A Technicolor-Like Time-Lapse Video

Watching this magical time-lapse video - of the Annual Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta shot by Knate Myers -  I couldn't wipe the silly smile off my face. The stunning colors and compositions captivate. If you ask me, Knate completely succeeded in providing the best seats in the house for anyone who didn’t get to attend this magnificent event. I am certainly adding it to my bucket-list of things to do and see.

I had asked Knate to walk us through his entire process for creating this video and this is what he said:

“I'm an Albuquerque native and attend the Balloon Fiesta every year. A few years ago the time-lapse bug bit me and I greatly enjoy creating this kind of art. This year I decided to create a short film in order to capture the fun, nine-day event, and knew that time-lapse would be the perfect way to do it.

I woke up nearly every morning around 4:15AM so I could beat the crowds and get onto the field early. One morning I woke up a little too late and drove to the other side of town. I found a perfect spot that allowed for a great view of the hot air balloons floating above Albuquerque with the Sandia Mountains as a backdrop. I'm so glad I found this spot as it resulted in some of my favorite clips in the video.

Being familiar with the field and the event in general, I had most shots and angles planned ahead of time. Each time-lapse sequence is comprised of 400-900 photos, taken every 1-2 seconds, in manual mode (to reduce flicker) and in RAW (for greater flexibility in editing). I edited and rendered out each sequence in Adobe After Effects and then used Final Cut Pro to arrange and set the video clips to music. 

I carried two tripods and two cameras with me each day: Nikon D600 and D7100. Lenses included the Nikkor 18-200, 24-85 and Rokinon 14mm.

I was able to achieve the panning shots with the help of the eMotimo TB3 and Dynamic Perception Stage R. Both are great motion control units that allow the camera to pan & tilt rather than sit static while recording a time-lapse.

This week-long shoot was a lot of work, with little sleep but incredibly fun and rewarding. I think the most exciting part was the opportunity the go up in a balloon with hundreds of others on the last weekend. I wasn't allowed to bring a tripod, due to space limitations, so I used my GoPro to record those shots.

This short film only shows about half of the footage I took this year and I plan on putting together a slower paced, extended cut early next year.”

knatephoto.com

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