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Yesterday we had a few snow flurries, which for some Minnesotans is like a precipitous wake-up alarm (without the benefit of a 4 month snooze). Therefor, I decided I'd better get some footage before the snow makes a beautiful mess of things. This is a fun view of St. Paul, since you can see the state capitol to the far right, with the curvaceous Mississippi at front and center. There's also plenty of cars, trains, boats and planes cruising around. I would have filmed for longer (that tugboat was just getting started!), but it was freezing cold, and my wife had hot cider waiting at home... mmmm!

The music is "Stars" by musical uber-genius, Ulrich Schnauss. I tried to sync the flashing First Bank sign to the rhythm, but it still seems a little off. It also appears that there are some slowing blinking street lights, dancing away, oblivious to the beat. (why do I feel such affinity to those uncoordinated street lights?)

159 Likes

  • Andrew Pile staff 2 years ago
    I love the barge.
  • Ben Stone 2 years ago
    I agree! Although somewhat restrictive, tugboats (and the occasional barge) are my preferred methods of transportation. In fact, Minnesota has so many waterways that, as a kid, I'd take a yellow Schoolbarge to school (The seats were super, SUPER wide!).

    Actually, I'm sorry... none of that is true (except the first sentence).
  • pierrelourens 2 years ago
    And I actually believed you too. Shame on you!
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  • Emily Qualey plus 2 years ago
    i can't take tear my eyes away from the puffs of wind pulsing across the water.
  • Ben Stone 2 years ago
    Yeah, it's been super windy yesterday and today! I think it's because the trees have no more leaves (to help slow down the wind).

    Wait... then how did the leaves blow off in the first place?? I'm so confused!
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  • Increase Mather 2 years ago
    beautiful.
    makes me miss mn.
  • Ben Stone 2 years ago
    Errr, don't you mean... mr. mn?

    Hey, either way, thanks for commenting!
  • Increase Mather 2 years ago
    that's a Very good point.

    i'm going to ask that you make a clip of the snow for me. i just moved from duluth this summer, and have a feeling i'm going to miss it.

    or mr. it.
  • Increase Mather 2 years ago
    hey, i'm borrowing your beautiful clip, if you don't mind.
    i'd like to embed it in a blog.

    you're being referenced. i'll take it out if you want though.
  • Ben Stone 2 years ago
    No problem man! It's hard to feel like I have any ownership of this video, when all I did was press the "record" button.

    Thanks for wanting to share this!
  • Increase Mather 2 years ago
    thanks,
    you rock my face.
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  • Lucasberg (Joey) plus 2 years ago
    Man those colors are amazing.
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  • Radthanael 2 years ago
    This is one of those videos that creates an idea of a place in my mind that's so powerful and compelling that I instantly wish I was there.
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  • JMC 2 years ago
    this is amazing...
    in too many ways to list. had to watch it over and over again.
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  • Scruff_E_Guy plus 2 years ago
    very well done.....and the music is perfect. Here in Duluth we haven't had any real flurries yet....just a few scattered flakes here and there.. (I'm told I'm one of them) but it's definitely on the way. :-)

    Hot cider sounds absolutely excellent right now...
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  • Jon Salazar 2 years ago
    I really really really like this. Great job!
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  • Ben Millett 2 years ago
    Yesterday when the flurries started I was so upset. I guess it was better than rain, but I have such an aversion to snow. I don't mind the cold. It's the snow that gets me. I was happy to see the snow stop.

    Great video, btw.
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  • eric cwiertny 2 years ago
    So cool looking...LOVE the clouds and overall purple tones of the sunset. These types of videos are mesmerizing!
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  • 3d60 2 years ago
    superb....
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  • Perez 2 years ago
    very good!
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  • dalas verdugo staff 2 years ago
    Looks great! I need to re-export my similar timelapse in HD now that it's supported.
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  • Shaun Thompson 2 years ago
    I love how the city lights show more of the overall light change then the sky and how the blinking "1" reflects in the Mississippi. Makes me want to go sledding.
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  • Byron 2 years ago
    omg, this is a masterpiece, hypnotic and perfectly synchronized with the music. I don't see any problem with the blinking.. it goes with the beat perfectly. What can I say but WOW!
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  • Buck Flashroy 2 years ago
    Beautiful. It's like a moving picture. You've got just the right angle and music and everything.
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  • Ayz Waraich 2 years ago
    really great. love the music.
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  • Branden Coker 2 years ago
    You had me at Schnauss. His music is perfect for images like this. What was the interval of your shots and how long did you shoot?
  • Ben Stone 1 year ago
    Wow, sorry it took so long for me to respond to this message! I've just realized that I've overlooked a bunch of comments.

    I agree- Schnauss is truly brilliant! I actually sent him an email asking if it was okay that I use his song, and he was totally cool about it. After he watched the video, he sent me a follow-up email which included some kind words. What a great guy, huh? It definitely made my week!

    The interval was at 2fps, with each frame being exposed for .49 seconds. This footage is about 55 minutes worth of capture (5:20-6:15pm).
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  • Jonathan Marcus 2 years ago
    This is really quite fantastic. The sleek curvature of the highway and the lighting / color change are beautiful.

    When we do an offline screening, Id really like to play this video.

    There are lotsa awesome photos on Flickr, but this provides a 3-dimensional representation.
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  • vrafan 2 years ago
    Excellent
    Wonderful
    Beautiful
    Like, totally awesome Dude!
    An HD camera belongs in your hands.
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  • non sequitur 2 years ago
    absolutely beautiful! a perfect song for a perfect view!
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  • Danny Salkhov 2 years ago
    it's SO AMAZING!!!
    btw, how did u control exposure? it was fixed all the time, or automatic, or u slightly changed it during shooting?
  • Ben Stone 1 year ago
    Thanks dude! I had it set on auto-iris, and this clip starts at F11 and continues until the iris was fully open.
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  • ifranci 2 years ago
    Masterpiece !!! Opera!!! Chef-d'oeuvre. Je suis sous le charme de l'ambiance, l'atmosphere, la musique, et du mouvement perpétuel presque souvent synchro avec la musique. C'est tout simplement une excellente idée. Encore Bravo.!!!
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  • How long were you out there? How sped up is the footage?
  • Ben Stone 1 year ago
    I was out there for about 75 minutes, and this is the last 55 minutes of my footage. The footage is sped up approximately 24x.
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  • Joe Kirklin 2 years ago
    Thanks for posting this! I need to take a trip back to the cities - it's been a while.
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  • Steve Holt 2 years ago
    Really nice. Beautiful stuff.
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  • adi 2 years ago
    How long was the original ?
  • Ben Stone 1 year ago
    It was approximately 55 minutes.
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  • www.time-lapse.fr 2 years ago
    Really nice timelapse ! I love it ! What about the camera ? Pictures or video accelerated ? nice job ! I had it on reference on my new website : time-lapse.fr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=18
  • Ben Stone 1 year ago
    Thanks for the compliment! I shot this using a Panasonic HVX-200 video camera (with the shutter fully open), and accelerated the footage.

    Thanks for referencing it on your website. I have quite a bit of new material I'll be uploading soon. Hopefully it will be worth your viewing!

    (sorry for the delayed reply, I didn't see this question until just now!)
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  • astute 2 years ago
    Great job! Looks super swell, its the simplicity that does it right? :)
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  • Modge 2 years ago
    Couldn't have picked a better song.
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  • Alain Effe 2 years ago
    Great video! Bravo!
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  • Craig Gorowsky 2 years ago
    Great Job! I was born in St Paul and haven't been home for a while. Thanks for posting! Dawg
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