We've all seen impressive time-lapses before, but what really caught my eye with "Destination DC" was its human element. Washington D.C. is undoubtedly a historic city full of sites that are primed for capture, but that in itself means it's a challenge to create something that rises above the countless images and videos we've seen before. "Destination DC" does just that.
Created by Daniel Dawley and Jayrol San Jose of Swell, the time-lapse is a whirlwind tour of the city infused with the vibrancy of human life. Focused on using the "slow-mo from the a7S II, the hyperlapses, and the dolly zooms and mixing them all together in a weird and transitional way," the team wanted to steer clear of a more traditional commercial tourism video, creating something that stood apart from the crowd, both from a videography and commercial standpoint. "Destination DC" came to be after "Northern Hospitality," a personal project, was noticed by the city's marketing team. Regarding the importance of personal projects and how they translate to paid work, Dawley notes: "It's always important to focus on what you'd like to be doing, not only now, but in the future."
Be sure to check out Swell's site and follow Dawley and San Jose on Instagram for more!
Fstoppers, really? This is so amateurish. The post-processing leaves a lot to be desired, the rhythm itself is random, and certain hyperlapse sequences are pulled off so bad, with all the wobbles from warp stabilizer's subspace warp destroying the sequence (the one that first comes to mind is the one with the bridge (1:23)). And please don't call it a timelapse, I guess 50% of the video is slow-mo or normal video shots. What I don't understand is why anyone paid for this half-baked product. Just get someone with skills to do it, sheesh.
Source: Am hyperlapse producer
With all due respect, I think you're missing the forest for the trees here a bit. Are there technical imperfections that could be improved? Sure. Are those present in almost any piece of art? Absolutely. I see a compelling piece of work whose narrative rises above any technical issues you or I might see. But, we're all entitled to our opinion and those characteristics may matter more to you (particularly as a hyperlapse producer) than they do to me.
I enjoyed watching it and it's great that somebody took the time to do it. Were they commissioned by DC to do it or was this a personal project?
I think I would have preferred it without the close ups of human faces, but I understand that that was a personal artistic choice by the creators.