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Psychedelic Bird’s-eye Views of Hong Kong, London, Italy and Berlin

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Published

6 years ago

January 31, 2019

Danny Leeds

The Trip Begins (Hyper-lapse Drone Footage!)

High quality aerial photography produced using unmanned, remote-controlled Drones is becoming more commonplace. With this proliferation, and with a simultaneous massive improvement in camera quality, a new wave of spectacular visual renderings of the world’s most beautiful cities are appearing online.

Some of these also use special effect techniques such as time-lapse and “hyper-lapse”. Similar to time-lapse, hyper-lapse adds movement while maintaining a stable image throughout. Once only possible through laborious software processing, the effects can now be produced “in-camera”, through the use of gyroscopic stabilizers rendering an effect that adds an otherworldly dimension to the “trip”, creating a true feast for the eye.

Using these effects, adding music and a bit of editing, the stunning aerial views created can evoke an experience as if mind-altering substances had been ingested!

Here are a few of the best examples we found on YouTube:

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has possibly the world’s most beautiful skyline, especially at night. This video, titled “Escape” by Francis So takes the Hyper-lapse genre to the next level with an integrated story and a great variety of locations in and around HK

London

Frank H. – New Entertainment Pictures has put together a breathtakingly detailed day in the life of this beloved metropolis. Traversing a typically cloudy, almost “sleepy London-Town” on a journey from Dawn to Dusk, practically all the most amazing landmarks can be seen as if from the view of a floating spirit guide.

ITALY!

In many ways the most amazing of our clip selections, this is an incredible look at some of Italy’s most photogenic landmarks, all from the perspective of a mind-altered space alien. The rich highly saturated photography heightens the effects and creates a sensual tableau that, truly, must be seen to be appreciated.

Producer / Director Adam Shomsky Included the following location notes:

Berlin

With a musical accompaniment that evokes “Falco’s Amadeus meets Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (spring)” creating an eerily fitting aural backdrop,
TimeLapseWorlds has created an impressive visual mix of some of Berlin’s classic locations, including;

“The Memory Church” (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ). Famous for being bombed in 1943, the church was rebuilt between 1959-1963 but the original spire was retained and serves as a reminder of the horrors of war.

The “Friedensengel”(peace angel) known also as The Berlin Victory Column) which appeared in the 1987 Wim Wenders‘ Wings of Desire (1987) Portrayed as a meeting place for angels.

The Brandenburg Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor). This iconic landmark split the east and west sectors during the cold war and remains at the heart of Berlin, in body and spirit.

Perhaps, after such a mind blowing “trip” a calmer look from a drone at peace with the world is a fitting final journey:

Frank H / New Entertainment Pictures has produced a soothing, dreamy portrait of the Berlin. Using various slow-motion effects and a confident, calm approach, this view from a drone is portrays the city in a decidedly different light, but the result is no less satisfying.

The clips in this preview are but a tiny foretaste of what may soon be possible in creative photography and visual special effects. Stay Tuned.