Incredible time travel time-lapse seamlessly blends ‘then and now’ images of Portland

Uncage the Soul Productions recently shared a mesmerizing time travel time-lapse that takes us on a journey through the Portland, Oregon.

Titled Yesterday’s Tomorrow - A Portland Journey, the five minute time-lapse seamlessly and meticulously places historical photographs of Portland into their modern-day locations. It takes ‘then and now’ comparisons to a whole new level, almost creating an augmented reality effect as the time-lapse carries on.

Uncage the Soul Productions shared a lengthy explanation of the process in the video’s description. In it, they break down the process of sorting through ‘stacks and folders’ of historical images to find the perfect scenes that they would be able to recreate:

Wearing white gloves, we [were] allowed to explore and look through their incredible archives. We’ve come to love the process of being given a folder of loose images, walking it to the table to open, and then discovering new pieces of our city’s history photo by photo. It was common to realize we’d be holding our breath in anticipation while going through the folder.

In addition to their own research for the time-lapse, Uncage the Soul Productions partnered with online newspaper, The Oregonian, who sent them a hard drive of 1500 hi-res images they had meticulously culled from their massive archives.

In total, Uncage the Soul Productions sorted through over 5,000 photographs, eventually choosing only 50 or so final images after some heated debates on what to keep and what to toss. It was with those 50 photos that they set out to capture modern-day time-lapses to overlay the historical photos onto.

Images alone weren’t enough to make the piece, though. Uncage the Soul Productions sat down and interviewed over 90 citizens of Portland, asking them questions about their lives and ‘opinions on a big list of life issues’. One particular individual stood out. Her name was Katherine Livingston. To describe the impact she had on the team, they wrote in the video’s description:

Her eyes are bright, her wits are sharp, she was born in Portland, her grandfather was involved in commissioning the Skidmore Fountain, she recently held the world record for fastest 2000 meters on a stationary rowing machine for the 95–100 yr old bracket, and this weekend she turns 100 years old.

The team chose Livingston’s words as the voice to narrate the time-lapse. Music composition was provided by Peter Bosack.

Below is the time-lapse for you to enjoy in all its glory.

(via HomeSnacks)