Island in the Sky III 4K - a Tribute to La Isla de San Miguel de La Palma

Filmed/Edited and Produced by Christoph Malin / Christophmalin.com
 
With current super fastStorage Media by Angelbird.com and Apple’s M3 Max Series, 8K RAW Video Post processing Workflows, once a real effort, have received a remarkable Super-Boost in 2024. Supercharged both by innovative and fast Solid State Storage Media like Angelbird’s CFExpress Type B Media and fast Magsafe Recording Type B Reader Modules, plus Apple Silicon in its 3rd Iteration, 8K RAW Video is now actually fun to work with.

And the former arduous 4K/8K Timelapse Workflows receive a profound Performance boost as well!

While it still took me five Days to remaster 92 La Palma RAW Timelapse Folders of 9 different Cameras plus Drone (D3s, D700, D7000, 6D, 1D, D800, D4, Z 8, Z 9, DJI Phantom 4 Pro) and 1,06 TB / 77583 RAW Files, not such a long time ago this Project would have taken me about at least 4-5 Weeks. Actually I re-graded all Timelapses with LRTimelapse and Lightroom as ACR has improved for older Cameras too.

So finally, in 2024 with Storage and Processing Hardware we would have dreamed of 10 Years ago, I now could create the La Palma Film, I always wanted. Thanks so much to all my long time Sponsors and Partners!

Re-Grading the Original RAW Files of all Cameras I have noted the following:
The Color Science of the Nikon D3s NEF Files is still remarkable today. It shows a very special Coloring that is just beautiful for Astrophotography.
In 2011 I built the autonomous Timelapse Bot’s for ESO.org and later for the 24Hrs Apple Watchface timelapses. For Camera Control I had teamed up with Granite Bay Software. However GBtimelapse - sadly discontinued - was Canon only, so I used Canon’s 6D's. These 6D Timelapses still stand out Today! The Canon 6D with Nikon's AF-S 14-24mm/2.8 plus GBTimelapse was an unmatched 24hr Holy Grail Timelapse Beast. The T-Bot System could direct Write to SSD (the earliest Angelbird SSDtoGo PKTs), and ramp ISO, Aperture (mechanical, via external Stepper Motor), Shutter and most important: Interval.

The 2024 Remastering Workflow:
Check Timelapse in LRTimelapse Preview (Luminance, Flicker etc)
Setting Keyframes, Lightroom Classic Import
Keyframes grading in Lightroom, reloading back to LRTimelapse, Auto Transitioning, build & check visual Previews
Visual Luminance Deflicker
If all OK, export Intermediate TIFFs in Lightroom
Render Intermediates with LRTimelapse into Source Resolution 422 HQ Quicktime Movies
Import final Render Clips in Davinci Resolve, denoise Clips (Neat Video 5), use Resolve Deflicker, works perfectly), export to 422 HQ Quicktimes in Source Resolution
Grade Z 8 / Z 9 5.3K and 8K RAW Footage in Resolve
Grade Timelapses in Resolve to match overall Project Colors
Edit Film, export, Visual check
Meanwhile listen to many Songs on Epidemicsounds for perfect Soundtrack

Software:
LRTimelapse
Lightroom Classic
Davinci Resolve
Neat Video 5
 
Hardware:
Apple iMac Pro 27” (10 Core Xeon CPU, Radeon Pro Vega 16 GB RAM, 64 GB RAM, 2 TB SSD)
Apple M3 Max 16” (16-Core CPU, 40-Core GPU, 48 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD)
 
Storage Media:
Angelbird SSDtoGo PKT 2 TB
Angelbird AV Pro MK2 1/2/4 TB
Angelbird MagSafe Recording Module CFExpress Type B  

Cameras:
Nikon Z 8 / Z 9, older Cameras noted in the Film

Lenses (all Nikon):
Z 20/1.8 S
Z 24/1.8 S
Z 35/1.8 S
Z 70-200/2.8 S
Z 50/1.2 S
Z 100–400/4.5–5.6 VR S
TC-20E III
AF-S 14-24/2.8
AF DX Fisheye 10.5/2.8 G ED,
AF Fisheye 16/2.8 D
Non Nikon:
Sigma 8/3.5 EX DG Circular Fisheye
 
Soundtrack by Epidemicsounds.com
“Car Songs” – Epocha
“No Hooks” – Water Mirrors
“Old School Hotshot” – Pip Mondy
“Bloody Shame” – Got Happy
“Nauseated” – Pip Mondy
“To Stop thinking of you” - Sleepaway Camp
“Bandaids and Bullets” - Sleepaway Camp

La Palma Info:
The Green Pearl in the Atlantic La Palma, or more precisely La Isla de San Miguel de La Palma, is the Northwesternmost Island of the Canaries, and offers Astro and Landscape Photographers a real Paradise, sometimes called the “Hawaii of Europe”. Hardly any other comparably small Region in the World can offer the variety of archaic Volcanic Landscapes La Palma has.
 
In 1977 the Light Protection Law “Ley del Cielo” was passed for the Observatory del Roque de los Muchachos (ORM) at the 2421 m high Roque de los Muchachos, above the Caldera de Taburiente National Park. The Law prohibits direct, unshielded Light Sources that glare into the Zenith, and is a blessing for Nature and the Starry Sky above the Island.
 
The Erosion Caldera “Caldera de Taburiente” is the World's largest Erosion crater in the Northern Hemisphere (9 km in diameter). The ORM is situated slightly below the Northwest crater rim.
  
The starry sky on La Palma is comparable to that in the Atacama Desert, the Namib, Mauna Kea or the deserts of Australia.

Please Note: Landscapes shown, were before the Eruption of the Tajogaite Volcano in 2021, which destroyed 2500+ Homes.

Cheers
Christoph Malin
Christophmalin.com