Im looking into shooting some long term (1 week max) sequences for a client, who wants motion control.

How feasible is this? What are the issues that I should be aware of? Bar obvious ones like theft etc. Power will not be an issue as will connect to mains.

Thanks, Will.

You'll need to plan the move out in great detail, but other than that it should run like a standard timelapse.

What is it you're shooting? How big is the move? 3 axis, 1 axis.. What gear are you looking at?

These are things I'd need to know to provide more help

Good you have mains power for it. Maybe throw in an uninterruptable power supply just in case. Dew heaters might save some aggravation. Protection from rain, even if its just fitting the camera and motion controller into mailboxes and tupperware (on blocks or with vents) to cover motors. Rain could put more mist on the lens than the dew heater can dry. Leaves and what not falling on the track or into belts etc. Salt spray accumulation on lenses and everything else if you're anywhere near the ocean. Sorry if these are all obvious. I second the opinion that more description of what equipment is being used and what the environment is like could help elicit more specific suggestions.

Hi guys sorry for the delayed response and thanks for the comments.

More info - it will be shooting the key stages of a private house build. Looking at using either DP Stage 0 or Emotimo TB3. Or a combination of both.

Im thinking that even though mains is available, battery (an external one that is) may be a better option due to less wiring. Obviously on a building site, there will be a lot of people moving about. Also, I will not be on site everyday, only the 1st and last days.

Cheers, Will.

I am not sure that you will see much in a week long timelapse of a private home build.

I have worked on some homes where it appears like nothing is happening for months. (On one house, it took years, but it was huge) I do not understand why residential takes so long, but it seems to always take a lot longer than commercial builds.

My 2 cents. Shoot static timelapses and add the movement in post. While I would not normally suggest this, I am guessing that you will not need any resolution higher than 1920 x 1080, so there will be a lot of pixels to work with.

I wont be shooting the whole thing, but key parts of the build that may (or not) take up to a week to do. Eg a steel frame or something like that.

I would do that but the client has expressed an interest specifically in motion Time Lapse!

If there's still time, you can get the 1030 extrusion from 80/20 inc (DP stage 0 track) in lengths up to 20 feet. You'll need to order a longer belt from DP. The longer track will let you get a little farther from your subject and still see the effect of the dolly moving. If you can have a timer interrupt the dolly and shutter at night or when nothing is happening, the motion should look continuous even if the light changes every time it pauses overnight. It'll have a weird look which has never been seen before.

Try some tests over a short period of time. I've found the MX-2 sometimes doesn't start some motors when set to its most slow speeds (0.01 or 0.02i). Once I have a setting where the motor starts every time, the results look very smooth.

Where are you shooting from? How are you securing your gear?