In this new four part guide, our own Director, Camera Operator and Editor Stephen Simons takes you through how to create your own engaging time lapse films. Part one of this guide goes through the basics of Time Lapse film, covering everything from dynamic subject ideas to how to determine shooting intervals.
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All time-lapse images should be set to 1-frame each, and the timeline set to 24 frames per second. And for you Windows users out there, you can use Windows Movie Maker at no charge. The interface is intuitive, making it easy to customize the parameters, and publishing your video is a cinch. Master of typing in chinese 3 2 2. Art text 3 2 6 x 6. Photolapse is a software whose strength lies in its ease of use. Creating a time-lapse is as easy as selecting a folder containing the images. In fact, the hardest thing you have to do is probably selecting whether to use all the images in the folder to create your time-lapse video or add them in a particular sequence. Assuming you take 1 frame every 4 seconds, it will take 250 x 4 = 1000 seconds = 16.6 minutes to process our 10 seconds time-lapse video. Use an online, free time-lapse calculator instead, and get rid of doing any math!
Welcome to the first part of this four part guide on how to create time lapse films. In this first part of the guide, we'll cover the basics of time lapse, including some of its common uses for filming along with how it could be applicable to you or your business as a unique filming technique. Each part of this four part guide will be released on a weekly basis and will focus on a different aspect of time lapse photography. Stick with us and over the course of the next month you'll build a foundational level of understanding when it comes to time lapse filming. This will in turn ensure that you are capably able to produce your own time lapse films. So lets get started!
the basics of time lapse
Time lapse photography is a technique of recording images of a scene/subject that changes or develops at a rate so slow that it may barely be perceived in real time, normally from a fixed position, and playing back those images at a much faster rate. As such the technique is typically used to effectively show an activity or event that might occur over hours, days or even years- in only a few seconds of playback. In addition to real factors like equipment budget and access to a physical location, the potential outcomes of a time lapse video are only limited by creative intent. Furthermore with technology advancing at a relentless pace, options to novice and seasoned time lapse photographers alike are constantly increasing.
As humans our brains can make sense of moving pictures with a frame rate as low as 16 frames per second (fps) and up to about 40 frames per second before we can psychologically start to ‘reject' footage for being ‘too real'. In the 1920s a standard was set for film where moving images would be captured (and projected in the movie theatres) at 24 frames per second. This was a balance of cost, practicality and showing a moving image that people comfortably accepted. In part this ‘conditioning' of us by cinema (and later, TV) means we typically perceive real time video played back between 24 and 30 frames per second as natural looking. Here in the UK our television shows are played at 25fps which is really handy for making easy calculations for time lapse. This is something we'll touch on it a bit.
Without delving too far into the details, historically the use of time lapse photography has led to greater scientific understanding, documented changing landscapes (both naturally occurring and manufactured) and more recently found use as a creative film making tool utilising the aesthetic quality inherent in the technique. In all cases the common factor leading to a successful time lapse is that the subject or event captured happens over a relatively long period of time.
time lapse subject ideas
You may or not have a few ideas already for what you want to capture using time lapse, or you may be wondering how time lapse photography could be applicable to marketing or promotion films for your business or event. As previously mentioned, time lapse typically works most effectively with events/projects that have a substantial duration and this is going to be one of the biggest factors to consider. We time lapse the most when capturing projects with a substantial duration, particularly if the time lapse is serving as the core of the film.
This is because alongside being visually stimulating, as previously mentioned time lapses also have the functional use of symbolising the passing of time in a unique way. For example in many of our films we often use time lapses as a smooth way of transitioning from day to night and night to day (such as our ‘East Midlands Runway Refurbishment' film for Galliford Try). This helps emphasise a projects or events duration to viewers. So if you're looking to effectively document a project or event with some reasonable length to it, time lapse filming should be a major consideration.
However, whether your time lapse looks visually interesting or not is going to highly depend on the subject matter itself. A good way of examining if your planned time lapse is going to look interesting is to consider if there are going to be substantial and noticeable differences happening in frame that will be picked up in the time lapse. From here you can determine whether you need to rethink the angle you wish to shoot your time lapse from, or if perhaps there is a more suited filming method to use altogether. Below are just a few general recommendations for subjects that we've found to be visually engaging when captured with time lapse.
- Sunrise/sunsets
- Clouds moving (their movement really helps communicate the passage of time)
- Celestial motion (e.g. stars, moon, meteor showers)
- Plant life (such as plants growing and flowers opening)
- Other unique feats of nature (Such as ice melting or natural landscape changes)
- Building construction/demolition
- Event set ups
- People moving around
SHOOTING CONSIDERATIONS
So let's go back to our frame rate of 25fps. That means for every second of film we see, 25 images are played, one after the other. Four seconds of video would be a total of 100 frames played and a minute of footage would be made up of 1500 frames.
A great place to start is researching how long your ‘event' takes. Are you time lapsing an ice block that will melt in an hour, a flower that will take a day to bloom or a building being demolished over a year? Once you have the amount of time your camera will be used for in mind, you should next consider the interval at which to take your still images.
