timescapes

Mobile Production Studio

Tom on Red MX with Duclos 80-200mm

Red on shore of Lake Powell

People watching at 200mm

On Thursday, me and Dustin (who took all these blog pics by the way) went back out to the “Holy Land” for one last hurrah. We arrived at the remote location before sunset, scouted, and got our first dolly move off around 9pm. The next dolly move we started about 11pm. By 3am, we were freezing some serious balls in the sub-freezing temps, not to mention barely being able to stay awake around our little campfire. We wrapped the final dolly move around 5am, just as the sun was lighting up the sky before sunrise. Only one thing kept us going.. thoughts of hauling ass to McDonalds for some breakfast sandwiches, hashbrowns and coffee! That was pretty much all we talked about around the fire from 4am on…. Hahahaha.

As you can see in the above photos, the weather has taken a turn for the better here at Lake Powell!! Today was sunny and warm. I just soaked it up all day, messing around with new gear out on our sunny little patio. Check out this ridiculously awesome “timelapse crane” that Eric Kessler from Kessler Cranes built for me. I cannot wait to try it out on a windless night at Joshua Tree, for example:

New Kessler “Timelapse Crane” from Timescapes Behind the Scenes on Vimeo.

We have an epic 9-hour drive to Coachella music fest coming up on Monday. I’m not looking forward to that. Once I drop the trailer and Dustin off at the artist campground at Coachella, I am zooming over to Vegas for 2 or 3 nights to schmooze, see some of my clips in two different Canon reels, pick up the new camBLOCK dolly axis, and attend the Red party. Should be crazy being around all those people, sounds and lights after spending nearly 2 months out in these beautiful, quiet, remote locations.

Our new campground

Trying to film in 30mph winds

We made it to Page, AZ a few days ago. Our trailer is basically right on Lake Powell. The weather has been extremely bad, with 50mph winds and grey skies, but we’ve managed to get a few really nice shots done. The photos below were taken from Highway 89 just south of Page, overlooking the upper Grand Canyon, when some seriously crazy light rolled in just before sunset!

Breaking out the big guns

Into the light

Using my truck to block the wind

On Friday, LA timelapse legend Drew Walker from 599 Productions came out to join us. We immediately took him directly to the top secret “Holy Land” location, and judging by his reaction, he was not disappointed. I wish I could share some of the photos and behind-the-scenes videos and timelapses we made, but I am going to keep that location secret until at least this Fall. I am working on a big follow-up to “Mountain Light” that will be 8 minutes in length and will contain many shots from the “Holy Land” and our entire year on the road.

I know I have been slow on this blog. It’s mainly due to the fact that I have been struggling to get all the gear together, figured out and working. But I am vowing to do a lot more updates as the film progresses, so stay tuned.

camBLOCK system preview from Timescapes Behind the Scenes on Vimeo.

After a series of delays and crucial accessory parts being shipped late to RV parks that we had already left the week before (I’m talking about you, “Price Pros” ), we’ve finally got the camBLOCK pan & tilt motion-control system up and running. It’s very, very slick. I should be getting the dolly axis at NAB around April 13th. With the full 3-axis system, this will be a serious game-changer for the most advanced, high-end timelapse shots I am after.

This thing is super advanced and can do all kinds of crazy stuff. I’ll make some lengthy, on-location videos so you guys can see exactly what it’s capable of.

After a grueling 30-day delay on receiving the Red One Mysterium X digital cinema camera, the Eagle has finally landed! I hope to break new ground with this (and its forthcoming replacement the Epic X) camera over the coming year. Because I plan to finish my film at 1080p, I will probably film a lot of my Red MX footage at 50 frames per second at 3K resolution, for that nice poetic slow-motion effect.

Also, two days ago we sought out and found an extremely rare and mind-blowing “secret” location here in Northern Arizona. When we arrived, we could not believe our eyes. Our jaws hit the ground. We shot 4 timelapse dolly moves and one panning timelapse out there the first night, and we haven’t even gotten warmed up yet. This location must be among the most amazing on earth. We have named it simply, “The Holy Land.”

