The scene that greeted Stamford Raffles and William Farquhar when they arrived, preserved in the earliest surviving drawing of Singapore.

One of the first photos of the view from the historical Fort Canning Hill, where Raffles had a house.

These are some of the rare images from as far back as 1819 that come to life in a special video by The Straits Times to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Singapore's founding.

Launched this month, it is the first of six in a video series on Singapore's bicentennial year with the theme "200 years in 200 seconds".

Other highlights in the video include the founding of the Botanic Gardens in 1859; the opening of the Suez Canal, establishing Singapore as a key trading post, in 1869; and Singapore's first National Day Parade in 1966.

Also captured are more solemn episodes, such as the fall of Singapore to Japan in 1942, and the race riots of the 1960s.

The series is a collaboration between ST's video team, picture desk, and heritage and community correspondent Faith Melody Zaccheus.

Old images come alive in the video through the use of cinemagraphs, but the process was no easy feat.

"The animation work for each photograph took time, as painstaking detail was needed to bring a static image to life," said acting video editor Yeung E-Von.

PAINSTAKING WORK The collections are vast, so it took time to comb through the various categories of photos. And it was also challenging to find historical photos that dated to specific milestones. STRAITS TIMES CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER JOYCE FANG

"Motion animation work included etching out visuals like people and objects in the foreground, separating the image into several layers, and creating motion effects like camera movement," she added.

Visual effects, such as a billowing column of smoke coming out of a moving train, or trees swaying in the wind, helped to add movement and realism to the photographs, said Ms Yeung.

The motion graphics work was done by designer Alexis Gabrielle.

The video took about three months to complete, as producer Olivia Chang worked with Ms Zaccheus to highlight the milestones across 200 years of Singapore's history.

Related Story 200 years in 200 seconds: Images of early Singapore come alive in ST bicentennial video series

They worked with ST's chief photographer Joyce Fang to search for the corresponding photos to tell the story visually, and some of these photos took a month or two to be sourced and approved for use, said Ms Yeung.

Ms Fang, who was in charge of sourcing the photos, went through the online photo collections at the National Archives of Singapore and the National Heritage Board (roots.sg), as well as the archives of Singapore Press Holdings.

"The collections are vast, so it took time to comb through the various categories of photos.

"And it was also challenging to find historical photos that dated to specific milestones - for example, a Malay kampung in the 1800s," she added.

For events that were impossible to pair with photos, the team turned to paintings and postcards, said Ms Fang.

The video team, which has more than 20 people, has been ramping up video production and experimenting with different formats, from platform-specific video content such as Facebook live shows to documentaries to short news packages.

In the coming weeks and months, five more videos will be launched in this bicentennial series, covering iconic buildings, heritage foods and fashion.