Photo/video time-lapse of house under construction

RonanCork · Mar 16, 2022

Hey Guys,

Wanted to get your advice.

My friend is building a house and I'm going to take some drone footage at regular stages (video and photo) - maybe every 1 or 2 weeks. Then after the house is built the idea is that I'll edit the footage so as the resulting video for example is like a "time lapse" of it being built from the ground up

I'm using Litchi so I can plan and re-run the same mission each week.

I went there this morning so could see the nearby obstacles to avoid - trees, power lines etc. My plan is to create a Litchi mission then fine tune it so then each time I can re-run it. I always using DJI Go but using Litchi the last month so I'm getting into it

Wanted to ask if anyone had done this before and might have some advise ? - maybe something I'm missing or things to be aware of

Thanks Ro

tribar · Mar 16, 2022

Expect position mismatches of the drone. GPS accuracy depends on several things, so does flight accuracy.
Some are:
-Number of locked satelites.
-Kp-index
-Wind speed & direction
-Height deviation at different take-off positions.

NOLADG · Mar 16, 2022

I saw a beautiful video of a person who made a video of a tree through the seasons. Doing exactly what you are describing. The video was awesome watching it bloom, loose the leaves, get covered in snow and then reforming its buds again the next spring as the drone circled the tree. I believe it may be on this website or hopefully that person will chime in...

akdrone · Mar 16, 2022

timelapse often compresses 120 min to 1 min (that can vary) so if you are aloft 15min you might expect a minute or so. The footage won't be seamless as you can't register it perfectly but you may be able to come close. GPS is, however, not exact so it wont be perfect. Lighting is going to change from one shoot to the next also. I would plan on some transition between the images, perhaps even a freeze frame of one week and then move to the second week, maybe even titling them "Week 1", Week 2, etc. because it will not appear to be a continuous video. Good luck.

RonanCork · Mar 16, 2022

akdrone said:
timelapse often compresses 120 min to 1 min (that can vary) so if you are aloft 15min you might expect a minute or so. The footage won't be seamless as you can't register it perfectly but you may be able to come close. GPS is, however, not exact so it wont be perfect. Lighting is going to change from one shoot to the next also. I would plan on some transition between the images, perhaps even a freeze frame of one week and then move to the second week, maybe even titling them "Week 1", Week 2, etc. because it will not appear to be a continuous video. Good luck.

thanks for the feedback guys - good info here. Yeah I see what you mean. Thought actually doing the week 1 / 2 thing - as it would give a sense of completion and motion to it. It won't be perfect and seamless I know but I'm willing to give it a shot and yeah I could have a transition between shots, like a glitch or something, whatever makes sense.
Ro

Cymruflyer · Mar 17, 2022

If you expect to do this through each day, then pay attention to where the sun will be because at some point in each day it may spoil your footage. If you can, it's best to have the sun at your drone's back as much as possible throughout each shooting period.

BigAl07 · Mar 17, 2022

It sounds like you are doing it by the #'s. The site visit for obstacles is VERY important. I've planned many construction site project using Litchi and then drive to the site and BAM! Look at that TREE, Light Pole, Cell Tower etc etc. Thank goodness once you get it into Litchi it's so easy to "Tweak" it in the field.

Since you're doing a Time Lapse I would suggest making sure to get MORE data/time per shoot than you think you could ever use. Minutes become a fraction of a second when it's sped up.

Have fun and be sure to SHARE the project here when you get it done.

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 17, 2022

You will want to fly more missions in the earlier part of construction as more action/changes will happen then. As the project continues, the changes will slow. I would begin with 2-3 times a week initially, then adjust as the building progresses.
Although there will be changes in GPS accuracy and the view will change, you can adjust the positioning in the edit process. But you will want to film with a little extra on the sides/top and bottom of your framing to allow you to shift the view in edit and line up following shots.
As mentioned above, be aware of the sun and weather. Shooting at different times of the day with the suns angle changing the shadows will change, so for example when the framing is going up, the shadows will be in different positions, so lining up your frames in edit can sometimes be challenging.
Good Luck, will be looking to see your results
\

KB9Radio · Mar 17, 2022

RonanCork said:
Hey Guys,

Wanted to get your advice.

My friend is building a house and I'm going to take some drone footage at regular stages (video and photo) - maybe every 1 or 2 weeks. Then after the house is built the idea is that I'll edit the footage so as the resulting video for example is like a "time lapse" of it being built from the ground up

I'm using Litchi so I can plan and re-run the same mission each week.

I went there this morning so could see the nearby obstacles to avoid - trees, power lines etc. My plan is to create a Litchi mission then fine tune it so then each time I can re-run it. I always using DJI Go but using Litchi the last month so I'm getting into it

Wanted to ask if anyone had done this before and might have some advise ? - maybe something I'm missing or things to be aware of

Thanks Ro

It should work great, setup a mission with waypoints on a path around the outside of the area, all focused on a POI where the building will be. Have it start recording at the first waypoint and stop recording at the last one. You can have it stop recording and take a photo at any waypoint as well. I do antenna inspections at several tower sites the same way. I made a mission for each site with points around the tower, with the POI height set for the center of the antenna. I have the recording turn on at waypoint 1 and off at the last point, and then RTH. When I get to the site, I simply load the correct mission, and start it.

