Minute Fourteen – Chipped from Rob Antill on Vimeo.

Here’s a quick process video showing how I put together this image. A friend work’s at a electronics factory here in Nelson, BC, Canada. They had collected a bag of parts that the machines miss-place. Usually these will just get chucked out or recycled. I tipped them out on the table and was fascinated by all the tiny bits (some the size of a grane of sand). It was new to see these separate components before they are soldered to a board.

Music: Flotsam – Tasty Morsels - (free track download)

Click more to see more stuff on this..

Camera set-up for the time-lapse shots over looking the laptop.

The final shot. I thought the little chips could represent the ants building the logo from the pile (anthill). I wasn’t entirely satisfied with how this looked though. I think its a bit too literal. Also the little ‘ants’ have what appears to be 8 legs (real ants have 6 legs). I thought the two front legs could get away with being the ants feelers.

Some close-up shots..

Here’s another shot of the final image. I prefer this simplified version.

So yeah, this was a fun little project to spend a couple of days on. I think theres some potential to take this idea further. If you really had the patience you could create an entire image with the parts, using different coloured bits as shading and high lights. It would also be better to have a flat dedicated screen for the job. Having the laptop perched up like this was highly unsettling for hours on end. I had to be so careful not to knock it over and ruin the piece. It would also be cool to create an animation in Aftereffects that corresponded to what was laid on the screen. Maybe something I can experiment with.. if I get the spare time.

Super happy to say I had a part in the production of this awesome new tool from Full Windsor. The motion shots in the above video were captured by me. Alex Fowkes did the graphics. Mark Windsor is the man behind this product. Be sure to check out the amazing response this tool is getting through Kick Starter. Good start of things to come…

Snowmobiling out into the Canadian backcountry with Nolan, Darcy and Jay. Photos from the trip can be found here.

Minute Ten now online. Following Tyy, Alex and Jamie for a few laps of the whitewater terrain park. Mad technical skills.

Here it is. My first video using the new DJI Phantom. It was a serious challenge trying to snowboard whilst controlling this. As a first attempt goes, its okay, Lots of room for improvement though. Since this was filmed I’ve made some adjustments to the props and built a shock absorber mount. Future footage should be smoother with a bit of luck. Enjoy

I haven’t been this excited over a piece of tech since I got my hands on the first GoPro Hero nearly two and a half years ago. Back then the ideas and possibilities of this small water proof camera seemed endless. Over this time GoPro have boomed, and now everyone knows about them. Some of the stuff being captured now is truly ore inspiring. The versatility of this small little device is changing the industry in many ways. Some for the better some for the worse, it depend on how you look at it.

I’ve had two dreams since I was very young and first started dabbling in this tech business… one being, owning something capable of capturing super high speed film and the second owning a device that could carry a camera to capture aerial shots. Now part of that dream has come true..

I’ve been on the look out for some time for a Octo/Quad Copter. There has been a huge gap in the market. There has only really been two options, a foam tacky based toy, or a pretty high tech and very expensive professional RC type thing. I’ve been waiting for a Pro-sumer based product to reach the surface.

I happend to do a bit of research a few weeks ago, and discovered that DJI had just realised this. A all-inclusive design with a small sturdy body suitable for easy travel. I couldn’t believe the luck, I was trying to come to terms with the fact that I might have to fork out a few thousand pounds on a quad and here is everything I need/want for £470.

Being in Canada, I couldn’t find anywhere that stocked them. So I ordered one in the UK and got it sent to a friends house who was coming to Canada the following week to visit. It all worked out rather nicely.

After a few minor issues we managed to get it flying, and oh boy, does it fly.. the maneuverability and speed of this ting is next level. Easily the most fun RC device I’ve played with.

Taking it on the slopes for the first time. I wanted to try and capture snowboarding in way not many people have done before. The aim was to try and snowboard whilst controlling this and chasing others down the hill.

I was successful with the first flights, only crashing it once (the battery was dying and it could fly back up). This is the first edit I’ve put together from the footage captured on the hill. Still a little shaky which I have since fixed by balancing the props and building a custom shock absorber mount.

Here are a selection of stills taken from footage of recent test flights:

Shots from over our house looking down towards the lake.

Views over Nelson, BC one evening.

Looking over the WhiteWater Ski Resort car park.

First Flight over water. I was nervous. The lake is glacier fed and bloody cold, so going in after it would have sucked.

Strange artefacts in the lake.

Finally, an evening sunset in the valley.

So yeah, there it is, a quick run through my thoughts on this new ‘toy’. Basically I love it, and cant wait to take it more places. It really excites me that we have access to such amazing things these days. Seeing the world from this perspective is important to understanding the bigger picture, that we’re all part of the same thing. Its my way of understanding the Overview Effect I guess.

I have a very strong feeling that these will become the new GoPro and boom massively. If you are thinking of getting one and have no previous RC experience, please be careful. This thing goes fast and could cause some serious damage, plus it would be an expensive crash :s

Either way, I’m look forward to seeing where this all goes :)

Got some time to finish this video off. Brought back a lot of memories putting it together.

Enjoy.

Sony Music Timeline from Rob Antill on Vimeo.

Glad to finally get this project out! It’s been in development that past 5ish months and we’ve had to keep it strictly under wraps.

Check out www.sonymusictimeline.com for all the details.

Click below to see some behind-the-scenes snaps.

For most shots I used this mono pod. Originally I got the pole for gopro stuff.

Printers down near Portsmouth that had the laborious task of weeding (removing the negative vinyl) from 54, 2m tall columns.

DIY time-lapse GoPro Dolly in action.

Implementation weekend.

One of the biggest challenges of this project was carrying the ever increasing collection of gadgets around with me. For the implementation weekend I rammed two very large bags with nearly everything I own. Riding bikes 10 miles through London was interesting.

Make-shift track for the GoPro.

Had my old D90 set up capturing time-lapses of each wall. I was using the tripod for other things, so this construction made do.

You may have noticed some shots in the film pan down across the work. Well this was done by simply releasing the height adjustment clasp on the monopod enough to make the camera slide. Low-tech, but effective.

If you haven’t, already be sure to check out the time-lapse video we made using the left over footage that didn’t make it to the main cut.

Sony Music Timeline – Timelapse from Rob Antill on Vimeo.

Me, Alex (AlexFowkes.com) and Joseph worked together on the edit. Joseph (Avenue Beech) brought his mac round and produced the track to fit to the edit exactly. This was a luxury. Above is a shot of his project in Logic.

left to right: Audio – Design – Visual

We had a lot of fun over a couple of days getting the project wrapped up.

I’m super proud of this. It’s the cleanest project to date. Having the extra time to properly plan everything was a massive bonus.

If there’s anything you want to know more about just leave a comment below. Would be happy to answer any questions..

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