The Schuster Annexe Project
When The University of Manchester added a 27,000 sq ft extension to their Schuster Building, it’s physics and astronomy department, we were asked to produce a time-lapse film. The new Schuster Annexe, part of the University’s £1bn campus masterplan, was designed by architects Hawkins / Brown with Willmott Dixon appointed as the main contractor. It was built on unoccupied land on the corner of Upper Brook Street and Brunswick Street in Manchester and connects to the main Schuster Building, where the material graphene was isolated by Nobel-prize winning Professors Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov. The new building was specifically designed to connect into the existing circulation and lifts in the Schuster Building, providing seamless connections with the academics and student’s occupying other parts of the Physics Department.
The project, which is part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, will house collaborative learning spaces and also the ‘Ideas Mill’. This will explore different methods of teaching and learning in the department and will be a base for outreach activities, creating a venue for connection and collaboration.
What we did
To create the Schuster Annexe time-lapse film we deployed one of our long term time-lapse cameras on the roof of the existing Schuster building. The time-lapse camera was mounted on a stand overlooking the construction site. Due to the close proximity of the site, we used a specialist wide angle lens to ensure that the best possible shot was obtained. The camera was deployed just after the site had been cleared, and remained in situ for the remainder of the project. The long duration time-lapse camera took a photo every three minutes, and the built in 3G connection allowed the client to view the latest image at any time, from any web enabled device.
Once the project was complete, our team removed the camera from the roof and left the installation location exactly how it was found. During the course of the project, the Schuster Annexe time-lapse camera took over 100,000 pictures. These were processed into a sequence and then painstakingly edited to remove periods of inactivity. The results can be seen below.
Want something like the Schuster Annexe time-lapse film for your project? Please contact us to discuss your requirements and we will be happy to provide a quote.
We also offer a short term time-lapse service. If you are not sure what’s best for your project, please contact us and one of our team will explain how we can help you.
You can find out more about the Schuster Annexe project here.