Ah Dubai, land of underwater hotels, city-sized indoor malls, and soon, maybe even a modern take on Jurassic Park. The temptation to blow checking, savings, and credit accounts on a no-holds-barred vacation to the desert metropolis haunts our dreams almost every time we write about its architecture, but timelapse pioneer Rob Whitworth's new take on the city just might be the last straw. You might remember Whitworth from his fantastic visual tours of Barcelona and other cities, but Dubai Flow Motion might be on a whole new level.
Advertisement
Whitworth's videos catapult his cameras over skylines, then slam-zoom them in on intimate human moments. This time around, he leaves no stop un-pulled: extravagant fireworks displays, dune buggy racing, and his favorite shot, a view from inside the cockpit of an airplane, are just a few of the new tricks he brings to the cinematic table. One sequence involves a vertigo-inducing vertical drop through all 163 floors of the Burj Khalifa, starting at the cloudy peak, in and out of hotel rooms and elevators, and down to the lush aquarium beneath. "I’d been hearing about the vertical city, these super tall buildings that have everything inside. Tens of thousands of people living, working, playing inside. All hidden away in the sky," Whitworth tells The Creators Project. "I thought falling through it would be a fun way of communicating this… Oh and I’d always wanted to shoot something falling down a lift shaft."Whitworth's partner on the project, Dubai Film, has also released a few of the timelapse sequences in raw form, alongside the filmmaker's signature whip-fast video tour. "I think my work sometimes gets criticized for being too fast (I drink a lot of coffee)," Whitworth says. "The idea here is to give people some of the scenes playing out in full with no fancy editing." Check out the video above, and then let these stills of Dubai wash over you:
ONE EMAIL. ONE STORY. EVERY WEEK. SIGN UP FOR THE VICE NEWSLETTER.
By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from Vice Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.
