What’s On has details about the new video of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, from time-lapse filmmaker Beno Saradzic.

View the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in a new light.

A new video released by Beno Saradzic, a Slovenian filmmaker based here in the UAE, captures the mosque in an award-winning time-lapse video called The Voyage.

The video, shot over several months in early 2015, captures the architectural beauty of the structure from different vantage points. From shadows steadily growing longer in the courtyard to flickers of the crescent moon lighting up the glimmering domes, viewers can get a sneak peek of the mosque afterhours.

 
Approximately 20,000 images were taken for the two-and-a-half minute video, after which Saradzic whittled down the frames to around 4,000 shots for the finished product.

Describing his aesthetic and style Saradzic says, “I prefer a calmer, linear approach to visual storytelling.” Crediting filmmakers David Lean and Stanley Kubrick as major influencers to his work, Saradzic explains, “both filmmakers were known for their patience and waited for the moment to happen spontaneously, and then they would let it linger and play out on the screen. Their philosophy, where nothing is rushed, translates so well into time-lapse filmmaking.”

The Voyage won first place in the time-lapse category at the Spaces of Light Photography Award, an annual photography competition hosted by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Saradzic is an Emmy-nominated cinematographer who created his first time-lapse video of the capital in 2011. Called Abu Dhabi 2011, the film captures the remarkable growth and construction of the city.