What Interval Works Best?
Why We Capture Every 4 Minutes: The Optimal Interval for Project Documentation
After more than 15 years of capturing construction projects across Australia, Blackbox has refined its approach to time-lapse photography to deliver the clearest, most accurate record of site activity. Through thousands of deployments and millions of images, we’ve found the optimal balance: capturing an image every four minutes.
This interval isn’t arbitrary; it’s the result of extensive real-world experience and ongoing feedback from project managers, contractors, and stakeholders who rely on accurate visual documentation.
A Clear, Consistent Record of Daily Activity
A 4-minute interval provides a reliable, detailed visual timeline of your project’s day-to-day progress. It captures enough activity to show meaningful change without overwhelming the system with redundant images. This ensures:
- Smooth, cohesive time-lapse sequences
- Accurate documentation of milestones
- Clear visibility of workflow and site movements
Whether it's steel installation, demolition, facade work, or large-scale pours, the interval is frequent enough to capture each key moment without gaps.
The Right Balance of Detail and Efficiency
Capturing images too frequently creates unnecessary data and bloated storage. Capturing too infrequently risks missing important events.
A 4-minute interval strikes the perfect balance, offering:
- High-resolution detail
- Efficient data management
- Cost-effective long-term storage
- Lower system load and increased reliability
This allows long-term projects, sometimes spanning years, to be captured smoothly and professionally without compromise.
Project Management
Better Oversight for Project Teams and Stakeholders
Paired with live view and centralised access through the Blackbox Dashboard, this capture frequency gives teams complete oversight of the project at any moment.
Clients can:
- Review the exact activity throughout the day
- Monitor contractor workflow
- Validate progress claims
- Identify delays or inefficiencies
- Share clear updates with stakeholders
The result is greater transparency, improved communication, and stronger accountability across the entire project lifecycle.
Safety & Compliance
Supporting Safety, Compliance, and Dispute Resolution
A consistent 4-minute capture schedule ensures a dependable visual record for:
- Safety investigations
- Compliance reviews
- Variation claims
- Dispute management
- Incident analysis
When clients need to look back at a specific moment, the detail is there, captured clearly and reliably.
Proven Quality, Backed by Experience
Ultimately, four minutes is the sweet spot: detailed enough for meaningful insight, efficient enough for long-term reliability, and proven over years of use on Australia’s largest construction, infrastructure, and industrial projects.
This approach ensures that clients don’t just receive a time-lapse; they receive a comprehensive visual history that enhances oversight, supports decision-making, and elevates stakeholder engagement from start to finish.
