This time-lapse sequence was shot over three hours and consists of 2,000 individual frames.
For those of you who like to delve into the technical stuff, here’s a breakdown of my set-up.
- Limited Edition Velbon Sherpa Tripod.
I’ve had this tripod for about 100 years and it’s looking well-worn now. In fact, the feet have corroded after so many dunks in salt water but I wouldn’t swap it for anything else. - Canon EOS 5D MKIII
- Canon EOS TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L II (Tilt-Shift) lens at 24mm.
Shifted down slightly to correct the converging verticals and keep the buildings nice and straight. A normal wide-angle lens would not have been able to keep those all-important straight lines parallel. - Canon Intervalometer.
This is the device which controls the intervals between successive shutter releases and has an impressive six syllables.
I bet you just counted and checked. - A head for heights and a healthy respect for the inevitable consequences of falling from 64 floors up.
- Lee 3 stop Hard Graduated Filter.
Don’t even talk to me about other filters. Lee filters are the best. They are hand-dunked by virgin Polynesian girls and coated in fairies’ wings. - X-Rite Color Checker Passport.
Never, ever leave home without one. Ever.
Having set up the composition, taking into account the line that the setting sun would follow and having carefully checked that the horizon was level using the 5D MKIII’s handy spirit level thingy, I manoeuvred the Tilt and Shift of the TS-E 24mm lens to correct the converging vertical lines.
I set up the camera to record small RAW files to a 32GB CF card and the same size JPEGs to a SD card. I knew that large RAW files would take too much space and I wouldn’t get three hours of images into 32GB so, as the files are ultimately for video, small RAW files were OK. I also like to have the JPEGs on a separate card because I can quickly ingest them into Lightroom using the SD slot on my MacBook Pro, which is handy for satisfying that need for instant gratification.
View over the Chao Phraya river, Bangkok
I set the camera to AV mode and dialled in f/8. Setting up a camera for a time-lapse sequence where the light levels are going to change so dramatically is a challenging task and the subject for much heated debate on Internet forums. However, I have found that the best approach is to set the aperture because I don’t want the depth-of-field wandering all over the place. Then I’ll set Auto ISO and allow the camera to move the ISO and shutter speed to compensate for the falling light.
However, two critical things to consider are the upper and lower limits of the ISO and these can be controlled in the relevant camera menu option and also the metering mode. I think that the majority of people who shoot time-lapse sequences on Auto and are then disappointed with the flickering results are metering on evaluative (Canon) or matrix (Neekon/Nyekon) mode. Setting the metering mode to partial or spot metering and then ensuring that the camera is metering from an area of average or neutral light density will overcome this whilst also allowing the camera to set the exposure correctly. But don’t tell anyone else this, it’s our little trade secret. Shhh!
View of the balcony with camera recording time-lapse sequence
I set the intervalometer to take a frame every 5 seconds and then left it running for an hour in the afternoon in order to check the results. Time-Lapse photography is a one-shot deal and if you leave the camera running for three hours only to discover that you’ve neglected to control one essential setting then, basically, you’re (insert preferred expletive here).
After checking the test shots, I made a few tweaks, tightened the tripod legs, added a weighty camera bag to the tripod hook for added stability, set the intervalometer running and went upstairs to the rooftop bar for a well-earned fruit juice.
Three hours later, with the CF card full, I had almost 2,000 JPEGs and 2,000 RAW files for processing. I made some simple adjustments to the RAW files, changing White Balance, Clarity, Vibrance and Camera Profile and then synchronised the processing across all files.
I exported new JPEGs from the RAW files and imported those to QuickTime Pro 7, creating a movie at 25 fps. From QuickTime Pro I exported the movie file to Final Cut Pro X, where the titles and music were added.
The music is “Spectrum” by Eric Haddad and was licensed through Audiosparx.