A tool is usually dependent on how you use it and where you use it. The Brinno time lapse camera is again the true witness of a meaningful event in Estonia. The ISEOMA was held every 5 years and was even recognized as a UNESCO Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Brinno is delighted to sit down with Rene, the man behind years of documenting this historic event, and explore his bittersweetness.
▶️Read more about this event LINK
1. Please briefly introduce yourself.
My name is Rene Mitt, and I’m the owner of FOTOakadeemia, a photography and video equipment store based in Estonia. Before starting my own business, I spent 15 years with Nikon, where I gained valuable insights into the world of imaging and worked closely with both professionals and enthusiasts. That experience deepened my love for photography, and now I get to share that passion with others through the work we do at the store.
2. What is the ISEOMA, Estonian Song and Dance Celebration, event?
The Song and Dance Celebration “ISEOMA” (“Kinship”) is a nationwide Estonian tradition held every five years, uniting over 44,000 performers — including choir singers, dancers, folk and orchestral musicians. The event dates back to 1869 and is considered one of the largest choral and folk dance events in the world. In this year’s celebration, 10,938 dancers performed at Kalev Central Stadium for an audience of nearly 44,000. The folk music concert featured 765 musicians, and the song festival brought together 32,022 singers, drawing 79,000 attendees across its two main concerts. Nearly 45,000 participants also joined the grand procession through the city.
3. How did you plan the time lapse capture for this project?
I’ve served as the photo team leader for the event since 2014, this year was the second time attempting to create a time lapse of the preparation process. While the event organizer mainly wanted to document how the stage would be built, I wanted to go beyond simply documenting the stage construction and instead capture the full transformation of the event grounds — the flow of people, the evolving atmosphere, and the buildup of energy over time.
We deploy 3 time lapse cameras around the events to tell this broader story while also addressing technical challenges like battery life and storage capacity. Since the cameras had to run unattended for over 10 days, I ran full indoor tests beforehand to ensure they could operate continuously without issues. Each scene had its own visual goal — from showcasing the dancers’ evolving formations to capturing the symbolic moment when thousands peacefully exited the Song Celebration grounds together.
4. What is the most challenging part of this project?
The hardest part was finding the right camera angles. The terrain was challenging – one of the key installation points was located on a sloping hillside. We ended up renting lifting platforms, but even those weren’t enough. For the other location, we had to call in a massive crane to safely mount the camera onto a high pole.
“Watching the crane raise me with the camera, surrounded by this iconic festival setup, this reminded me how much effort goes into creating even a few minutes of great time lapse footage.”
5. What’s your experience in using other cameras to do time lapse recording?
Once at the event, we used a DSLR with a wide-angle lens, but the results didn’t quite meet our expectations. This time, we considered using an action camera for its convenience and ease of use. However, ensuring continuous power and weather protection for a long-term shoot would have introduced unnecessary complexity and extra work.
6. Have you used Brinno time lapse cameras before?
Yes, I’ve used an earlier model of Brinno to document the year-and-a-half-long construction of a luxury villa. It was a fascinating long-term project, and the time lapse footage really brought the scale and transformation of the site to life. Back when Full HD resolution was still considered impressive, I was already hoping for a 4K upgrade — so it was exciting to get first-hand experience with the BCC5000 before most others.
“I can connect the BCC5000 to my Macbook through bluetooth, this is really useful for planning the final result.”
7. Any advice for time lapse beginners?
Always make sure your horizon is level; it's a small detail that makes a big difference in the final result. Double-check that you have enough memory and power to last through the entire shoot – running out halfway is something you definitely want to avoid. Scout your locations in advance and think about what story you want your time-lapse to tell. Time lapse isn't just about compressing time – it's about showing change in a meaningful way. And if possible, try to use more than one camera position. Having multiple angles can really help bring your project to life and give you more flexibility in the edit.
