Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Observations on Art 4.22

I've posted a few timelapse videos over the years, they're something I really love, a love I probably picked up from my roommate in State College who was a film major. I never did anything with that love but maybe that will change next year. At the moment Geoff Tompkinson is one of the best timelapse video producers in the world and one of the few good hyperlapse producers. The now defunct website Inspiredology once called him the man who controls time. Next year he and his wife Liz will be giving one of their workshops in New York and I'm seriously considering attending.

The Independent described hyperlapse as basically "shorthand for large distance stop motion timelapse," hyperlapse is a much easier word to use. When asked the difference between timelapse and hyperlapse Tompkinson answered; "It’s quite similar in that the footage is a series of photographs that are put into sequence and sped up to play at 24 frames per second only, with timelapse it’s normally from a single static position or incorporating a small rail-based move. With hyperlapse, I’m moving the camera long distances during the sequence to offer a very different experience as we can journey around a place or through a building, as opposed to just seeing everything unfold all from one spot." The trick is to transition from photo to photo without the video looking jerky.

Below is Tompkinson's latest video, Moving Through New York.


Moving Through New York from Geoff Tompkinson on Vimeo.
Posted April 8, 2014

Here is a link to the Tompkinson film The Lake which was the overall winner of the 2013 Chronos Film Festival. The festival celebrates the art of altered time perception cinematography including time-lapse, slow motion, and stop motion photography.