2-Year Construction Time-Lapse with Drone Aerial Video

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
December 12, 2018
3 replies
1490 views

We have an apartments construction project starting now (end of 2018) from earthwork, that will go all the way to occupancy (end of 2020).

I visit the site weekly and I do a drone video with my DJI Mavic Air and I use Litchi Mission Hub which helps me pre-plan a waypoints Mission for my drone to fly.

This way I get the same drone video path/footage every time to then make the time-lapse with it.

Of course is not as perfect as mounting a camera on a tripod. The wind is different every day, sunlight is different, there may be some rain, etc.

In the end, I should have around 100 video clips of the drone following the same path over a 2 year period.

I want to ask for tips to consider throughout this process:

1) Recommended video settings? I'm starting with 4K-24fps and using automatic exposure.

2) Tips on Premiere Pro for aligning the shots? I have a couple of shots already and the drone does not shoot exactly the same path, there is some variance.

The drone goes about 200 ft high and does a 1-mile long flight, it lasts for about 8-9 min. Also, the camera may tilt a bit making the shot look a little rotated.

3) Tips on Premiere Pro for Color Correction? Like I mentioned above, each site visit has different climate conditions, sometimes is bright and sunny, other times it is cloudy and a bit rainy (hopefully still safe enough to fly my drone). Therefore the color of each video is a bit different. I was looking for suggestions for how to color correct to make them all look even throughout the video.

4) Any other tip/comment/suggestion would be very much appreciated. It's my first time doing a timelapse video like this.

If you would like to take a look at the clips I have so far please click HERE.

Those are processed video clips to make the file size smaller, I do still have the files bigger files straight from the SD card.

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

This topic has been closed for replies.

R Neil Haugen

Legend

Auto exposure will be a problem right off. Anytime the camera looks at a brighter or darker bit of the site or changes angle in relation to the sun, exposure will jump.

VERY hard to recover in post.

To match clips, set a clip spot on the first clip where you can match the scene on later clips.

Go to Color Wheels and Match tab, turn on comparison view, turn off face detection, and click "apply match". Do that every clip down the sequence, match the view to the reference from the first clip.

Neil

Everyone's mileage always varies ...

R

rodneyb56060189

Legend

Neil has great advice but I have to add some opinion of my own.

Auto exposure is the only way to get remotely close to getting a decent picture. The meter in camera tries to put the average balance of luminance in zone 5 ( mid-tone ), and since you aint in the air with a light meter hand held, auto is the only way to go. And it will be fine.

if shooting 4K, make your timeline LESS ( like 1920x1080 full HD ) so you have room to scale DOWN AND POSITI0N your clips to match as much as you can. Use the tree line or some obvious permanent structure as your "reference".

Auto WB might be best (what I would use) or else use 56 Kelvin. AWB should do the trick.

Shoot 30 fps if you can. Each frame will look a tiny bit 'sharper' with the faster shutter speed.

cut a lot with blueprints and artist renderings and some close up on the ground stuff ( I want to see men working, moving heavy trucks and elements of the build , like pre-fab stuff coming to site, pipes getting put in ground, etc. ). If it's not about PEOPLE I will get bored pretty quick.

Think about your voice over and your music track, and your ultimate GOAL re: duration of film.

This is a huge project you are attempting and it's really cool you are doing it !!!!!

R

rodneyb56060189

Legend

It would be nice if you could talk to the architect and building contractor(s) and get them involved with helping you capture what is going on.

Typically some stuff will be done in the open ( digging out for foundation for walls and slabs, plumbing, sewers, water, gas, elec, etc. ) and once the walls go up ( and roof ) to protect interior work that follows, you'll see less and less change from the air.

So, blueprints, tighter shots on specific areas being worked on 'at the moment', etc. would make it maybe more interesting ?? And then later I would guess you'd have to go inside with tripod and shoot what's going on inside too, cause the only stuff outside would be finishing landscaping and parking lots and access roads, etc. ??

That's a huge project, good luck !