Timelapse video in Dubai
Short-term timelapse for event stand build-ups, fit-outs and launch set-ups, and long-term construction progress timelapse for developers and main contractors, filmed across Dubai and the UAE. One operator plans the interval, mounts and powers the camera, and turns the frames into a finished clip, so the film arrives graded and ready to post rather than as a folder of stills.
Dubai & UAE bookings · project enquiries only
Short-term timelapse shoots start at AED 2,000; long-term construction timelapse is quoted monthly. See packages and prices
How much does timelapse video cost in Dubai?
A short-term timelapse in Dubai starts at AED 2,000 per shoot: one camera on an event build-up, exhibition stand, fit-out day or launch set-up, delivered as a 30 to 60 second clip within 2 to 5 working days. Long-term construction timelapse over weeks or months is quoted monthly and depends on power, mounting and access. Most projects land inside AED 2,000 to 7,000, itemised within 24 hours. Prices checked September 2026.
- Service
- Timelapse Video
- Typical price
- From AED 2,000 per short-term shoot; long-term construction timelapse quoted monthly after a site visit
- Turnaround
- 30 to 60 second clip within 2 to 5 working days; monthly progress edits on long-term sites
- Coverage
- Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Abu Dhabi; travel built into the quote
- Booking
- WhatsApp brief → itemised proposal → deposit holds the date
- Ownership
- Client owns the finished films and every captured frame, in writing
Experience
Eight years producing event, corporate and industrial video in the UAE, including launch and exhibition work filmed for Aldar and Zeiss, from one operator who rigs, captures and edits every timelapse.
Timelapse video in Dubai: what's included
Event Build-Up Timelapse
A stand or stage going up at DWTC or Expo City Dubai compressed into 30 to 60 seconds, filmed from a fixed position across the build days and cut with the finished stand as the closing frame.
Fit-Out and Installation Timelapse
A retail unit, office floor or restaurant fit-out from bare shell to handover, filmed over the days that matter and edited for the contractor's LinkedIn and tender deck.
Construction Progress Timelapse
A fixed camera on a site for weeks or months, capturing at set intervals through the working day, with monthly progress edits and a full-programme film at completion.
Hyperlapse
A moving timelapse walked or driven through a venue, a corniche or a building lobby, stabilised in the edit, for openings and brand films that need motion rather than a fixed frame.
Drone Timelapse
Aerial timelapse and hyperlapse over a site or a development, flown by a licensed GCAA and DCAA partner and quoted as a separate line, with the edit handled in-house.
Edit, Grade and Cut-Downs
Frames assembled, flicker removed, exposure ramped through sunset, graded and delivered as a landscape master with vertical and square versions for social channels.
Short-term versus long-term timelapse in Dubai
Short-term timelapse covers anything that happens over hours or a few days. The regular bookings are exhibitors at GITEX Global and Gulfood who want their stand going up at DWTC or Expo City Dubai, fit-out contractors who want a unit turned from shell to shopfront for their own marketing, hotel and restaurant openings where the room is dressed the night before, and launch set-ups where a stage, a car reveal or an installation is built on the day. One camera, sometimes two, sits on a fixed mount for the build and the frames become a 30 to 60 second clip delivered within 2 to 5 working days, usually before the event closes so the exhibitor can post it while the stand is still live.
Long-term timelapse is a different job. A camera lives on a site for weeks or months, capturing at intervals through the working day, and the client is a developer, a main contractor or a project manager who wants the record for progress reporting, investor updates, the handover film and marketing. That kind of installation depends on three things the site controls: a power source that stays on, a mounting point high enough to see the whole footprint and stable enough to hold the frame, and access for maintenance visits. Because those vary from site to site, long-term construction timelapse is quoted monthly after a site visit rather than off a rate card, and the quote states what the site has to provide.
The technical side of timelapse video in Dubai, in plain words
A timelapse is a series of still frames taken at a fixed interval and played back at 25 frames a second. The interval sets the feel. A stand build over eight hours might use one frame every 10 to 20 seconds, which gives a clip of a minute or so where people move fast and the structure appears steadily. A construction site over six months uses one frame every 10 to 15 minutes across daylight hours, so a month becomes a few seconds of film. The mount has to stay fixed for the whole capture, because a knock of a centimetre shows as a jump in the final film, so the camera goes on a clamp, a scaffold pole or a wall bracket rather than a tripod someone can move.
