ABOUT THE PROJECT:
Across the Land is a cinematographic installation project photographed by Scott Portingale in 2017. The installation is composed of two experimental time-lapse films and a behind the scenes video. The central component of the project is a one-shot film that carries the viewer on a 9000km topographical time-lapse journey from the Alaskan border to Cape Spear Newfoundland. As part of the installation the film plays on a loop and is projected onto a Ford E-350 windshield, giving the viewer the sense of travelling the 9000km distance. Across The Land was premiered at FAVA’s (Film and Video Arts Society of Alberta) annual gala and awards show in August, 2019.
the short film
Across the Land is a compilation of timelapse sequences shot across Canada in 2017 and is part of a cinematographic installation project called Across the Land. The film explores Canadian landscapes where technological modernity and natural spaces intersect.
When shooting a one shot film across Canada (see other videos) my camera assistant and I drove an average of 6-8 hours a day and would often stop to shoot a few time-lapse shots on the roadside if we saw something of interest. We’d also take advantage of the morning/evening light around one of the many campgrounds we would stay at. This resulted in hundreds of gigabits of raw image sequences by the time we finished the 9000km journey. I edited this film with imagery shot during the project and cut in a few shots I captured over the years to help tie some of the scenes together. View the project, more time-lapse videos, behind the scenes, GIFs, and stills at the following link.
The Shot
Across the land was shot at 3 frames per second on a Canon 6D DSLR mounted to the dashboard. The film is a string of approximately 124,000 images, interpreted at 18fps.
Stills from the DASH
A collection of images from the dash mounted DSLR.
Thank you to the following for the support of this project: