News 5 examples of internal capture time-lapse

Time-lapse is just as effective at capturing the ‘inside story’ as it is at documenting external developments. We look back at five internal time-lapses to demonstrate how.

Watching an unused or empty building be transformed into a functional and eye-catching space is useful in a number of ways.

Firstly, a time-lapse video demonstrates how architectural vision, building skills and engineering can culminate into a finished project. This is extremely valuable for the companies involved, as they are able to market their work through a highly accessible medium.

Another positive attribute of this kind of visual narrative is how it alerts the public of new developments. News and information about residential properties, retail stores or other internal spaces can be shared widely among broader networks of people.

Below we take a look at five successfully completed time-lapse narratives showing a variety of internal projects, demonstrating the creative amplitude of this photographic mode.

1. Hutchison 3G (Three) – time-lapse of Middlesbrough shop refurbishment

Above: internal fit-out works captured by our time-lapse camera system at the Middlesbrough Three retail store.

Many projects may be referred to under the banner of internal works but not every space is the same.

Fit-outs for offices or retail businesses, for example, may cover a relatively small area so a fixed one-camera solution would be the best way to achieve HDR capture. We utilised this approach when working with the mobile network provider Three.

The finished time-lapse video tracks a complete store refurbishment, which was brought to fruition with careful remote monitoring of the camera system throughout the duration of the works.

2. Vision Express – Oxford Street flagship store time-lapse

Some internal spaces are bigger than others, requiring more camera systems and a less stationary approach.

To capture the above promotional time-lapse narrative for Vision Express, we managed several camera systems while in situ (which requires manual operation of the cameras and their settings) in order to document the full re-build and fit-out of their Oxford Street store.

Capturing in situ granted more flexibility in terms of covering a greater surface area in what was a big and busy space. Video and rapid interval time-lapse were also utilised in order to cover each stage of the fit-out process, from initial groundworks to stacking shelves.

3. Southampton Freight headquarters – interior fit-out time-lapse

We have also utilised video and short-term rapid interval capture successfully for our friends at Southampton Freight Services.

Documenting the fit-out of their headquarters in Hampshire, we installed a single camera system in order to time-lapse internal refurbishment operations in full. Additionally, for the final four days of the move we provided four different camera systems, using a mixture of video and rapid interval time-lapse, so that every angle of work was covered.

4. BFI – London Film Festival time-lapse

Above: an audience sits down for a screening in the British Film Institute’s Embankment Garden Cinema as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations in 2016.

For some clients, capture of both internal and external progress is part of the brief. We are privileged to have been commissioned by the British Film Institute to create a special time-lapse project, involving the construction of a temporary cinema venue.

After documenting the external build of the iconic structure (which has since returned to the London Film Festival every year since its first appearance in 2016), we also covered the internal developments which transformed the venue into the Embankment Garden Cinema.

Securely mounting our camera system to the cinema’s lighting truss, we were able to time-lapse the installation of seating and the erection of the huge cinema screen, which boasted Dolby® 7.1 surround sound and 4k digital projection.

5. Glasgow 2018 European Championships – swimming venue time-lapse

Another quick turnaround time-lapse project we were involved with took place in preparation for the inaugural European Championships in Glasgow.

Our camera system documented the transformation of an indoor tennis court into a state-of-the-art synchronised swimming venue, as part of this major multi-sport event.

As rapid interval capture is one of our main specialisms, we were able to deliver fully post-produced time-lapse videos to our clients within a tight timeframe. These were well received on social media by other stakeholders and members of the public, helping to mark a huge moment in Scotland’s sporting history.