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Technique: A bike handlebar mounted mounted webcam is processed by a laptop, creating a time lapse where the exposures overlap (no movement is lost). The audio comes from pitch-shifting recordings from a large solenoid (modified bass speaker) which were capturing most low-frequency vibrations. More here: rpi.edu/~mcdonk/AmbientLapse/ I went to and returned from Radioshack, around 23 minutes away, and composited the return path in reverse using overlay mode. Going and returning are panned slightly left and right, respectively.

I added some mass to the bass speaker, effectively introducing a low-pass filter. I wanted to use the bike like a record needle, and play the street and sidewalks.

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27 Likes

  • Steve Holt 2 years ago
    so you are basically using the speaker as an accelerometer with the high frequencies attenuated by the mass damper?
    I really like the concept of the audio being generated by the terrain and surfaces. Very tactile.
  • Kyle McDonald 2 years ago
    Exactly. Most accelerometers don't update at a high enough rate to get this kind of data from them anyway. You might also like Paul DeMarinis' "Edison Effect", where he scanned some ancient pottery with a laser to produce sound.
  • Steve Holt 2 years ago
    Cool rig. I'll have to check out the "Edison Effect"
  • clickykbd 2 years ago
    Ancient pottery also stores magnetic direction of the poles and is useful when studying polar shift. ;-)
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  • JMC 2 years ago
    the sounds you got are great, and the way the still parts still have some motion overlapped... these "Ambient-Lapse" videos are amazing.
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  • clickykbd 2 years ago
    wow the overlay really added a ton of chaos... but love it. I think I was able to detect the intersection of the two paths... right about middle of the clip there were really similar tree ghosts in both sources. Much longer ambient settings on this one? Or just the overlay making it feel more ambient? (been away from the computer so just seeing this).
  • Kyle McDonald 2 years ago
    Imperial Beach's residential areas are definitely more ambient. There shouldn't be an "intersection", though. I went from home to Radio Shack, then Radio Shack to home, and the second path is reversed. So it's more like looking forward and backwards simultaneously.
  • clickykbd 2 years ago
    Ahh okay, yeah I forgot that bit about reversing the video on the return trip. Do you have a next variation planned yet?
  • Kyle McDonald 2 years ago
    I've been thinking about less direct processing that might still retain the original Ambient Lapse goal (i.e., instead of long exposures/averaging). But mostly I'm dreaming up subjects and situations. Let me know if you have any ideas.
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  • Ben 9 months ago
    I've had days that felt like this :)
    Great clip though, entrancing to watch.
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