Power and heat are the two Dubai-specific problems. Short shoots run on batteries and a power bank swapped between frames. Anything over a day needs mains power or a solar and battery unit, and the housing has to be weather sealed against dust, humidity and summer temperatures that will shut an unprotected camera down by midday from June to September. Frames are written to two cards and pulled to a drive at every visit, so a card failure loses hours rather than weeks. In the edit, the frames are assembled, flicker from changing light is smoothed, exposure is ramped through sunset so the film does not jump when the site lights come on, and the sequence is graded and cut to length with the client's logo and any captions.
How timelapse is priced in Dubai
Short-term timelapse starts at AED 2,000 per shoot. That covers one camera, one operator to rig, monitor and pull the frames, the capture across a build day or a set-up, and the edit to a 30 to 60 second clip delivered within 2 to 5 working days. A second camera on the same build, a second build day, or a hyperlapse walk through the finished stand are each added as a line. Exhibitors who also want the show itself covered usually combine the build timelapse with event videography in Dubai or an exhibition and trade show video on the same proposal, which shares the travel and the edit.
Long-term construction timelapse is quoted monthly. The monthly figure depends on four things: how the site is accessed (a gate pass and escort, or open), whether mains power is available at the mounting point or a solar unit has to be supplied, the height of the mount and whether a lift or a scaffold is needed to service it, and the number of cameras. A single camera on a site with power and easy access sits at the low end; two cameras on a tower with solar units and a monthly high-level access booking sits higher. Progress edits are delivered monthly and the full-programme film at completion. Most timelapse projects, short or long, land inside AED 2,000 to 7,000 per booking, and the proposal is itemised within 24 hours of the brief.
Launch, exhibition and site work across the UAE
Read the case studies: Aldar Fahid Island Event (outdoor launch), Emircom Event Highlight, Al Falah Optics × Zeiss, IHC Event Video. See all work.
Booking timelapse video in Dubai: FAQs
How much does a timelapse video cost in Dubai?
A short-term timelapse starts at AED 2,000 per shoot: one camera on an event build-up, fit-out day or launch set-up, edited to a 30 to 60 second clip within 2 to 5 working days. Long-term construction timelapse is quoted monthly after a site visit. Most projects land between AED 2,000 and 7,000, itemised within 24 hours of the brief. See packages and prices→
Can you film our stand being built at GITEX or Gulfood?
Yes. The camera is rigged on the build day from a fixed position agreed with the stand contractor, captures through the build and the dressing, and the clip is delivered before the show closes so it can be posted while the stand is live. Access on build days is arranged through the exhibitor's contractor pass.
How long can a construction timelapse camera stay on site?
As long as the programme runs. Weeks or months are normal. The camera lives in a weather-sealed housing on a fixed mount with mains or solar power, frames are collected at scheduled visits, and progress edits are delivered monthly. The quote is monthly and states what the site provides: power, a mounting point and access for servicing.
Does the summer heat affect timelapse filming in Dubai?
It does, and the rig is built for it. Unprotected cameras shut down in direct sun from June to September, so long-term units use a sealed, ventilated housing and are placed in shade where the view allows. Short shoots inside air-conditioned halls are unaffected. Dust and humidity are handled by the housing and by cleaning at every visit.
Can you do drone timelapse or hyperlapse?
Yes. Hyperlapse, a moving timelapse walked or driven through a space, is filmed in-house. Drone timelapse and aerial hyperlapse are flown by a licensed GCAA and DCAA partner and quoted as a separate line, with the permit lead time built into the schedule. The edit for both is handled in-house alongside the ground cameras.
What do we receive at the end of a timelapse project?
A graded landscape master, vertical and square versions for social, and, on long-term sites, a progress edit each month plus a full-programme film at completion. You own the finished films and every captured frame in writing, so the record can be re-cut later for a handover film or an investor update.
Related services
Event Videography
Highlight films and same-day edits for the show once the stand is built.
Exhibition & Trade Show Video
Stand walkthroughs, demos and interviews at DWTC and Expo City.
Industrial Video Production
Capability films and site footage for contractors and manufacturers.
Plan a timelapse in Dubai
Jubin J Mathew · Dubai, UAE · +971-56-909-5267
Send the venue or site, the build or programme dates and what the film is for (a stand post, a tender deck, a handover film). Short-term shoots are quoted within 24 hours; long-term sites get a site visit first, then a monthly figure.
Rather talk? WhatsApp · +971-56-909-5267 · jubin@rox.ae
For project enquiries only. This is a solo studio, not hiring or taking on freelancers.