Techniques for documenting an engineering project progress

<p>What are the techniques to document the progress of a project site along the full lifecycle of the works?<br>

Besides putting the camera in the same position covering always in the same angle. Similar lighting conditions. What else should I consider for a job of this kind?<br>

By the way, I will appreciate your recommendation to make sure I always place the camera exactly in the same position, considering that this work has to be done inside a new office building that its interiors will be changing, carpets, ceiling that at the present has no finishing, will have something that may cover my marks.<br>

Also, if I want to simulate a video by using the same photograhs in order to show the progres of the project site in a video, what software you may suggest?</p>

<p>Thanks,</p>

There are relatively inexpensive camera kits which make time lapse videos of projects like you describe.

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<p>Also, if I want to simulate a video by using the same photograhs in order to show the progres of the project site in a video, what software you may suggest?</p>

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<p>You need to work out how long the duration of the piece you want to show will be and then <strong>for every second</strong> of that piece you will need between 25 and 30 separate frames (jpgs). Quicktime Pro 7 can create movie files from your stills.</p>

<p>Thanks Richard, John. I just found some links that provide some ideas. I google based on your comments.<br>

In order to share ...</p>

<p>http://www.imagingperspective.com/news/10tips/02.php<br>

http://ask.metafilter.com/187360/Photo-Documentary-of-House-Construction<br>

Thanks again</p>

<p>I should think that the answer depends on the desired outcome. Are you (or the project manager) looking for a time-line based documentation such as the time-lapse sequences or something that documents key points or milestones in the project which would require a greater variety of points of view?</p>

<p>Will you be covering the changes in the physical state of the facilities or key people and what they do?</p>

<p>If you can leave the same camera in the same place for the duration of the project, great. If you must move/remove the camera periodically, whether for reasons of hazard to the equipment (e.g. weather), security (e.g. theft), or anything else, I would suggest fabricating a permanent or semipermanent camera mount that will let you set up your camera in exactly the same position every time. I'd also suggest using a manual focus prime lens, not a zoom lens, and putting a focal position mark on it that will allow you to set the focus the same way everytime.</p>

<p>When I was doing my dissertation research, I had to set up and break down surveying equipment at precisely the same locations every night around a pond. To do this, I drove three large aluminum stakes into the ground with mounting flanges attached to them. When I left the pond every night, all that was left was a a few inches of aluminum protruding from the soil.</p>

<p>As a part of your mounting system, you might want to look into Really Right Stuff or Arca Swiss indexed quick release plates.</p>

<p>For overall progress we used a 4x5 LF camera on a tripod on a hill overlooking the site. The camera was set up again each time but carefully framed to allow a time sequence composite to be built up. This was late 1970's so no computers then but successive shots could be viewed sequentially to give a good idea of progress. Here is the site with the hill where the pictures were taken in the background.</p><div></div>