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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

My (possibly insane) plans to shoot an "IMAX" timelapse movie... :)

Don't worry about any one taking you seriously. You have proven that you know what your doing. I do agree with the guy that said its really important to make sure you have at the very least a direction for you project. Folks in suits like to feel they know what they are part of and not just a guy flying through there door and saying hey put this in your theeator. Thought about making a time lapse movie my self. Hope you at least enjoy working out in the field as much as we do on Survivor. If you want to see something really cool go to timelapsecrane.com and check out what Paulo and I do all the time on Survivor. Maybe if you need a crane for some of the work you'll give us a call. I know how hard you work to get the stuff you do and I wish you success.
 
Your crane shots are mind-blowing. I'm super impressed.

Do you have a photo of that rig set up?

For sure, if I have the resources I would love to shoot with something like that! Imagine an awesome crane move at Delicate Arch in Utah... at night!
 
Tom, I am working on a design for a "robotic" dolly, that follows a track at snail's pace and has a programmable head for both motion control shots and time-laps as well. I was inspired by Baraka and always wanted to shoot stuff like that in the rare places I had access to at various stages in my life. I would like to hear more about Your project - of course under NDA...

PM me if You are interested...
 
Tom, we just had an AZFCPUG meeting with Ned Travers, inventor of the CamTram Syatem.

http://www.camtramsystem.com/

One of the owners of his system cobbled together a very cool motion control rig for timelapse. If you go to the last link under "see videos" it will take you to this:

http://www.trevswork.com/mo/

Maybe this will give you some good ideas? It seems to me that just old-fashioned timelapse with pan & tilt just doesn't cut it anymore. But motion-controlled dollied timelapse? - that's got the possibilities to be breathtaking!

Judging by his footage, there's still some kinks to be worked out, but still...

Peter, if you are working on something similar to this, you should jump on it! Apparently, several people have contacted Ned wanting a rig like the one above, but this inventor seems to be tough to pin down. I really think there's a market (albeit niche) for something like this.
 
Tom said:
It's amazing to me that you could legitimately say that you shot "the highest resolution digital movie in the history of cinema" for 50 grand. :)

I just feel like I would rather be a guy who goes out and DOES something first, than one who TALKS about what he's going to do. The more I can show IMAX, the more they might take me seriously, I think.
Click to expand...

If you got the money.... Maybe it would be better to have the project mostly completed before you shop it around. And then sell the rights to the highest bidder. :greedy:

Maybe you can even negotiate a clause that lets you sell some of the individual clips to third-parties as stock footage.
 
Hi Scott, I am indeed developing something very similar, but mainly for myself. That is not to say I wont make one (or rent one) for someone else in the future. I need to first work out a lot of small issues before I can even show anything...

The few jumps in his footage could be easily "ironed" out in the post. I can imagine some sudden vibration of the entire rig during that particular frame caused the jump - a heavy truck driving by, gust of wind, etc...

One of the problems I am facing is to find a balance between affordability, portability, stability and quality...

Anyone interested feel free to PM or e-mail me...
 
Oh yeah, man. 25MB RAW file per frame. The images should be beautiful.
 
Curran Giddens said:
If you got the money.... Maybe it would be better to have the project mostly completed before you shop it around. And then sell the rights to the highest bidder.
Click to expand...

I think the idea of shopping it around early is you can get a feeling for the reaction to the idea. You don't have to sell it early. Sell it whenever you like the deal... it may well be worth more completed. But getting feedback from likely buyers as early as possible is smart because they may just toss you an idea that makes the project worth much more.
 
Go for it, Tom. Life is too short to be farting around :biggrin:

Here are my concerns:

You are right, the cost of shooting may be $50k, but you may need $500k to pitch your idea or sell the film. The self-arse-massaging commissioning editors are your biggest challange.

Also, remember that the technique and format are not your advantages. With technology widely available IMAX (or just about anyone) can do it themselves too and keep the savings for themselves. For those reasons you may consider not to pitch your project and just shoot your film without telling anyone.
Also, aim for self distribution. You will more likely get a sale if your film becomes competitive. Don't count on acquisition or distribution deal because you are likely to fail on this.

You will need more than one camera. I shot more than 200 timelapse clips and went through 4 cameras already. Buy 2 or 3 before you go out shooting. It is more productive to do a 2 camera shoot when stuff is happening. I can tell you how frustrating it is when you have a fly sit on your lens and ruin your shot when you got up at 4 am and witnessed spectacular, one in a thousand sunrise.

Some of your work is outstanding and I can say this honestly because this is what I do a lot and know how hard it can be. Send me an email, maybe we can join forces or have a brain storm at the very least.

Peter Majtan said:
Tom, I am working on a design for a "robotic" dolly, that follows a track at snail's pace and has a programmable head for both motion control shots and time-laps as well.
Click to expand...

