Medium Density Residential Apartments in Sydney

Electric Films provides long-term time-lapse and site monitoring for Sydney's multi-residential and medium-density construction sector. From boutique single dwelling construction, apartment buildings, townhouses and community infrastructure, we deliver a quality 4K time-lapse, live cameras and drone photography visual asset.

Led by 14-time award-winning cinematographer Graeme Beck, we reject the standard "set-and-forget" mentality. We actively monitor camera outputs and relocate our custom made, live enabled and solar powered cameras when a better angle arises. We can integrate drone cinematography for a comprehensive, cinematic narrative of your construction project from groundwork to completion.

Marina Apartments - Time-lapse Camera on Scaffolding

(Duration: 1m 20s)

Electric Films attached one of own solar powered time-lapse cameras to a street pole to photograph this medium-density residential development in Gosford.
As the building progressed, we moved the camera to the scaffolding for a more dynamic shot and followed the construction floor by floor. The camera then returned to the street to photograph the completion of the building.

We then edited the monthly videos into a short video for marketing and archiving purposes.

Ikon Apartments - Time-lapse Attached to Crane

(Duration: 2m 07s)

Time-lapse Camera Attached to Crane

In this example, from the Ikon Apartments in Gosford, our time-lapse camera was attached to the site crane for the majority of the build. With the inherent movement from an active crane, time-lapse vision is unusable. At Electric Films we use several software programs to smooth out the vision making use of this advantageous camera position.

Murdoch Apartments - Time-lapse and Drone

(Duration: 6m 35s - Extended Version)

On this example, we incorporated drone cinematography during most of our regular monthly site visits. At the completion of filming, the client wanted a more omprehensive edit than the two short edits above.

Summary

On commissioning of a new time-lapse project, Electric Films visits the site and shares photographs with the client of the various potential camera positions. Usually one in particular stands out as to where to start filming.

Depending on many variables, we look for the best angle to follow the construction progress.

This can be from the scaffolding, crane, building or any advantage point we can find. We invariably finish on a wide shot and adjust the camera settings to get to get a 'hero' shot to finish.

We visit construction sites on a monthly basis to clean and check the cameras and also to liaise with the site managers as to positioning the camera.

We make up monthly videos for our clients to view progress and occasionally for site issues. The cameras are shooting in 5k resolution so a considerable amount of enlarging is possible.
We also supply live cameras for viewing from your mobile phone if required.

Some clients edit up the monthly videos into short films. There is enough vision to make either a long or short length videos.


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Frequently Asked Questions

How often are your time-lapse cameras maintained?

We perform regular monthly physical checks where lenses are cleaned and systems checked. If a better camera position arises, we liaise with the site managers. All cameras are monitored via a cellular audio link every 2 to 3 days on the average slow build, or at shorter intervals relative to the complexity of the action. Where our cameras are connected to the web, they are monitored daily with the vision being uploaded in real time to our own computers or to yours if required.

What happens if a camera gets bumped?

To correct minor movement, we stabilise the vision in Adobe After Effects. Further movement requires using a corner pin filter and aligning the vision into shape to match the shots together. Large movement requires the camera to be re-positioned.

You often attach a camera to scaffolding or a crane, how do you get the wobble out?

As these platforms offer a superior viewpoint, they are often utilised. For regular monthly updates, we run the vision through Adobe After Effects' stabilising program. Superior results can be pre-edited to remove the frames with the largest movement.

Can your clients access the camera?

Yes. We can provide a live feed to your mobile and can also upload the shots in real time to our computers, or to our client's computer if desired.

What time intervals do you shoot?

On typical construction shoots around a year or more, we shoot every 10 minutes. We reduce this interval to 5 minutes on completion to capture stunning transitions into night to show off your project at its best. Other time-lapse projects the time interval is varied to suit the project.