So you've decided to spice up your production with a bit of Timelapse Photography but where do you go from here?

First Contact

After an initial call / email, having discussed location and durations, we'll get back to you with a cost.  Our fees for timelapse photography vary widely as very often no two shoots are the same.  They can, however, be broken down into two very rough groups of long-term and short-term.  We'll break down all costs and also offer you various options to suit your production budget. 

Preparation

If locally based, we'll then recce the location but more often than not, we can do this using our various apps and online tools to view the area, the lay of the land and any vantage points.  For long-term timelapses, we'll look at nearby buildings or structures or landscape features that offer filming from height.  For day to day shooting, we'll be checking for filming permissions, sunrise/set times and direction and also distracting obstacles that may interfere with the shoot.

Weather

The British are renowned for their obsession of the weather and here at Feral Clock, we couldn't be more obsessed!  Time permitting, we very often try and arrange shoots to coincide with what is required.  We can't guarantee that there'll be fluffy blue clouds all year round but we can try and shoot at optimum times when required. 

Monitoring local weather with the aid of online forecasts and our connections at the Met Office means that we'll try and predict the best times and days for your shoot. Can we shoot in the rain? Yes, we've shot in rain, snow, hail, dreaded drizzle, fog, mist, ash clouds, smog and smoke.

Shooting Times

How long does it take to shoot a timelapse? 'How long is a piece of string' comes to mind but this is all dependant on location in the world and what you're trying to capture! Here's a very rough guide:

  • Sunrise / Sunset - 2-3hrs

  • Stars - 2-8hrs depending on how much movement you require

  • Sun / Moon Tracking - 8-24hrs, again, dependant on time of year

  • Day to Night, Night to Day - 4-6hrs

  • Tide in / Tide out - 6hrs

  • Flowers opening - 1-3 weeks

  • B-Roll / GVs / rolling clouds - 20-30mins per shot

For example, an average shooting day with minimal location changes with one camera, you can expect to get between 10 and 15 shots per day if it's just B-roll you're after.

Requirements

It's very rare we pull out the diva card here, but on occasion we may require the additional help of a camera assistant or runner from time to time.   We've got a great team of regular assistants for multi-camera shoots and we also bring in a talented bunch of runners when all we require is kit to be lugged around as well as file backup and the never-ending supply of coffee we consume.

Editing

Once shot and if time permits, we'll put together all the shots and upload them to a private vimeo account for you to view.  From there, we can either fully edit and grade the shots for you or just send you over a drive with the original stills on.  Below is an edit from a single day of shooting, graded, clip rendering and upload for client to view.