I already have one :bleh:
 
Pawel, of course you are right about having two cameras, but I think that will be too expensive for me right now. It's going to be difficult enough to do this like I am planning it now. It's worth thinking about, though. I know what you mean. Did you see this shot I lost a couple weeks ago? I was really bummed...

http://www.vimeo.com/1204672

Yeah, a single bug on the lens, dust on the lens, dew on the lens, sensor dust, power failure, car headlights, drunken idiots with flashlights... there are a million ways to have your all-night timelapse fail.
 
Tom said:
Pawel, of course you are right about having two cameras, but I think that will be too expensive for me right now. It's going to be difficult enough to do this like I am planning it now. It's worth thinking about, though. I know what you mean. Did you see this shot I lost a couple weeks ago? I was really bummed...

http://www.vimeo.com/1204672
Click to expand...
Wow, very respectable shot indeed, bummer.

Tom said:
Yeah, a single bug on the lens, dust on the lens, dew on the lens, sensor dust, power failure, car headlights, drunken idiots with flashlights... there are a million ways to have your all-night timelapse fail.
Click to expand...
Yep, you got it. I think it would make a good story for a film in its own right :angry2:
 
Hey Tom

I know you've already done heaps of TL with Canons and you don't need advice on how to shoot - you're stuff is beautiful. I'm someone who knows where you're coming from as I've shot a fair amount of TL with Canons over the last 6 years (D30 up to 1DS MII). They are the most awesome TL cameras. I had a similar idea a few years ago involving a TL journey through some of Australia's more dramatic landscapes - unfortunately it didn't get off the ground.

Only things I can think of that may be of concern may be the shutter. At around $500 bucks a pop there not a huge expense but it might halt your progress. Do you think you'll be shooting in the 100,000s or the 10,000s in terms of frames? With such a big project it sounds like you be getting into the 100,000 range. If that's the case you would be lucky if you got away with it without needing at least one shutter replacement. We've had shutters last over 120,000 frames but others conk out with less than half that. Canon used to rate the life of the shutters at a ridiculously low 13,000 frames - not sure about the new ones.

Another possible issue to be aware of particularly as your goal is IMAX. The new Canon sensor on the 1DS MIII is actually too big for the glass that was so perfect on the MI and II. Basically it goes a bit soft on the edges - particularly on wide angles. I suspect Canon is sorting this issue out with it's newest lenses. I haven't really played with the MIII yet but this is what my photog buddies at work have been telling me for a month or so now.

Hope that helps - best of luck with the task ahead.

BTW - have you (or anyone, especially our Scandinavian friends) ever seen "A Year Along the Abandoned Road" ?
Beautiful Norwegian film (TL on 70mm) that tracks around a deserted village that comes alive with holiday makers each summer and then lies abandoned for the rest of the year. I bring it up because it's a stunning piece of work and the story behind how they shot it is a worth reading.

I hate to provide the Youtube link because it is such appalling quality but it seems to be a bit of a rarely seen film outside of Europe which is a shame. It's what inspired me into timelapse in the first place.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHxxelGu-Ic

Cam
 
Hey Tom,
Again, I would be one of the first in line to swell the spectator ranks if it got through to the theaters, your work is inspiring my friend.

With your current reel to date I would suggest putting in a pitch. What you could suggest is an incremental budget against performance goals. That is to say "OK, I need $x to start the movie, to get me to goal A which would be a selection of works in the initial vein". From there if the backers are happy you get budget installment #2 and so on so forth. This way you could look at getting that back up body with the initial budget installment. I guess you would need to look at issues such as copyright ownership, box office percentage deals etc.

Its not impossible. I'd say go for it. You definitely have the talent. If you can't find a market / budget / backer then I would suggest still go for it. There are many people selling relaxation DVD's and making relatively good money. I once had a doctor request something similar with underwater video for his waiting room, long slow sequences, very tranquil etc. He bought the footage outright and last I heard he had it playing on four large screens in his private practice in Florida. Saves him a bunch on aquariums, fish and fish food.

Full backing from this corner.

Go for it.
Cheers,
Mark.
 
Tom, an idea to add fuel to the fire... why not make this a an HDR film. Bracket your exposures and tonemap? I don't think it's ever been done.

I haven't read the whole thread so Im not sure if it's already been discussed but please think about the narrative. I love IMAX but it can often be nothing more than pretty pictures.
 
Go Tom...go go!!! Your work us very impressive, make the film to your best ability and it could sell itself, obviously you want a game plan but since your the primary investor then you have nothing to loose (minus 50k) and everything to gain!!! Ok so my post is a tad bit optimistic but I also will buy the bluray, even if it was pretty pictures only. Don't get me wrong, I am all for story but discovery paid a guy to film sun rises around the world...WTF? Best of luck man.
 
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