Cinematography Stumped

So you all know my love of time lapse projects. Not only do they look cool, I appreciate the amount of work that is poured into each and every piece. The delicate camera setups, well thought out plans, the time commitment. It really isn't a simple style to shoot, even though it may seem like you can simply set up the camera, turn it on, and walk away. Returning later to have all your footage ready to edit.

If only it were that easy...

As I watched the piece below, I kept finding myself scratching my head. I'll be the first to admit I'm a beginner in the whole process. I've only shot three different pieces (one of which I haven't even published yet) and I'm still experimenting - trying to figure out what is the best strategy for certain types of movements, angles, and subjects. It won't be years until I can even act like I know what I'm doing. What unfolds below if truly breathtaking. And I have the utmost respect for the man who shot it. I'll break it down for you a few ways.

1.) The overall picture quality is stunning. Everything is exposed correctly, nothing is over saturated. And think about it - for the hours that it is captured, as the sun rises, clouds pass by, and it becomes night, the exposure/f-stop and aperture have to all be adjusted to maintain that picture quality. How this is done without changing the framing of the shot is ridiculous.

2.) The time commitment. This piece obviously wasn't shot in one day. Probably not even in one week. I'd still be astonished if it was shot in under a month. Look at all the locations featured. Atop buildings, on boats, inside taxi cabs. No portion of Shanghai was spaired. You're getting a full, in depth tour of the city.

3.) Reasons one and two alone are noteworthy, but the part that truly amazes me is the camera movement. I can work out how he jumps between angles and shots (thats just creative editing), but how he manages to track cars, passing boats, and pedestrians with such precision is beyond me. It's not like there is some program that will automatically track each subject for him. He has to manually follow, for instance, the cab on the freeway, snapping enough photos. This alone seems like a lot of work, but then keep in mind, since these are all still photos, he has to keep the cab in focus the whole time, adjusting for each individual shot. I've never seen so much camera movement in a time lapse before and as a result, my mind is blown.

I have a grasp on everything else, since I've done it myself (walking down streets, riding in a car, focusing on people doing everyday tasks, etc), but as a whole, this is an amazing piece.

I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do. Oh - and consider Shanghai on my list of cities to visit.