If you have Google Chrome, a decent internet connection and a strong stomach, cancel any plans you might have had for this afternoon. Because chances are you’re not going to want to tear yourself away from Teehan+Lax’s incredible new tool: a Google Street View hyperlapse machine.
Describing their motivation, a post in Teehan+Lax’s “labs” section notes:
Hyper-lapse photography — a technique combining time-lapse and sweeping camera movements typically focused on a point-of-interest — has been a growing trend on video sites. It’s not hard to find stunning examples on Vimeo. Creating them requires precision and many hours stitching together photos taken from carefully mapped locations. We aimed at making the process simpler by using Google Street View as an aid, but quickly discovered that it could be used as the source material. It worked so well, we decided to design a very usable UI around our engine and release Google Street View Hyperlapse.
The UI is relatively simple to use; simply put in your desired start and end points, and off you go on a whirlwind, mildly brief adventure. The process can get a little glitchy at times, but given the scope of the project, it’s entirely forgivable. What’s harder to ignore is the fact that, depending on the number of twists and turns in your desired route, the journey can become incredibly nauseating (straight shots are generally safe). The above video gives you a beautiful example of what it can, and you can make your very own at Teehan+Lax’s site here. [This Is Colossal]