A great Atlanta timelapse (Columbus, Lenox: credit, theatre, camp)

[Ant131531]

Just found this off a Atlanta urbanist blog I read daily. Apparently, it was made very recently. Not a fan of the music, but I think many of the scenes used in the video were great and makes Atlanta...seem...awesome. Great mix of skyline shots at day and night with streetlife on the ground. It actually competes with some of the timelapse videos made for some of the bigger cities like New York and Chicago. Decided to share it with you all.


ATLapse on Vimeo - Credit to Tim Redman of Vimeo.

[erick295]

All I saw was 30 seconds of tourists and 3:30 of traffic congestion, but I guess that's about right

I'm a sucker for time lapse though. Nice find.

[ATLTJL]

That's so funny, and I guess it is just another testament to how you and I see this city in completely opposite ways.

The photography was really nice, but to me it almost made Atlanta seem like a ghost town, I didn't see any vitality at all...I think because there isn't much humanity in it. Why didn't he get more people? Even if it meant he had to go to Lenox, Atlantic Station, or wait until the summer to do this so he could get crowds at some of the spring outdoor festivals. There were some nice shots of the city, but if I didn't live here, I would think the city was dead and boring. It's not, he just didn't go where people are doing interesting things. He could have at least gotten people getting on and off of MARTA trains. All he'd have to do is set up at 5 Points station during commuter hours. There are so many things like that he could have done, but I don't know, maybe that's not what he was trying to capture.

This guy seems a lot more interested in capturing clouds moving across the sky than people doing what they do. Technically, it's very nice, if you're into clouds.

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

That's so funny, and I guess it is just another testament to how you and I see this city in completely opposite ways.

The photography was really nice, but to me it almost made Atlanta seem like a ghost town, I didn't see any vitality at all...I think because there isn't much humanity in it. Why didn't he get more people? Even if it meant he had to go to Lenox, Atlantic Station, or wait until the summer to do this so he could get crowds at some of the spring outdoor festivals. There were some nice shots of the city, but if I didn't live here, I would think the city was dead and boring. It's not, he just didn't go where people are doing interesting things. He could have at least gotten people getting on and off of MARTA trains. All he'd have to do is set up at 5 Points station during commuter hours. There are so many things like that he could have done, but I don't know, maybe that's not what he was trying to capture.

This guy seems a lot more interested in capturing clouds moving across the sky than people doing what they do. Technically, it's very nice, if you're into clouds.

Let's be realistic. Atlanta will NEVER be close to Chicago or Manhattan levels. People who make timelapses of those cities will obviously have a better time finding life on the ground. Trying to film during festivals would only deceive the viewer into thinking this city is alive. The pictures I took a couple of weeks back are the closest thing you will find to realistic streetlife in this city and I took those during a weekday.

Sadly, this is the best timelapse I've seen of this city. Compare it to these timelapse however and...well, it doesn't compare.

Mindrelic - Manhattan in motion on Vimeo

The City Limits on Vimeo

NightFall on Vimeo

Atlanta just isn't a grand city so capturing life on the ground or spectacular skyline shots like these are simply impossible at this given time. It was good for what the city of Atlanta currently is though. You should look at these videos to see what I mean.

[Ant131531]

Let me just say before someone goes off blaberring about how I'm comparing ATL to NYC again. I'm just saying that, don't expect the video to have areas teeming with life in the ground like other grand cities do. IMO, his video was pretty realistic to what life is on the ground...maybe he could have went to a few better places(Broad st. during the weekday), but I still think it was a good video for how limited a person is in this city compared to say a city like New York.

[Columbuskidd92]

Chicago and Manhattan is irrelevant to this thread. I thought you were talking about Atlanta time lapse,Ant? Lets stay on topic before Greg lock this thread.

[ATLTJL]

Wow. I thought the Atlanta one was pretty nice photography, but those other guys completely blew him out of the water. They are immensely better photographers.

But looking at them, it seems like maybe vitality isn't the goal of these things, it's just to show the city. But if you notice the European one showed people moving about some type of terminal (looked like a train station), yet the Atlanta guy didn't even go to Hartsfield. It also showed a bunch of people outside watching a movie, but our guy didn't go to any kind of outdoor event. I don't think it's deceptive to show that. Why didn't he even show the peach drop? Maybe that's not the idea, I don't know. If he wanted to capture vitality, though, he certainly could have done a better job. I think maybe that's just not what he was interested in doing.

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by Columbuskidd92

Chicago and Manhattan is irrelevant to this thread. I thought you were talking about Atlanta time lapse,Ant? Lets stay on topic before Greg lock this thread.

You're right. I just find it strange he's criticizing the video on streetlife when the the streetlife/vibrancy shown in the video is pretty realistic of what Atlanta is most of the day/night. It's wrong if you have to use a festival or special event to showcase vibrancy in a city. All it does is falsify the reality of the city. You're better off showing the streets of Midtown when a Fox Theatre show is starting or ending...at least that happens on a weekly basis.

I do think however, he could have taken out the downtown connector shots and added more areas around major intersections in Midtown. No one really cares about a 16 lane connector especially during the day.

[Ant131531]

Originally Posted by ATLTJL

Wow. I thought the Atlanta one was pretty nice photography, but those other guys completely blew him out of the water. They are immensely better photographers.

But looking at them, it seems like maybe vitality isn't the goal of these things, it's just to show the city. But if you notice the European one showed people moving about some type of terminal (looked like a train station), yet the Atlanta guy didn't even go to Hartsfield. It also showed a bunch of people outside watching a movie, but our guy didn't go to any kind of outdoor event. I don't think it's deceptive to show that. Why didn't he even show the peach drop? Maybe that's not the idea, I don't know. If he wanted to capture vitality, though, he certainly could have done a better job. I think maybe that's just not what he was interested in doing.

If you're talking about the 2nd video, I'm pretty sure that's Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan LOL.

I think this guy is still just an amateur...the guys who made those others are pros, but I think they just have a lot more going on for them because of how massive the cities are.

Showing Hartsfield LOL? Anyone can show their airport...I think showing the inside of Five Points would have been pretty good...I love the facades and art in there to be honest and it feels like a large station.

I think he was just creating a timelapse of both skyline shots and street shots. Showcasing the city a little. I'm sure someone can make a pro timelapse like those guys, but it's hard when you don't have blocks and blocks of endless skyscrapers. The skyline shot at the beginning of the video does ATL a lot of justice tbh. If I was someone from outside the city, I would have thought Atlanta was huge.

[ATLTJL]

I could tell the other guys had a lot more resources. It looked like they had access to camera cranes or something that got them much better shots. But if I was commissioned to a do a video like this, my first thoughts outside of regular skyline scenes would be something like....

* Shoot out the window of the Sundial and timelapse a full 360 revolution
* Go to Piedmont Park on a sunny day. Maybe in the morning and get the people doing boot camp there.
* Crescent Avenue on a weekend night.
* A shot like he got of the Varsity, but did you notice that most of the cars never moved? I'm sure he wasn't there during lunch!
* Peachtree Center during lunch hour. Either inside the mall area or in the courtyard outside.
* Georgia Tech campus during class change time when lots of people are out.
* Like we said, Five Points MARTA station. It does have neat art inside.
* Fairlie-Poplar district during lunch hour on a nice day when people are sidewalk dining.

That's just off the top of my head.