About SpeedyCam

SpeedyCam shows time-lapse movies of local roads. When I'm on the road, I take a picture every second using a webcam and save the frames as a movie to be broadcast on this site.

That one-frame-per-second method is how the classic movies were made. The newer HD movies (the Volvo S60 and Corvette C7 era) work a little differently: instead of a fixed frame rate, the footage is sped up — or now and then slowed back down — in iMovie to suit the visuals, so the interesting stretches get room to breathe while the dull ones fly by.

I got the idea for SpeedyCam when I watched the video clip of Madonna's Ray of Light. That video featured some time-lapse sequences, and right there the idea of "time-lapse road movies" was born. I just didn't really know how to start — I needed some equipment first. After a little thinking and searching, I found a Logitech QuickCam in our basement.

The webcam was connected to my Apple PowerBook G3/333 — a nice and fast laptop with a long battery life, which matters because the camera draws its power from the computer. After using the QuickCam for a couple of months, I upgraded to an iREZ Kritter SV with a CapSureUSB. The quality of the movies got much better and it's easier to mount correctly in the car. I wrote a short comparison of four different webcams which you can still read on SpeedyCam.

With the filming equipment assembled, I still needed a car to mount it in. I had various options…

Evaluating the camera car

The first choice was a 1964 Goggomobil Sedan T 250-01, because of its very low fuel consumption (only 3.9 litres/100 km). However, the top speed of this automobile is so slow that time-lapse movies wouldn't make much sense: capturing one frame per second would have been close to the actual speed of movement… No offense to any Goggo driver, but my website is called SpeedyCam.

My second choice would have let me go down the road less travelled… This nice example of precise military machinery — a tank — is parked just outside Camp Elsenborn, Belgium. There are a couple of reasons why I didn't install my in-tank webcam in this vehicle: first of all, I wasn't allowed to, and it would have been far too noisy. The tank's top speed is also about as fast as the Goggomobil, with a much higher fuel consumption.

Here's my third choice: the Volvo C70, one of the safest convertibles around with a great price/performance ratio. But we don't have the best weather around here — the webcam would easily fog up or get wet, and the electric roof takes 30 seconds to close, which could be too long to keep the movie equipment safe. Besides, my father wouldn't let me use it just to film road movies. With a top speed of 250 km/h (160 mph), it would have been too fast for our webcam anyway. It's quite a thrill to take it onto the German autobahn on a Sunday morning, though…

It would have been nice to use this fast Arrows Formula 1 car on Michelin tyres for my SpeedyCam movies. However, I was only allowed to drive it during the one-day Michelin Driving Experience event — you can read my full report on that unforgettable day right here on the site.

After evaluating all those different vehicles — small, strong, safe, fast — the ideal solution was right in front of me. The car I used every day: my own car.

Ta-da! The Nissan Primera 2.0 TD Cosmic Edition

OK, it's not your standard Cosmic Edition… A few minor changes were made (aka Sportline by Schauff): 16″ ASA wheels, tinted rear windows, a Remus sports exhaust system, a sport front grill and a sport suspension.

I'm not a playboy and not a person who would prefer a BMW, so this Nissan was just right for traveling around. People might have gazed at the Goggo, the tank or the Volvo, but with my Primera I enjoyed living on the fast lane, shooting movies for your entertainment.

Once the webcam, the car and the computer were assembled, I finally had the ultimate weapon to conquer our local roads for movie production. I hope you enjoy the movies.

By the way — I'm always looking for people who submit their own movies. Some viewer submissions are already featured on the drivers page. Drop me a line through the contact form if you've got your own time-lapse footage.

Have fun,
Joe Savelberg

Watch the road movies