Dinorwig Power Station: Our Time-Lapse Work Used in Documentary

Visual Capture at ENGIE’s Dinorwig Facility, Wales

Large-scale infrastructure projects are often defined by their invisibility, operating continuously and largely unseen, yet they are fundamental to national resilience. ENGIE’s Dinorwig Pumped Storage Power Station in North Wales is one such site embedded deep within the landscape operating inside a mountain and supplying rapid response power to much of Wales and the wider UK grid.

Over the course of a year long installation we have supported ENGIE with a carefully planned visual documentation programme combining long term time lapse conventional filming and drone capture where installation conditions allowed. The resulting material has since contributed to a wider communications effort including the use of selected footage within an external documentary production.

A Long Term Visual Strategy Underground

The project centred on the installation of four time-lapse camera systems operating continuously for approximately twelve months. Positioned at depth estimated at Level 3 or Level 4 within the underground complex the cameras recorded the phased transformation of critical internal spaces, including pump control rooms and turbine halls.

Working entirely within the mountain environment presented both logistical and technical challenges. Lighting conditions access constraints and operational safety protocols required close coordination with site teams as-well as a discreet, robust capture approach capable of functioning reliably over extended periods.

The visual narrative revealed not only scale but the process of stripping out legacy plant, some over forty years old and its replacement with modernised equipment designed to improve efficiency, performance and long-term resilience. These were not cosmetic upgrades but deep mechanical interventions carried out in one of many vast internal chambers that collectively enable Dinorwig’s role as a strategic energy asset.

Complementary Filming and Drone Capture

Alongside the time-lapse installation conventional filming was undertaken to document working practices and key moments within the refurbishment programme. Interviews with personnel were captured and turbine testing including the process of switching units on and off was filmed to illustrate both operational complexity and human expertise.

Drone footage was captured where installation and safety conditions permitted, offering external context to the underground works. In particular, shots of the top and bottom lakes provided a visual counterpoint, opening perspectives that locate the hidden interior of the facility within the dramatic Welsh landscape above.

Timing Access and Delivery

Site access and system collection were carefully scheduled around operational constraints and seasonal working patterns. Installation and monitoring extended through January and February with work continuing over the Christmas period. Final equipment collection took place on 14 January marking the close of the long-term capture phase.

Visualising Energy Infrastructure with Care

Projects of this nature demand more than technical competence. They require sensitivity to privacy, operational security, and stakeholder trust elements managed collaboratively throughout, including close liaison with ENGIE’s communications and privacy teams.

At Dinorwig, the objective was not spectacle but clarity to document change within a complex high security environment and to support ENGIE in communicating the scale, expertise and long-term value of infrastructure investment that quite literally sits beneath the landscape.

For us at Time Lapse Systems the project stands as an example of how time lapse film and aerial imagery can be integrated into a coherent visual strategy one that respects authorship boundaries supports wider storytelling and reveals processes that would otherwise remain unseen.

We were incredibly proud that our footage was recently used in a documentary on the site. We are so glad that our clients gain such value from our filming services.