Here’s a breathtaking perspective on the city of Dubai, created by UK filmmaker Richard Bentley. It took him two and a half weeks to capture the footage, shooting one to two sequences a day from various balconies and rooftops. He shot with a Canon 7D, and edited in Avid Media Composer. The final product is fascinating. The only problem I have with this video is that it reminds me that I have yet to see this city in person. That needs to change. [more]
As Fstoppers’ resident aviation dork, I felt compelled to share these incredible images of the last time Space Shuttle Discovery will take to the air. Discovery was recently retired, and has been ferried from her home in Florida to it’s final resting place, the Udvar-Hazy Center, an annex of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum. Not only is the entire process of ferrying a shuttle a technological marvel in and of itself, the photos that Nasa takes aren’t half bad, either. [more]
These days RC helicopters with video cameras are becoming more and more common because you can control and land them in almost any terrain. Have you ever wondered how you have to land an RC airplane when there are no available runways? Apparently you have to fly them directly at yourself and then snatch them out of the air with your bare hand. Check out this fantastic video which shows the pilot in some pretty incredible locations catching the plane again and again. [more]
I know that we’ve experienced a pretty big spate of aviation-related posts over the past few weeks. Anyone else getting sick of them? No? Good. Me neither. Here’s another one that is just too cool, and makes me way too jealous. [more]
Anthropocene is a series of images from Dublin photographer David Thomas Smith. I would love to see these photographs in print. Very, very large print. I think it’s a brilliantly executed concept. Also, there’s an app for that. The year after Smith created these shots, Rorschmap was invented. It creates the same type of composites [more]
Only a few times have I ever questioned what I’m doing with my life. This video makes me wonder why I am not pursuing this. This is a remixed trailer of a movie called Les Chevaliers du Ciel, which means, Sky Fighters. Whatever the name, this video showcases some of the cleanest and most captivating footage I’ve seen from the skies. Owe it to yourself to get lost in this visual feast.
Who doesn’t love watching the X Games? Those athletes are crazy. Just as captivating, though, is this behind-the-scenes two-part video on The Northface and X Games Baldface commercial. Director Todd Jones pulls out all the stops in this two part BTS documentary, breaking out a Phantom HD Gold, a helicopter, and building one really enormous jump. [more]
The BBC has produced some of my favorite shows of all time. Their newest program called Earthflight captures amazing HD video from the skies as they put you literally on the wings of wild birds. I really can’t imagine how they got these shots of eagles stalking unsuspecting flamingos but it’s definitely not filmed on a Gopro Hero. Click the full post to check out the amazing view in full HD glory!
Have you ever wondered just how many photographs are taken each day? Maybe you’ve wondered where the most photos are taken throughout the world. Well the GPS data tracking company Triposo has released a timelapse video that shows exactly where most of the world’s photographs are taken. With the help from sites like Flickr, Dmoz, TouristEye, Open Street Maps, and dozens others, Triposo was able to plot popular areas for photography using GPS data embedded into the photographs themselves. Not only did they capture the location of the photos but also the day it was taken. Click the full post to see still shots of the most popular days people are using their cameras.
If you’ve watched an american football game, you’ve seen those cool shots from high up in the air. They come from a camera called the Skycam which was actually invented by the same people who designed the Steadicam used in movie productions. It’s basically a remote camera controlled by four computer driven suspension cables. But what happens when everything goes wrong and the camera comes crashing to the ground? Well that’s exactly what happened during the 2011 Insight College Bowl Game featuring Iowa and Oklahoma. Luckily the camera missed landing on any of the players but it sure did come close. Check out the full post to see a behind the scenes video on how the Skycam works.
Have you ever wondered what happens to your checked luggage after you check into your flight and leave it to be loaded on the conveyor belt? Well this video will show you just what happens to your prized belongings when they enter the hands of the airlines and the TSA. Six cameras were mounted in what looks like a pelican case so every angle could be documented. Obviously all of the bag handlers were aware they were being filmed (so who knows how authentic this ‘experiment’ actually is) but it’s still pretty interesting to see how your bag gets from the Delta Terminal to your final luggage terminal in another city. Am I the only one who thinks if I did this the TSA inspectors would have turned my cameras off or changed their position? They never seem to leave my carry on lenses alone yet these video cameras go untouched. Nevertheless, thumps up to Delta for a creative advertising campaign.
The ISO sensitivity on today’s flagship DSLR cameras is pretty amazing. They are so amazing in fact that for the first time, NASA is able to use Nikon D3 cameras to create night time timelapse videos as the earth sleeps. You’ve probably seen a bunch of these stunning videos here but now we are able to see who is responsible for capturing the raw images from orbit. Mike Massimino takes you behind the scenes with astronaut/photographer Mike Fossum as he talks about his passion for long exposure photography from space. The audio is pretty rough so use headphones if you have trouble hearing.
Inspired by Google’s street view, Honda Civic is launching their 2012 campaign by creating an interactive 360 degree online experience that will let viewers explore unique environments that have never been seen before. This behind the scenes video is just a peek at what is to come and so far it is pretty awesome. They have filmed areas like the previously unexplored Alaskan ice caves and an underwater art museum in Cancun, and the Boneyard at the Neon Museum in Las Vegas. Watch the preview and making of Honda’s upcoming campaign below.
I am shocked that I’ve never seen this amazing commercial before. I actually overlooked it a few times because I thought it was fake. It wasn’t until I saw this BTSV that I found out that this really did happen. The camera had to endure temperatures down to 90 degrees below 0 and a massive fall once the balloon finally popped. Luckily the gear survived with the help of a parachute and they were able to create this amazing commercial. Check out the finished commercial in the full post.
We just received a very interesting contest entry from Viet Q. Mac, a recent graduate from the University of California, Santa Cruz. His buddy from Film Matters contacted him about an upcoming video production involving the 311RS and a couple Red Epics. Viet decided that this would be the perfect opportunity to create something for our BTS Contest. Although this video leaves many questions unanswered it is a beautiful look at a production of this size. To check out all of the contest entries as they come in you can keep an eye on our forum.
