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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?)
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  • Andrew Pile 8 months ago
    I love the barge.
  • Ben Stone 8 months 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 8 months ago
    And I actually believed you too. Shame on you!
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  • Emily Qualey 8 months ago
    i can't take tear my eyes away from the puffs of wind pulsing across the water.
  • Ben Stone 8 months 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 8 months ago
    beautiful.
    makes me miss mn.
  • Ben Stone 8 months ago
    Errr, don't you mean... mr. mn?

    Hey, either way, thanks for commenting!
  • Increase Mather 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months ago
    thanks,
    you rock my face.
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  • Lucasberg 8 months ago
    Man those colors are amazing.
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  • Radthanael 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months ago
    I really really really like this. Great job!
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  • Ben Millett 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months ago
    superb....
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  • Perez 8 months ago
    very good!
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  • dalas verdugo 8 months ago
    Looks great! I need to re-export my similar timelapse in HD now that it's supported.
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  • Shaun Thompson 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months 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 8 months ago
    really great. love the music.
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  • Branden Coker 8 months 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 4 days 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 8 months 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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  • robsterclaw 8 months ago
    Wow!! You have amazing talent.
    You are like some sort of genius!
    Good job!
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  • vrafan 8 months ago
    Excellent
    Wonderful
    Beautiful
    Like, totally awesome Dude!
    An HD camera belongs in your hands.
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  • non sequitur 8 months ago
    absolutely beautiful! a perfect song for a perfect view!
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  • Danny Salkhov 8 months 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 4 days 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 8 months 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 4 days 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 7 months 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 7 months ago
    Really nice. Beautiful stuff.
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  • adicolor 6 months ago
    How long was the original ?
  • Ben Stone 4 days ago
    It was approximately 55 minutes.
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  • time-lapse 5 months 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 4 days 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 months ago
    Great job! Looks super swell, its the simplicity that does it right? :)
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  • Moj 2 months ago
    Couldn't have picked a better song.
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  • Alain Effe 2 months ago
    Great video! Bravo!
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  • Craig Gorowsky 1 month 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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