Mortal Coil

This might be just sour grapes – after all I have never gotten it together to actually buy or make a timelapse motion control rig – but I reckon the internet has enough timelapse videos now.

There is nothing technically wrong with them. The creators deserve kudos for the time, energy and technique put into capturing all their timelapses – something which by its very definition is a time-consuming and laborious exercise. Some of them are great showreels for their creators.

But here’s the thing: they all seem to blend in together after a while. If you keep up with photography blogs or websites, you know what I am talking about, I feel sure. Every video seems to feature some combination of the following:

1. Cityscapes (bonus points for river traffic in harbour cities)
2. Landscapes (bonus points for moving stars and/or aurora borealis)
3. Stirring piano music (must be earnest and if possible contain grandiose string sections) *
4. Suspiciously uniform two-metre horizontal travel (blame the dollies)
5. Tilt-shift (optional extra)
6. Vimeo (well where else would you put it, duh)

I am ready to see someone do something new in the world of timelapse videos. How can this already-stagnating format be invigorated?

*I swear all of the timelapse videos in the last year have used the same music, but it is so generic that it is impossible for the human brain to recognise it when heard repeatedly.