AWARD

Miniature Melbourne is a short film by 28-year-old Nathan Kaso and his Canon 5D that truly captures the magic of Melbourne. The project was 10 months in the making and includes scenes from festivals, parades, fireworks displays and everyday life.

The short film was shot using the well-known tilt-shift effect, creating the impression of varied depth of field. 'It tricks the mind into thinking you've shot with miniatures because it's impossible to actually shoot landscape that way,' Nathan Kaso says. 'You need to shoot from high up and with the right sort of perspective to make it look like you've shot with models.'

Most of the shots were captured from the Eureka Skydeck, which is a lookout at the top of Melbourne's tallest building. Other locations were the Shrine of Remembrance memorial, car parks and bridges around the city. One shot proved more difficult than most, and was only completed last week. It was the sunrise at the beginning of the film. The problem, he explains, was that he couldn't find a suitable shooting location that was open to him at that specific time of day. 'I called a few hotels and asked them if I could have access, but they all said no. So I shot a sunset and played it backwards.'

We've seen plenty of time lapses before – from clouds circling the Alps to the lifecycle of a psychoactive mushroom – and we've seen even more tilt shift photos/videos; but we've never seen the city of Melbourne quite like this. Some of the shots are simply stunning and the accompanying music ('Reflections' by Tom Day) and soundscape really add to the film. 'It's been around for a while,' Kaso says about the technique. 'I've just tried to bring my own style to it.'