Time-Lapse Photography

by on July 1, 2009

A good friend of mine is involved in a construction project. I don’t have all the details, but he is looking to create a time-lapse record of the demo at a site followed by the construction of a new building. He estimates that the project will last 12-18 months.

Here is what he is looking for:

  • A setup he can set and forget about until the project is done. He doesn’t want to have to worry about someone forgetting to  take a picture.
  • Needs to be reasonably secure. He says there is a telephone pole and tree on site that could serve as a mount.
  • Open to contracting with someone who does this, or purchasing the equipment needed, depending on the cost.

Questions that will need answered by him, or any experts out there:

  1. What is a good resolution for this project? I’m thinking 1920 x 1080 would be on the high end since the eventual output would be a video, and that is HD level image. So anything beyond 2 Megapixel seems a waste.
  2. Power supplies. I don’t know how often you will need to recharge, but I doubt we have a source that will last 12-18 months.
  3. How many shots a day would be ideal? Or is it shots a week?
  4. If the telephone pole is best choice, how do you go about getting permission?
  5. What are some good software tools for this?

So, if you have any guidance, please share. If you do this kind of work, contact me and I will put you two in touch.

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