Phuket Time-Lapse: How it was done

Saengthit Kamlanchai's latest Time-Lapse video on Phuket Island features footage from popular locations like the Big Buddha, Chalong Temple, Promthep Cape, Kan Eang Pier, Karon Pier and many popular beaches such as Patong, Karon and Kalama Beach.

By Terry Fredrickson

Time-lapse photographer Saengthit Kamlangchai is back with his newly-competed film taken in Phuket. Watch the film and read his explanation of how it was done. And then check out some of his previous work.

Phuket Time-Lapse: How it was done

We have seen the work of Saengthit Kamlangchai twice before. He is the young Assumption University graduate who specialises in Time-Lapse photography – taking multiple still photographs over a period of time and combining them into a moving video.

His first was a wonderful film taken in Bangkok and he followed up it with an equally impressive Chiang Mai Time-lapse.

You can see them both here, together with his own explanation of the techniques that go into Time-Lapse in general and the particular problems a photographer faces in filming at different locations.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/402276/a-unique-video-view-of-bangkok

http://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/learning-together/408095/chiang-mai-timelapse-how-it-was-made

Now Saengthit is back with a newly-released Time-Lapse feature on the island of Phuket.

Many cameras nowadays have Time-lapse capabilities and Saengthit has some very good advice to help you get started. But making a full Time-Lapse video is a major project.

Saenthit's Phuket Time Lapse took two weeks to complete: seven days for his trip, four days for photo editing and processing and three days for the video editing. + 4 days photo editing/processing + 3 days video editing.

He says he took exactly 11778 photos during his trip and 8800 were used to make the film.

Here, in Saenthip's own words, is a brief description of his Phuket project

Click button to listen rightclick to download

Phuket – Island of Symphony

Saengthit Kamlangchai

This Phuket Time-Lapse was done during the month of July 2014, which is the rainy season. The good thing about doing Time-Lapse during this month is that accommodation is incredibly cheaper than the high season. The room I rented was just 500 baht from the usual price of 1500 baht during high season. There are also fewer people on the island, which means more space to set up the camera and also fewer people around your shooting area. I mean, any Time-Lapser wouldn't wants lots of people moving near the tripod, as a small kick would mean you have to start your shooting all over again.

However, the rainy season also means you need a lot of good luck regarding the weather. I think I was kind of half-lucky for this trip, which was good enough. Most of the days, it was so cloudy I didn't see any sunset at all, which is really a big deal as sunset/sunrise scenes are considered the holy grail of Time-Lapse. In fact, the sunset scene at the beginning scene of the film happened only on the last day of the trip! Yup, I only caught one sunset for this trip. The last sunset scene at the end of the film is actually a reversed sunrise by the way. It feels kind of disappointing when you wake up 5am in the morning to catch the sunrise but don't see one, but let's not make too much of that. :)

Fortunately, when you aren't blessed with good weather during the day, you don't lose hope; you simply focus on the night. Personally, Time-Lapsing at night is a lesser burden as the weather and the look of the sky don't really matter – as long as it doesn't rain, though the presence of stars can certainly add to the production value. The beautiful Piers around Phuket bring out good Time-Lapse scenes, and and a birds-eye view of traffic scenes with city lights bring Phuket city to life during the night. Overall, there is less worry doing Time-Lapse during the night than daytime.

I think what is really unique for this Phuket Time-Lapse, how the sea waves were able to sync so well with the music (See the beginning few scenes). This was quite unexpected for me as it didn't enter the plan at all, until I began the editing process. The techniques used were the "Time Remapping" tool in Adobe After Effect, coupled with its slow-mo effect. The same tool sets were used for the light ambience that also syncs well with the music.

Finally, as I've just been to Phuket, I feel the responsibility to share some useful travel tips for future visitors. Basically, for those who would like to travel to Phuket beaches in the coming weeks, I would say go to the Patong Beach if you prefer a fun atmosphere with lots of people or want to do some parachute boating. For more private beaches, go to Kalama or Surin Beach. I hope this helps :).

comments powered by Disqus