Tom & Dustin at the office working on “Southwest Light” from Timescapes Behind the Scenes on Vimeo.

My assistant Dustin and me arriving in Ajo. Amazing landscapes.

We’ve been here in Ajo, Arizona for about a week now, and we are enjoying the hell out of this place. I had spent two weeks here last year shooting sequences for “Learning to Fly”, living in a simple tent out in the middle of the desert. It had been an incredible feeling of freedom spending that time here, especially with weather so balmy in February that I was walking around in flip-flops and a tank top. I was really eager to get back here this winter. I have not been disapointed.

Saguaro Cactus on Eastern side of Goldwater Bombing range. The US Air Force was kind enough to provide the epic lighting

Things started out with “bang” with this sequence pictured above of a massive Saguaro cactus lit by several battlefield illumination flares dropped by Air Force jets. We pulled a dolly move on this cactus with the 14mm 2.8 II, and right in the middle of the move, those flares lit the entire scene up. What appears to be a “sun” in the distance is a flare. And two more flares are high in the sky behind the camera providing the “front lighting” on the cactus and desert landscape. Cheers, US Air Force!

The Office

Most days, we head out for location scouting around 2pm or 3pm, scout for several hours, pick a spot, and get the dolly set up by sundown. We often shoot a sunset shot, then kick back and start a fire while waiting for “astronomical sunset” about 1.5 hours after proper sunset. In addition to Canon, Kessler Cranes, and camBLOCK moco, I’m beginning to think I should have tried to secure us a sponsorship from Coors Light as well.

Here are a few more behind-the-scenes photos…

We will probably stay in southern Arizona for another week at least, and then possibly head toward Sedona/Flagstaff or Death Valley

Welcome to the Timescapes Blog! I am excited to announce that I have received financial and other backing from a small studio outside the United States, and will begin principle photography on my first film, titled Southwest Light, on Feb 22nd, 2010!  The film will be roughly 45 minutes in length, a mixture of timelapse, slow-motion, and real-time footage shot in beautiful digital RAW format on Canon and Red cameras.

Along with friends, fellow filmmakers, acquaintances, and various “Guest Directors of Photography” who will join up with me along the way, I will travel the American Southwest (California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona & New Mexico) for ten straight months, no stopping, in a Toyota 4X4 truck hauling a travel trailer and camera gear. My goal is to create a portrait of “a time and a place” using poetic, haunting, jaw-dropping visuals.  The genre of the film will be similar to non-narrative masterpieces Baraka and Koyaanisqatsi. Along the way, I hope to offer unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the making of a film of this type, here on this blog. For those of you who really like to dig into the details (what f-stop? what gear? what settings? how did you shoot that?) and see how these types of films are made, this will be your chance.

Thanks to help from friend Vincent Laforet, Canon USA is stepping up and backing Southwest Light with a crucial, major sponsorship. I will also be announcing other major sponsorships over the coming weeks.

We are also looking for suggestions of amazing locations and events you think we should film over the coming year in the American Southwest. Maybe you know of some interesting local event, like a hot-air-balloon rally, Native American ceremony, a natural granite waterslide where families swim in the summer, or maybe some epic landscape where the setting sun hits a rock formation in a certain way only one time per year? Let us know! We are looking for great suggestions for locations and events. If you have expertise or connections related to locations (your Uncle works at a radio telescope array?), let us know. We will show up with the cameras.

To keep up with the production, also sign up for email updates at timescapes.org.

In addition to documenting the filming of Southwest Light, the Timescapes Blog will also feature contributions from leading members of the Timescapes Forum and Community, related to timelapse and other digital filmmaking news and innovation.

Stay tuned! This is going to be a year to remember!

Production footage from August 2009:

Timescapes Timelapse: Mountain Light from Tom Lowe @ Timescapes on Vimeo.