Looking for help/guidance – Time lapse photography of construction project using Litchi waypoints

[keysol]

I am planning a project involving the construction of a multi-story long-term care facility. The construction is due to start this coming May. This project is not a moneymaking venture. I’m volunteering my time and resources to my previous employer now that I’m retired and have the time. I would like to film/document the progression during the course of the construction, which may last 2 years or more.

I have come across what I think, is a very well done example of such a project:

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.

I have purchased a DJI Mini 2 and the new Litchi app. I’ve never piloted a drone other than four or five times and VERY cautiously. I have practiced creating virtual missions and I am looking forward to warmer weather so that I can test it out. I am relying on the UAV Forecast app to evaluate the situation. I would like to give a shout out to « The Varied Life”. for an excellent primer on the use of Litchi’s Waypoints. (

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) Also, thanks to him, I thankfully connected with this excellent forum.

I apologize for being long-winded but I’m trying to give a comprehensive picture of my situation and what I’m aiming for.

So, for those of you who made it to this point, I’ll be very appreciative if you have any tips, resources, techniques or any information that might serve to help me succeed in my endeavor.

 

[Dronut]

I'd go and find a building that is about the same height, length and width of the one you are making a record of and plan a few practice missions around it so you get the right stand-off distances and gimbal angles. Once you've got a few missions saved at that building, you can then copy and paste them onto the actual worksite area and then tweak them, taking into consideration any new hazards in the worksite area. You can move saved missions around with the Litchi Mission Hub. There'd be nothing worse than spending a few weeks recording the work being done and then realising you've been recording too small an area...

Litchi and the Mini 2 just go together so well! I've been making about six missions a day just because they're so fun to do. The only problem I have with it is the RTH. Always cancel it, if you need to, by the remote control button.

You can also do mapping with the Mini 2 and Litchi. I generally fly at 120m and set the mission to take a photo every 80m while flying at 20 kph with the gimbal set at -90 degrees. The field of view from 120m up takes in about 150m by 112m. I have found that if you fly sideways, there's less chance of gimbal shake. I then use an Android app called Bimostitch Pro to stitch the photos together on my phone. There's free version which is almost as good.

Good luck!

 

[LenSavage]

Here's one I've been documenting in Beverly Hills for over three years - this update is old but I have more footage that I will use to create the final version once it's done:

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This is a Mavic Pro and Litchi Waypoints edited with Adobe Premiere Pro.
BTW: I attempted to update the drone I use for this, but I couldn't get the footage to match. My Mavic 2 Pro and my Phantom 3 4K but each has cameras with a different brand & specs - all three shoot a slightly different perspective / lens length - I would need to digitally zoom all of my footage and lose the full-width perspective, likely never being able to match it all up so 'continue with the Mavic Pro' it is.
Consider this when you choose a drone - for each project, you will likely be married to one choice from beginning to end.
You might test this by flying the waypoints mission with different drones to see the side-by-side difference on the timeline.
One other thing: If 'they' (building owner(s), contractor(s) or anyone else) will use this video for their marketing or in any way gain from it, then whether you're paid or not, it then becomes a commercial job and requires that you hold an FAA Part 107 license - just sayin'.

 

[keysol]

I'd go and find a building that is about the same height, length and width of the one you are making a record of and plan a few practice missions around it so you get the right stand-off distances and gimbal angles. Once you've got a few missions saved at that building, you can then copy and paste them onto the actual worksite area and then tweak them, taking into consideration any new hazards in the worksite area. You can move saved missions around with the Litchi Mission Hub. There'd be nothing worse than spending a few weeks recording the work being done and then realising you've been recording too small an area...

Litchi and the Mini 2 just go together so well! I've been making about six missions a day just because they're so fun to do. The only problem I have with it is the RTH. Always cancel it, if you need to, by the remote control button.

You can also do mapping with the Mini 2 and Litchi. I generally fly at 120m and set the mission to take a photo every 80m while flying at 20 kph with the gimbal set at -90 degrees. The field of view from 120m up takes in about 150m by 112m. I have found that if you fly sideways, there's less chance of gimbal shake. I then use an Android app called Bimostitch Pro to stitch the photos together on my phone. There's free version which is almost as good.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info. I appreciate especially the details such as angle, speed, height etc... that you've shared.

 

[RCS]

awesome that is what i plan to have past jobs would have loved to have had the drone.
keep up the clever work good luck with the project.
I am looking up apps.

 

[keysol]

Here's one I've been documenting in Beverly Hills for over three years - this update is old but I have more footage that I will use to create the final version once it's done:

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This is a Mavic Pro and Litchi Waypoints edited with Adobe Premiere Pro.
BTW: I attempted to update the drone I use for this, but I couldn't get the footage to match. My Mavic 2 Pro and my Phantom 3 4K but each has cameras with a different brand & specs - all three shoot a slightly different perspective / lens length - I would need to digitally zoom all of my footage and lose the full-width perspective, likely never being able to match it all up so 'continue with the Mavic Pro' it is.
Consider this when you choose a drone - for each project, you will likely be married to one choice from beginning to end.
You might test this by flying the waypoints mission with different drones to see the side-by-side difference on the timeline.
One other thing: If 'they' (building owner(s), contractor(s) or anyone else) will use this video for their marketing or in any way gain from it, then whether you're paid or not, it then becomes a commercial job and requires that you hold an FAA Part 107 license - just sayin'.

Great vidéo. I especially love the morphing segments.
I live in Canada where I believe that I'm not affected by rhe commercial issues existing in rhe USA.

 

[restyler]

I got Litchi for my Mavic2 Zoom around 5 months ago and have quite enjoyed planning waypoint missions and orbits.

So 2 months ago I eventually settled on a 3.2Km waypoint mission around a new housing development just up the road from me, which I've been flying every 5-7 days so far.
Im also flying a couple of Litchi orbits of the site at the same time.
(Confused & dissapointed you cant plan 'orbits' from the PC mission hub as you can from an android phone/tablet - Am I missing something)??

It started off with almost bare fields, & yesterdays flight shows some of the early foundations & drainage pipes being installed.
The overall intention is to show an animation of the completed build over the next year.
Unlike the OP, Im shooting entirely video with the hope of 'merging' the footage to create the build.
Here's the catch - I dont know what process or program to use that could give me the required animation - I thought I'd get the shots first then worry about the technicalities later.

Ive been shooting a lot of 'plant & wildlife' timelapses over the last 12 years, so I thought I'll somehow figure it out, but TBH I could probably do with some pointers.
Thanks