For the average person walking or driving by, a construction project might not hold that much interest. Progress can seem slow from the outside, and it’s almost impossible to see what’s happening on any given day.
But when you speed up a build with time-lapse videos, an entire project comes together in minutes. It’s like magic. In fact, these exciting videos are among your most powerful tools for marketing, public relations and in-house communications.
Seeing structures take shape from the ground up
Time-lapse videos reveal a project’s ongoing progress, adding excitement to presentations you make to developers, investors and project teams. Video makes spreadsheets, blueprints and other project reports come alive, getting everyone up to speed quickly and effectively.
Video is fast, but it’s also precise. You can show progress from groundbreaking up to the day of the meeting — or focus on a specific phase of the project that you want to discuss.
Construction companies also use time-lapse segments to pinpoint potential improvements in their building processes. Video shows how work is being sequenced and reveals the results, which can help not only with the current project but also in shaping best practices for future builds.
Time-lapse video can even be used to study the impact of construction on the surrounding environment, as shown in this analysis of 10 very different projects by the architectural website Arch Daily. This detailed look at the process of building helps architects look beyond design considerations to see how daily construction activities affect people, neighborhoods and natural systems.
A power tool to engage investors, clients, tenants
For real estate developers, general contractors and other construction professionals, time-lapse video is the perfect way to convey the excitement of a new project as well as showcase their talents. Video not only documents progress but also shows the intricate choreography of workers, materials and machines as they come together to create the structure.
Time-lapse segments can be used in broader promotional videos that tell the complete story of a project or used as brief, stand-alone posts on websites and social media. High-resolution images can be downloaded from any point in the construction process, giving builders great content for slideshows that can run in reception areas, conference rooms and website pages.
Building community excitement
Many construction projects hold a high level of interest for the general public. New sports venues, libraries, theaters and schools are perfect examples. So are public works projects like new roads and bridges that will affect traffic for weeks or months.
In all these cases, time-lapse videos can answer questions and build positive community engagement. Short segments can be shared via social media or project websites to keep everyone up-to-date. This level of transparency goes a long way in fostering broad-based support and strengthening the public partnerships behind your project.
How our time-lapse systems work
TrueLook time-lapse cameras capture high-resolution images at specified intervals throughout the day. The default capture time is every 15 minutes. Pictures are sent to our servers, and at the end of the week our system combines the images into a time-lapse video you can view and download.
Time-lapse segments can begin at groundbreaking or just capture a certain week or month, showing the most recent progress or focusing on milestone events. You choose the time horizon that tells your story best.
You can easily adjust the video schedule — and set up as many custom time-lapse sequences as you want for your project. The camera will take pictures per your timeline and automatically generate time-lapse videos for you.
With one of our PTZ cameras, you can even have multiple simultaneous time-lapses running from different points of view. So for example, you could time-lapse a parking lot, an eastern structure, a western structure, and your jobsite trailer — all from one camera.
Zoom in on the details
With TrueLook, you capture complete photo documentation of your entire project, giving you the flexibility to review any moment in the process. Since all captured images are stored on our servers, you can view and download any or all images from a given day. Just select the Image Calendar feature from the Time Lapses menu and browse your images by date and time.
The calendar also logs the weather information for that day so you can revisit jobsite conditions. This allows you to see the effect of weather delays. You can also confirm when your subs were on site, see when materials arrived and review progress by daily, weekly or monthly timelines in an overlay or quad view.
Where to share videos for maximum impact
The first and most impactful place to keep your time-lapse segments is your company website. They complement and reinforce your message – and video has been shown to draw more visitors than virtually any other form of website content.
Sharing videos on social media sites like Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn brings your story to an even wider audience. Use video analytics to track who’s finding your videos and why. This offers useful insights into your customer base, revealing potential markets and prospects you might not have expected.
Video content will ignite your email campaigns, boosting click-through and conversion rates through the roof! Studies show increased conversion rates in the 200 to 300 percent range when video is added to an email send.
Unlimited, secure cloud storage — forever
TrueLook gives you unlimited server space for your images and time-lapse segments. All your time-lapse data is stored in the cloud. No matter how long your project runs or how many time-lapses you schedule, there are no data caps or hidden fees. You can download them any time.
We will never delete any of your media and your log in will never expire – even if you’re no longer a customer. Your project and images will be there forever, ready for you to view, analyze and share.
Contact us today if you’re interested in learning more about our time-lapse services.
