Toy Town Effect

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Mallards in a Tilted Frame

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Mesmerizing Tilt-Shift Perspective Shows German Mountains in Miniature

Joerg Daiber -- the German filmmaker behind "Little Big World" -- has created a mezmerizing, miniaturized showcase of the Ore Mountains in Germany using a tilt-shift perspective.

This latest project was created in collaboration with the local tourism board and showcases the Ore Mountains, which recently were granted the status of UNESCO World Heritage site. Daiber had come across the location whilst on a personal trip and enjoyed the area so much so he thought it would be a great fit for his series.

The unique effect seen in Daiber's films comes from miniature faking, also known as the diorama effect. It is a process in which a still or a video clip has blurring applied to simulate shallow depth of field which is generally seen in close-up photography. This method takes life-size locations and objects and transforms them into what appear to be miniatures. In the case of video footage, increased playback speed also contributes to this effect.

Using wide-angle lenses from elevated positions and adding contrast and saturation to the image also helps "sell the effect," Daiber explains. Some filmmakers insist on using tilt-shift lenses exclusively while others, like Daiber himself, prefer to apply the effects in post-production as it leaves room for additional creative freedom. Although Daiber enjoys the shots from drones, he rather shoots from high vantage points if possible.

"Also, I think that shooting too much with drones is sort of a lazy filmmaking," he adds.

Although this method is an intrinsic part of Daiber's work today, he first came across it ten years ago when he saw a tilt-shift film by Keith Loutit. Daiber became intrigued by the technique and introduced it into his own work.

"I like how tilt-shifting puts things into perspective and makes humans look insignificant because, in the grand scheme of things, we’re just tiny little bugs on this planet," he tells PetaPixel.

For his first film, Daiber took his DSLR on a trip to Thailand and Crete, Greece. The films he shot during his trip eventually became finalists at the Vimeo Awards in New York and also signify the beginning of his "Little Big Series," with over 130 episodes today.

Before Daiber films any of his chosen locations across the world, extensive research takes place. Daiber uses Google Maps and searches for other videos and images available online to determine which places might work well and where he can find good vantage points. Then, a rough shooting itinerary is drafted and the time-consuming work of organizing necessary permits begins. For the Ore Mountains film, Daiber filmed a lot of his content on a drone which meant that he spent more time collecting all the required drone permissions from authorities and property owners than the actual filming process that took 15 to 16 shooting days.

The pandemic-enforced restrictions and canceled events, such as the closure of Christmas markets, further added to the complexities of creating his latest film, as did the inclusion of footage from inside the local mines. Most of the underground spaces are dark and have narrow tunnels which makes it hard for tilt-shift work, however, Daiber was lucky to find that tin mines have large underground caves from the depletion of tin, which gave him the best vantage point considering the circumstances.

Daiber has created timelapse and tilt-shift films covering popular and lesser-known locations all around the world. They can be found on his YouTube channel, with his portfolio also available on his website and Instagram.

Image credits: All images by Joerg Daiber and used with permission.

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Little Big World: The Beauty of Moldova Captured in Miniature

Photographer Joerg Daiber of the YouTube Channel Little Big World has published a 3-minute timelapse, tilt-shift-style aerial video along with a set of photos that captures one of Europe's most beautiful landscapes.

Moldova -- supposedly the least visited country in Europe as well as the second poorest in the region -- is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe and is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The above film was shot in Țipova, Orhei Vechi, Soroca, Bendery Fortress in Transnistria, and the capital city Chișinău.

"While it might not sound very inviting to most people, I found this country to become my favorite destination on my pre-pandemic East Europe trip," Daiber says. "The people are lovely, the landscapes are beautiful, and there is lots of interesting history and architecture."

Daiber explains that he enjoys making projects with this effect because he says that miniaturizing footage somehow puts things into perspective.

"Instead of focusing on major sights and attractions, I try to capture people doing everyday things in these films," he says. "I find watching these relatable things in miniature very grounding in some sort of way. It makes the personal drama feel so minuscule and tiny in scale. I think that people should not take themselves and what they do too seriously. After all, we are just tiny little bugs on this planet."

Daiber explains that he shot all the footage and images on an Eastern Europe road trip with his four-year-old son.

"You can see us performing a silly 'dance' at 0:51," he says. "I used a Lumix GH5 and GH4 camera with a few Panasonic lenses. I really love the MFT format for traveling and timelapses as it takes off so much space and weight from your bag. I also own a Lumix S1H, but rarely bring that along. While I love to work with full-frame cameras, they don’t make too much sense for these kinds of projects."

In addition to the Panasonic cameras, Daiber says that he also, of course, uses a DJI Mavic drone.

While this kind of miniature effect can be achieved with tilt-shift lenses, Daiber says that in the case of this project he added the effect in post.

"A while back I switched from Adobe to DaVinci Resolve and have never looked back since my workflow is now so much faster and easier," he explains. "I know that some guys have very strong opinions about not using tilt-shift lenses for this kind of work. I do get the occasional hate comment on YouTube and Reddit, but well you can please everybody, I guess."

While purists might disagree with his methods, Daiber says that he is able to make his art because he doesn't rely on using tilt-shift hardware. It's also more practical from a business standpoint.

"I think that [my method] gives me way more flexibility to do everything in post in terms more variety of focal lengths while shooting with zoom lenses, changing focal planes as needed in post, and also I can reuse the raw footage without the effects which makes them more suitable for distribution to a wider audience on Getty Images."

Daiber has made more than 120 films like this one over the past decade, which all can be found on his website Little Big World. Over that time, the equipment he uses has evolved quite a bit.

"The first films I shot only with a GH2 and there were no drones, 360-degree cameras, and gimbals available. These days there is much more gear to lug around in my backpack."

For more from Joerg Daiber, make sure to check out his previous projects on his website and subscribe to his YouTube Channel.

Image credits: Photos by Joerg Daiber and used with permission.

#features #easterneurope #europe #littlebigworld #miniature #moldova #tiltshift #tiltshifteffect #timelapse #travel #travelphotography #travelvideo