close from where I live. Great Stuff as always! Your works are very inspiring. I wish you’ll get the chance to come in this area again soon in the future. I live in Caserta, 20 miles from Napoli and there’s a fabouls royal palace that was stage of movies like Star Wars Episode 1, Mission impossibile 3, Angels and Demons
… Very inspiring, I bet you would have found it very interesting. Next time if you need an italian translator and a good suggestion for the best pizza around here… Let me know! congratulations, Complimenti!!!!
Amazing rainbow shot!
Vincent any chance you could share your post work? How you assembled the images, what effects you used to smooth frames etc.? I am budding film maker crossover from photographer and just trying to get as much info on this stuff as I can. Your work is a great inspiration!