A long-term construction time-lapse turns a year or more of building into a couple of minutes people watch. It's one of the most useful things a project can have at the end, for the opening, the board, the investors and the next tender. But it only works if it's set up properly at the start, because you can't go back and film the foundations once they're covered.

1. The length of the build

A six-month build and a three-year build need the same set-up, but the longer one needs more checks, more maintenance and more storage. Most of the ongoing cost follows the number of months the camera is on site.

2. How many cameras

One camera tells one story from one angle. Large sites often need two or three: one wide for the whole project, one closer on the main structure, sometimes one on a particular stage. Each camera adds equipment, set-up and footage to manage.

3. Power and mounting

Where can the camera go, and where does its power come from? A spot on an existing building with mains power is simple. A pole in the middle of a paddock needs a mount and its own solar power. The site and the angle you want decide which.

4. Checks and maintenance

Cameras get dusty, get bumped, get moved by a crane crew who didn't know it was there. A good time-lapse is checked regularly, so a problem costs a day of footage, not three months. Regular checks are part of the cost, and they're the difference between a finished film and a gap where the main lift should be.

5. Drone and ground footage

A fixed camera shows the change. Repeated drone flights from the same angles, plus some ground footage of the people doing the work, turn it into a story. Many projects add a shoot day at key milestones.

6. The edits

A single finished film at the end, monthly progress clips, or both. Monthly clips cost more over the year but give you something to share the whole way through. The final film is quicker to edit when the footage has been checked and organised as it came in.

7. Hire or managed service

Some projects hire the camera and handle it themselves. Others want the whole thing managed: set-up, checks, storage and edits. Hire suits a site team with time to look after the camera. A managed service takes that work, and the risk of a gap in the footage, off a site team that has enough to do.

8. Travel

Sites further away mean more travel for each check and shoot day. Any travel should be set out in the quote up front.

Start early

The most expensive mistake is starting late. The first weeks of a build, when the site is cleared and the footings go in, are what make the end film work. Talk to someone before work starts, not when the slab is poured.

See our construction time-lapse service, or read about monthly construction site monitoring.