Alvaro Reyes is a Chilean photographer and director who co-owns a production house in Santiago. For the past 13 years he has created ad campaigns, image banks and films for a wide range of clients including Ad agencies, design studios, and industrial companies.
When Alvaro found himself stuck in self-isolation, he decided it was the perfect opportunity to create a timelapse film project with his 5 year old daughter. His short film explores complex themes such as escapism, freedom, movement, and space. The result is this beautiful one minute video essay about time. The time lapses in this film were all captured using a Brinno TLC2000.
T I E M P O Durante la Pandemia (Quarentine film) from CONTRA on Vimeo.
In our interview, Alvaro shares the inspiration behind his gorgeous film as well as useful tips and tricks for fellow time lapse creators.
How long have you been using time lapse video and what made you get into it?
I started making time lapse videos around 10 years ago and started using Brinno cameras 4 years ago. All of this started when a friend of mine had a long term construction project and I offered to help them document it. I started to research about time lapse equipment that allowed me to do that and I found the Brinno cameras. I bought 2 TLC200Pros and put them to work. This was the result!
DITZLER (1 año de Timelapse) from CONTRA on Vimeo.
What is the inspiration behind your quarantine video?
Well, in a quarantine situation all movements are restricted and I consider myself a person who needs to make things to feel alive and I stay in a constant search to do creative things. But in this case with the limitations of movement and space I found my escape valve through my plants!!! So I have the cameras, and propose to my daughter, who is 5 years old, to see how the plants move. It all started there. After two months of filming the plants on my terrace and the views available from my apartment, the combined clips became an essay about time.
I used an iPhone 6s to capture the spinning stairs and rooms and a Lumix GX8 for the eye and the silhouette.
I recommend experimenting with your equipment, take the time to understand the camera menu and the benefits and limitation of the cameras in use. In the case of the BrinnoTLC2000 camera that I used, the FPS was setting to 24 FPS which was key to the fluidity of the video. Also make sure to check the focus at the start of every shot! I forgot a couple of times and had to retake the time lapse.
To learn more about Alvaro Reyes and see his beautiful photography please check out his portfolio.
