JobSiteVisitor.com

Establishing Shots

Brian Sweeney — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 04:15:04 +0000

My wife spends her time making movies and when we first met I can remember working with her to story-board a project. She was in film school at the time and was constantly talking about Establishing Shots, Medium Shots, and Close-ups. Before I knew it I was also referring to construction photos in this manner. Remember when you’re taking photos of an issue, specifically one that has cost associated with it, make sure to take an establishing shot, some medium shots, and of course some close ups to tell the whole story.

Here’s an example of what I mean. The above photos were related to a Pedimat issue I was involved with, you know those mats stuck in the ground at the entrance of a building. We made the mistake of not recessing the concrete deep enough, it was a pain in the ass, but nothing money couldn’t fix. There is nothing like Grinding out 1/2″ of concrete in the lobby of a finished building. Here are some photos that were taken during the grinding. We started with a 1.5″ deep recess and had to get to 2″. Next time you’re using construction photos to document something like this think about taking a few different shots to tell the whole story. And always make sure you recess your Pedimat enough if you know what I mean!

Webcam Integration

Brian Sweeney — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:17:48 +0000

JobSiteVisitor can now integrate almost any type of webcam into your project. Webcams are a great way to monitor construction progress from a fixed location. We now have the ability to display live streaming views or still shots from your project’s webcam. Our goal with this integration is to provide a flexible service that can accommodate any web camera that can email, FTP, or stream live video.

We’d done some webcam integrations for clients before on our old platform but much of the code was scrapped when we built our new service. A couple of months ago we got a call from a new client who liked our platform and needed a webcam. We started working with Rudolph and Sletten on their San Diego City College project and are excited to announce that we now offer webcam integration.

The following screencast will show you what you can expect:

How much does it cost?

We’ll work with your team to select a camera that best meets your needs and budget. We can also work with existing webcams you have on site to integrate into our service. You can expect to pay $500-$1,000 for the integration + cost of the camera + $1,000 for our Large photo hosting package. You should budget between $3,000 – $4,000 for a webcam set up similar to one in the above video. Keep in mind that this price does not include internet access or the cost to set up the camera on your end.

Each Site is Different

We all know that each site and project is different. This set up works best if your camera is set up with-in 300ft of a power source and internet connection. We can work with you and help you decide the best option for your specific situation. If you want to talk more about installing and integrating a camera on your project just contact us and we’d be more than happy to help. Contact us.

St Annes Lower School Construction

Brian Sweeney — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:39:43 +0000

St. Anne’s Episcopal School in Denver, CO just finished the construction on their Lower School addition. The construction of the new two story addition was designed by Hutton Architecture Studio and built by GH Phipps. Durring the construction process a time-lapse camera was placed on the roof of their existing building to capture a time-lapse of the construction. The following video shows the entire construction process from start to finish:

Out door motion cameras like the Stealth Cams are a great product to use for capturing time-lapse construction progress. They are relatively affordable, durable, and simple to operate. For more information on how to set up a Motion Camera on your project along with some tips check out my previous post about = Motion Cameras.

During construction the school also shared updates of the progress with their faculty and parents. This was a great way for everyone to get progress updates. = Lower School Construction Photos
Congratulations to all the project team members for a great project and wonderful new school.

Another Video of photos during the construction of the Lower School Addition:

Project Setup Video

Brian Sweeney — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 16:04:02 +0000

People often ask me how long does it take to set up a project in JobSiteVisitor. I used to tell people it takes about 15min, that number was a little high. It actually takes just 8mins to get started, as demonstrated in the following video. This is a good video to watch for anyone considering using JobSiteVisitor to help organize, manage, and share their construction photos.

Organizing Underground Photos

Brian Sweeney — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:11:13 +0000

Organizing underground construction photos can be difficult for a number of different reasons. It’s hard to know exactly where photos are taken from because the camera is typically pointed down into a hole filled with electrical conduit or rebar. The other day I ran across one of our newer projects that Rudolph and Sletten is building for San Diego City College. They’ve been doing an excellent job managing their underground photos, what they’ve done is upload their Site Plan, Site Electrical Plan, Site Plumbing Plan, Foundation Plan, Grading Plan, and Storm Water Prevention Plan (SWPP) to help keep everything organized. By managing photos this way, different plans can be used to organize and manage different types of photos. For example all the underground electrical photos are located on the electrical site plan and all the foundation photos get placed on the Foundation Plan.

Here’s a quick screen cast of showing how well it works.

Similar management techniques can be done for interior photos as well. For example you might want to think about uploading reflected ceiling plans to document above grid conditions. There are many ways to use our product and it’s great to see contractors like Rudolph & Sletten getting creative with their on site photo management.