RonanCork · Mar 17, 2022

Cymruflyer said:
If you expect to do this through each day, then pay attention to where the sun will be because at some point in each day it may spoil your footage. If you can, it's best to have the sun at your drone's back as much as possible throughout each shooting period.

Heya. Great point. For this exact reason I'm going to film on my lunch break around 1pm or so (house is nearby me luckily) so when I do film as then the sun will be in a good place, ie behind me and facing the front of the house for plenty of light on the subject
Thanks Ro

Winston Bull · Mar 17, 2022

I have done a few of these sorts of projects, and I want to amplify what HoozierDroneDaddy said: get extra stuff in the frame which you will then edit/crop out in post--in other words, shoot from a ways out. As accurate as the GPS is, it is not exact and you will find that with wind, etc you will float around over time in 3-D space. Cropping in will help. One other idea that I use is to mark the exact spot where each leg will be on take-off.

Another idea is--where you are shooting stills in one location and then stills in another location--fly a "transition" leg to get you from A to B: that makes the transition in the video smoother, even if you need to speed it up. If you can, set that flight up as an automated flight between two waypoints so you can speed up the actual flight speed as much as safely possible so that any speed-up in post is minimized.

Also I am not clear how much of this is video and how much is stills, but there is a feature in Adobe Premiere (sorry that I can't remember which feature-perhaps someone else can chime in here) that will align stills almost perfectly to minimize that drift. It is best on straight-down shots, but it might help.

NewbyNZ · Mar 17, 2022

One thing I like to do is to identify two spots, one where I will be taking off from, then hover the drone a meter above ground and centre the camera lines on the second point in the distance. Then start recording and ascending in tripod mode (settings set to very slow) and half stick.

Build up a few videos over the project and then just editing, as the drone rises so does the structure

I think its pretty cool

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 17, 2022

My second commercial job was a progressive construction job, first time learning premier pro. I learned a lot during this year long project, flying in high winds, -20F temperatures, nightime (actually early early morning), flying in metal structures, etc. It may not be up there with some of the more experienced at the time, but I liked it and more importantly the client loved it.
As you will see prior to the roof going up the issue with the sun/shadows and the girders. The moving shadows was what created the difficulty lining up two separate shots.

This is a longer than normal video, however, this was an employee owned business and they wanted something to show the employees what was being done as they had to work. This was played on monitors in the building.

Gagey52 · Mar 17, 2022

HoozierDroneDaddy said:
My second commercial job was a progressive construction job, first time learning premier pro. I learned a lot during this year long project, flying in high winds, -20F temperatures, nightime (actually early early morning), flying in metal structures, etc. It may not be up there with some of the more experienced at the time, but I liked it and more importantly the client loved it.
As you will see prior to the roof going up the issue with the sun/shadows and the girders. The moving shadows was what created the difficulty lining up two separate shots.

This is a longer than normal video, however, this was an employee owned business and they wanted something to show the employees what was being done as they had to work. This was played on monitors in the building.

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Nicely done.
Regards

RonanCork · Mar 17, 2022

Gagey52 said:
Nicely done.
Regards

Very cool. Looks great. That's the idea I'm thinking of. Great to see it in real life in your video and it's given me confidence to drive in and make it happen
Thanks Ro

LenSavage · Mar 17, 2022

Here's a house I'm shooting in Beverly Hills. I have additional sessions to add, but you can see where I am going with it:

Litchi Waypoints - I've flown the same mission every couple of weeks for over 3 years, and its still not finished. The Mission does the low pass across the front and then climbs 150' and records a high full orbit. In post, I use a morph transition (details here: ).
Thoughts?

HoozierDroneDaddy · Mar 17, 2022

RonanCork said:
Very cool. Looks great. That's the idea I'm thinking of. Great to see it in real life in your video and it's given me confidence to drive in and make it happen
Thanks Ro

Your Welcome and Thank You!

NG Wildman · Mar 17, 2022

As stated above: I use waypoints for the same general stills and motion shots and as stated also; check the construction daily as some parts will fly by and some will go very slowly . Don't plan on weekly or every 4 days etc.

RonanCork · Mar 18, 2022

LenSavage said:
Here's a house I'm shooting in Beverly Hills. I have additional sessions to add, but you can see where I am going with it:

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For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Litchi Waypoints - I've flown the same mission every couple of weeks for over 3 years, and its still not finished. The Mission does the low pass across the front and then climbs 150' and records a high full orbit. In post, I use a morph transition (details here:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

).
Thoughts?

Hey,
That's really cool. Great job. It's been really helpful to see this and the other video from earlier in this thread to see how in reality the idea looks like. I like the transitions too. Well done.
Thanks Ro

Wild Drone Pilot · Mar 18, 2022

RonanCork said:
Hey Guys,

Wanted to get your advice.

My friend is building a house and I'm going to take some drone footage at regular stages (video and photo) - maybe every 1 or 2 weeks. Then after the house is built the idea is that I'll edit the footage so as the resulting video for example is like a "time lapse" of it being built from the ground up

I'm using Litchi so I can plan and re-run the same mission each week.

I went there this morning so could see the nearby obstacles to avoid - trees, power lines etc. My plan is to create a Litchi mission then fine tune it so then each time I can re-run it. I always using DJI Go but using Litchi the last month so I'm getting into it

Wanted to ask if anyone had done this before and might have some advise ? - maybe something I'm missing or things to be aware of

Thanks Ro