A Monthly Timelapse Plan for a Construction Project

Why a monthly plan

Construction timelapse is not a one-off beauty shot. Crane, concrete, facade and surroundings change over weeks. In Baku, Media7 puts the job on a monthly cycle: locked point, interval, power, card pulls, a short progress cut and a quarterly or milestone film. An unplanned camera drifts, dies in rain or fills its card. Then months are lost.

The goal is written in the brief. An investor report, a site HSE archive, a sales-office screen and a social cut can share one master, but cut rhythm differs. The monthly plan splits those rhythms early.

Locking the point and the frame

The main decision is where the camera sits. On the scout Media7 checks three things: whether milestones stay in view, light through the day, and whether site traffic will block the frame. Once the point is chosen, the head is locked, the horizon is noted, and frame edges are archived as stills.

Each month must repeat the same frame. Someone “nudging” the tripod breaks the series. So the point is agreed with the site lead and marked when possible. A second backup point is written too, because facade scaffolding or a new crane can close the main view.

Interval, milestones and calendar

Interval follows duration and how fast things move. Slow facade work and a fast pour do not like the same interval. Media7 writes daily and monthly intervals in the brief, then matches them to the site calendar: pour day, lift install, roof close.

For monthly delivery the cut stays short: the change must be visible, empty hours dropped. A quarterly cut tells a story. Both cuts come from the same master. The calendar also holds card pulls, lens cleaning and power checks. That is more reliable than “we will see at month end”.

Power, weather and monitoring

A long timelapse fails on power cuts and rain. Media7 plans power source, backup and weather housing at a high level. Specific kit models and prices are not the job of this article; not stopping is.

Without monitoring the camera can sit a week with a soft lens or a full card. The crew does a periodic check and sends a short written status. Status notes that the frame has not moved, card space and power. If the site is closed, the check window follows HSE and access rules.

Site access and safety

A construction site is not a public street. Media7 agrees access, helmet, escort and no-go zones at a high level with the client and site lead. No statute is invented. If a flight is needed, drone filming is planned in a window separate from the ground interval.

A drone does not replace the monthly ground series. It opens scale and surroundings. The ground camera shows time from one view. Both sit in the same video production story. The safety gate stays open: no frame is shot by breaking a site rule.

Monthly cut and investor film

The monthly cut is usually short progress evidence: before and after, a key milestone, a stable horizon. Voice-over and logo can be added later, but the fact must live in the frame. Media7 signs the cut against the site calendar so “which week is this” does not remain a question.

An investor or opening film is built from monthly cuts plus selected live shots and interviews. Timelapse alone does not carry the whole story. People, safety and product claims still need other frames.

Cards, archive and naming

Each pull copies the card in two places. Folder names follow project, point and date window. Media7 builds cuts without deleting masters. If a monthly cut is lost, it is rebuilt from the master.

Delivery format is written in the brief: resolution, aspect, with logo and without. If a separate 9:16 social cut is needed, it comes from the same master and the same colour decision. If naming does not drift, the archive is findable a year later.

Next step

Send site address, duration, milestones and delivery rhythm. Media7 turns point, interval and access windows into a written plan. For scope use the price calculator or contact. The Baku team runs timelapse as a monthly production cycle, not as a camera left on a wall.