Studio Time-lapse photography

From germination, flowering, back to seed and everything in-between, our studios have captured a menagerie of natural history time-lapse shots over the years. Utilising the latest motion control technology in combination with our well established knowledge of rig and set building, we can provide anything you can dream of or even better! Like what you see already and want to chat? Get in touch here.

How it works

In simple terms, our studios are controlled environments to establish favourable conditions for plant growth. We set up the scene and set into motion our automated system. Watering, climate control, humidity, O2 and CO2 can all be controlled as well as outside air intake. Once rolling, everything runs stand-alone but daily checks take place either online or in person. The following process takes place once the big ‘go’ button is pressed:

  • Grow lights switch off

  • Studio lights turn on

  • Camera captures a still image

  • Studio lights turn off

  • Grow lights turn on

  • Motion control (if used) moves onto the next frame of pre-programmed manoeuvre

Custom built motion control rigs

We can provide any camera move that you can think of and will work with you in detail to establish how you’d like the finished product to look like. Not only camera moves though - the first shot in the above reel was a combination of camera and a set move as well - the two chunks of earth parting ways as the camera passed through.

We’re not just limited to moving cameras and sets though; in the past we’ve faked a sun passing through the sky in an arc, moving products through shot against a backdrop of plant growth, twirling plants around like dancers and even moving props through the soil.

Our rigs range from the super macro environment where the tiniest of movement is critical, to the obscene rig we built to capture a 6x4m field of wheat growing from seed to seed. The entire 300Kg rig for this moved upwards as the camera tracked across, lifting the bank of 12 grow lights with it as well to ensure the wheat had the exact same distance from the lights for three months.

types of capture

Options are pretty much endless in the studio from underground sets for germination of seeds to a heaving studio full of plants or a huge single set - multi-cam setups and multiple motion control rigs all running simultaneously. We don’t just cover plant growth though - we also do the opposite in the form of decomposition! Have you got a new environmentally friendly product and trying to save the planet? We can capture that and also match any laboratory regulatory conditions providing environment data alongside the shot (temperature, humidity etc).

How much does it cost to time-lapse plants?

Studio hire and power are a set fee per day, week, month or by the year - the longer it’s booked, the more cost effective it is. Costs on top of this entirely depend on the shoot and what you require. Set builds will incur costs such as supplies and time, cameras are charged by the amount of hire time (again, discounts for longer durations). Rigging days are charged per 10hr day as are derig days. Processing and delivery of up to 8K resolution shots is included in cost with the exception of any stacking macro shots (where hundreds of thousands of stills require processing) so an additional fee will be required on top.

Please contact us with your specific project to discuss further and for a full quote.