Grow hedges and trim them, slightly differently each time, photograph them and put the result into a cine film in order to create animation. Each frame takes a year or so to create, a second of animation around 24 years and a five minute film about seven thousand years. As with the Clock of the Long Now, design the equipment and medium so that it would continue to be available and workable for that long.
-- nineteenthly, Jan 15 2016

As a guy who will attempt to bonsai almost anything that stands still, this sounds like good clean fun (+)
-- normzone, Jan 15 2016


Is this like watching the grass grow or watching paint dry? Could this equipment also be used to record stop motion animations of rocks eroding, perhaps a 1 hour film, that takes about 420 000 years to record, would show erosion of a cliff face. Not exactly sure what the future humanity would use this for, but certainly a camera that lasts that long would be great for recording historical events.
-- AngelEleven, Jan 16 2016


One of the best short films I ever saw was a stop motion of a glacier. One frame a day I think. It finished in a spring storm when the camera fell over.
-- pocmloc, Jan 16 2016


Come to think of it, smaller plants might work more quickly although I think bonsai are slow-growing, are they not [normzone]?

More like watching the grass grow and yes there are other applications.
-- nineteenthly, Jan 16 2016


This is, if I may say so (and I may), a brilliant idea.

Downside: when you're 38 years through a 98 year- long sequence, some smartarse will put a CGI topiary animated cat on YouTube, and it will look far better.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 16 2016


Thanks.
-- nineteenthly, Jan 16 2016


I like it too, MB.
-- blissmiss, Jan 16 2016



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