This is an animation done for a contest on cgchallenge.com. It is a sister of my favorite cg site cgtalk.com.
The contest rules were as follows:

For this challenge, a digital set must be integrated into a live-action still image.

An alien civilization has sent a research colony to the earth to collect soil and atmospheric samples.
An outpost has been built to house 250 scientists in one of Earth's deep canyons. Built into the walls
of the canyon, structures perform a variety of functions: air/soil sample collection, research laboratories,
lodging, craft landing platforms and docking bays.

Shoot your own still image plate or find one from the web/a book/etc. The image must be at least 1k
using a 1.85 aspect ratio (1000x540 pixels). Any canyon will do, (grand canyon, bryce canyon,
arches national park and so on).

Design and integrate the alien colony into the canyon. Create subtle animation to bring the still
image to life. Example animation can include flying birds, landing spacecraft, rising steam,
blinking lights, operating machinery and so on.