EL OJO: December 2010

This is my first time to upload a time lapse of Makati skyline and Fort Bonifacio from the entrance of Skyway in Buendia to Nichols Exit in Newport City (in front of NAIA Terminal 3). The video is not really time lapse because it is just 30% faster. The original length of the video is 4:44 where it ends just after the toll in Nichols Skyway Exit ramp. I didn't get the chance to record it longer because I didn't know that the memory is almost full at that time. By the way I used my new baby, Nikon D7000 :) GOSH I just love it! 100% better than D90 because it has more features and more options when recording videos, like this one I used 720p with 30fps. It's really cool when you watch it on your PC or better in TV! But the problem with youtube it only allows 24fps. Maybe that's why all HD videos in youtube are not smooth.

Some problems I've encountered while recording was the bumpy ride resulting to the shakes and the camera is heavy! I think I should have used a lighter lens. Here I used 18-105mm. Second problem is the setting, since I'm only a beginner in video/film, I used "A" in the dial HAHA! Third problem is the weather. When we were at Pablo Ocampo Sr. (Vito Cruz) street corner Pres. Sergio Osmeña Sr. Highway (South Superhighway / SLEX / Radial Road - 3 / R-3... pocha ang daming nicknames haha!), it started to get dark and drizzle. Crap, the window is full of tiny droplets so I opened the window. Another problem is the wind! When we were at skyway, the car is getting fast because there's no traffic. The faster you drive, the more air will enter the vehicle resulting to the vibration of the other windows. I really thought that the glass will break! But I didn't dare to check since I'm busy recording the whole scenery. Ohh when the window is open, it's going to be more shaky!

Is it a failure? Hmm, medyo... I didn't get what I wanted, the video stopped after the toll approaching Resorts World. I want it to go inside NAIA Terminal 3 (Because that was our destination at that time, dad just arrived from Cebu and we need to fetch him) Of course I wanted to go because it's an opportunity to capture that MOMENT I want to record! Makati and Fort Skyline! It's really bad that I forgot to transfer all of the pics and vids in my SD to my lappy. The length of D7000's video could reach up to 20 mins. so I was frustrated. December 2 (Tuesday) I tried to edit the video because it looks so dull and dark. I color corrected it in Adobe After Effects and tried to do some experiments with the exposure, contrast, colors and a green "SKYWAY" sign I placed in the entrance of skyway (you'll see it in the video 0:04 - 0:10). That text was so hard, I was like rotoscoping the text because the video is shaky! I think I finished everything for 12 hours including the editing in Adobe Premiere.

As for the photos, there were a lot! So I had to choose the best shots (although majority are still bad) and super duper edit them in photoshop for a day! It's been months since I last opened photoshop for editing photos. The last time I did a major edit was in June (Philippine Fashion Week and my grandfather's death). I rediscovered my style and improved it as I play and experiment with it. The raw files are really dark and super ugly! I'm sorry because I'm not a pro in photography, I hate photography! HAHA. What I did I imagined their real colors like trees should be green when near and deep dark blue when farther away, something like that. I wanted it to look how it should suppose to look with the right contrast, colors, levels and saturation. These are not my best but here are some of my shots from skyway northbound :)