How do you fit the character of a country into less than three minutes? For FilmSpektakel, the answer involved returning with cameras over two years, then shaping a large collection of moments into A Taste of Austria.
The 2015 film is credited to Thomas Pöcksteiner and Peter Jablonowski. In the production description, they report gathering about 600 time-lapse clips during 2013–2015, amounting to roughly 5 TB of raw material. Those figures describe the source collection, not the size of the finished film.
Time-lapse and hyperlapse
Time-lapse compresses change by recording images at intervals and playing them back in a faster sequence. Clouds and shifting light become easier to follow. Hyperlapse adds substantial movement of the camera between frames, changing the viewpoint as time passes.
The terms are related, but they are not synonyms for every fast-moving travel shot. When watching, notice whether the scene is changing around a stable viewpoint or whether the viewpoint itself is travelling.
Editing creates the journey
A two-year production cannot be read as a single trip through one season. The finished sequence chooses relationships between places and moments. A change in light, direction or visual shape can connect scenes that were made far apart in time.
That is a useful lesson for a small personal project too. Collect more than landmark views: a street changing after sunset, weather moving over a ridge, or a transition between a town and its surroundings can help a film breathe.
The makers also identify the voice-over as archival audio from Felix Baumgartner’s 2012 Stratos mission. It belongs to the soundtrack’s construction, not to an event filmed during this Austrian travel sequence.
For a closer look at one Austrian setting, explore Innsbruck and its mountain backdrop. For a photographic project organised around repeated overnight stops, see Karol Nienartowicz’s mountain tents.
How a two-year production becomes a short journey
The scale of A Taste of Austria is easier to appreciate when the finished edit is compared with its production history: Thomas Pöcksteiner and Peter Jablonowski filmed during 2013–2015, assembling material from more than 600 time-lapses. The reported five terabytes describe the source material, not the size or resolution of the finished film.
Their equipment list included Canon 5D Mark III, 6D and 600D bodies, lenses ranging from a 14 mm wide-angle to a 150–600 mm telephoto, and motion equipment including the Dynamic Perception Stage One, Emotimo TB3 and Pocketslider. That mixture helps explain why the film can move between expansive scenery and compressed architectural detail. Watch the transitions as carefully as the landmarks: repeating shapes, changes in light and apparent camera motion turn separate recording sessions into a continuous visual journey.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Film Spektakel
- Twisted Sifter
- Hallstatt – Idyllic Village of Plenty Fun Activities, Austria
- A Wonderful Hike Along the Schlegeis Lake in Tyrol, Austria
- I Am A Mountain Photographer And I Spent 6 Years Photographing My Tent In The Mountains
- This Home in the Austrian Alps Was Crafted for People Who Appreciate Nature
- Discover an Abundance of Ski Resorts in Arlberg, Austria
- Original image link
- Innsbruck and its mountain backdrop
- Karol Nienartowicz’s mountain tents
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