The advances in drone automation over the last few years have opened up all sorts of doors. Pre-planned flight paths, GPS locks, and waypoints offer the closest thing to aerial motion control we’ve seen. We can run near identical flights over and over. It’s provided a host of new opportunities for filmmakers. Especially those who want to show the passage of time. This isn’t a timelapse in the traditional sense. That is to say, it’s not simply showing the time sped up. It’s a blending from one time to another. This short from Bristol, England based drone filmmaker Jack Johnston highlights the technique perfectly. Filmed as part of a sequence for the BBC’s Springwatch Special, it shows cherry blossom trees in Japan bursting into colour.
While there are some slight differences in the framing during the transitions, matching things even this closely is impressive. It’s something that simply wouldn’t have been possible just a few short years ago. Jack hasn’t posted much information about how the sequences were made, but says that it took months of testing to work out the kinks in the process. To see more of Jack’s work, you can check out his Facebook page.
