Since 2008, the Vietnamese city of DaNang has held a springtime international fireworks competition, wherein countries from all around the world curate elaborate displays of brilliant blasts and sparkling explosions. This video, created by UK travel photographer Rob Whitworth, gives those of us who weren’t lucky enough to attend the event a joyous insight into not only the displays, but the energy and atmosphere of the festival itself:

This elaborate timelapse was possible thanks to exclusive building access made available to the photographer, which is how he was able to get the magnificent overhead shots that endow the piece with such epic scope—an approach which does well in expressing the scope and magnitude of the celebration. It goes to show that you can never underestimate the impact of a unique point of view.

Many different techniques are used here; the photographer captures wide establishing shots with a steady camera alongside fast-paced snippets of detail, form, and color, and even mixes in some time-lapse-panning that follows a particular person or object. Each of these methods has its own challenges and requires quite a precise sense of timing in order to capture their movement accurately. All of these types of shots have then been blended together with a particularly deft editing job.

Timelapse may be nothing new, but Whitworth has created a stunning piece that stands out from the others. By imagining his final product not as a moving image, but as a short film, he is able to capture the imagination using a dynamic blend of scenes and camera angles, as well as an underlying story which anchors it all through a common thread.