A useful tip is to think about how long you might want your final video to be. Say you knew you were going to time lapse a city street for 20 minutes to capture an essence of the hustle and bustle there. Now let's say you wanted to show that time lapse in eight seconds of screen time. (Now come your calculations…) First we'll convert 20 minutes into seconds, that's 1200s. To achieve our eight seconds of screen time at a frame rate of 25 frames per second you need a total of 200 frames (or images/stills/photographs if you prefer). Then it's just a case of dividing your 1200 seconds with 200 equal intervals (1200 / 200 = 6). Still here? Cool.
In the above example taking a shot every six seconds for 20 minutes would make eight seconds of video when played back at 25 frames per second. Considering how long your ‘event' is and how long you want your time lapse film is a good place to start. Your shooting interval is going to be subjective and you can experiment with your shooting intervals. Just remember that a shorter interval will give a ‘smoother' video output and a longer interval will result in a more ‘blocky' or ‘jumpy' output.
If you'd prefer to have the calculations done for you, visit www.photopills.com/calculators/timelapse. Here you will find a rather handy calculator that allows you to calculate file sizes in addition to shooting intervals. This will help you ensure that you have enough storage on your memory card for the time lapse you're planning.
A screenshot of PhotoPills ‘Time Lapse Calculator'
It is also worth noting that sometimes you will arrive at an interval that you cannot achieve with your equipment practically. Use your discretion here to achieve the best result. For example, a suggested interval of 14.4 seconds could be rounded up to a more easily programmable 15 second interval.
Well, that's the basics covered! Click here to read the second of our four part series on how to create time lapse films. This focuses on the various kinds of filming equipment that can be used to shoot time lapse photography.
For more information on our technical, creative and dependable services, contact us today
Call 0115 9791719The amazing technique of time lapsing enables you to record the passing of time in a creative manner. This is made by taking a series of pictures at regular intervals over a certain time span. A video is produced from the stitched together pictures that are then sped up to create a unique artistic expression.
Following, we will present the 12 most popular time-lapse computer software available in 2020. To make the content simple to understand, we've divided it into a number of segments:
Let's take a look:
Camera Control Software for Time-lapse Photography
An important part of time-lapse photography is the intervalometer (remote control). Cm beautiful oil paint action 1710781 download free. With time-lapse photography, you should not be clicking on the shutter manually.
Some intervalometers are attached to the camera, some are built into the camera, and they control the frequency, the period and the number of photos taken.
Standalone intervalometer devices are available if your camera didn't come with a built-in intervalometer. Another option is to use the camera control software that will let your computer control the shutter period of your DSLR. These perform the function of Intervalometers by letting you set the time period between each picture. For this to work, your DSLR camera will have to be constantly connected to your computer via a USB cable for the full duration of the time-lapse project.
Below are the recommended software for doing time-lapse projects with some cameras.
Nikon users:
All of the newer model Nikon digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras like the high-end models D3, D3x, D3s, D700 support Sofortbild. Also included are the consumer D90, D300, D300s and D5000.
2. D-Software Cam Control (Win)
A compatible Nikon DSLR camera can be operated via remote with the software on the PC. The camera settings below can be changed (Dial Mode Defendant).
- Aperture
- Exposure Com.
- ISO
- Shutter Speed
The intuitive and powerful image-editing software Nikon Capture 4.0 maximizes possibilities and optimizes workflow. It manages almost all pictures taking controls, and enables pictures to be saved straight to a PC. Furthermore, it permits you to browse and edit any picture files created with the Nikon D-series cameras.
Canon users:
When experts have to control their Canon EOS DSLR via USB from a Windows computer, this is their favourite software.
iPhone users:
Lapse It has every possible feature you will ever need for taking time-lapse videos. Manually set features such as ISO mode, focus mode, white balance and scene mode. Other features that Lapse It fully controls include selecting the intervals once every frame is clicked. Both time-lapse and stop-motion videos can be shot with the app. The resolution, frames per second, codec, audio and effect are editable after shooting the video before it is eventually rendered.
The disadvantage of this app is that the majority of the features are in the pro version, which costs $2.99. The free version is very limited and you will be left wondering what would have been possible with the pro version.
Software for Post Editing Time-lapse Photos
When you are done taking images, you'll end up with hundreds, maybe thousands of images, depending on how long your project is. Prior to blending them into a video, there are a few things you might need to adjust like cropping, brightness, white balance etc.
It would be a very tedious task to edit each individual photo. To edit your photos quickly, here are two useful software.
Lightroom is a popular tool for editing time-lapse sequences. When combined with LRtime-lapse (more on this later), this tool becomes even more effective. However, it doesn't have all the flexibility and tools that Photoshop gives you for editing still images. Most people are not aware that Photoshop could be used to edit only time-lapse. Look at the video tutorial below to find out more:
When editing time-lapse sequences, Lightroom is one of the most popular options.
Another good option for batch post-production editing of images is Adobe Lightroom This tutorial shows you exactly how to do this:
Time-lapse Post Production Software to Assemble a Time-lapse Video
Before diving into this topic, it is important to understand how time-lapse videos are usually produced.
Video makers creating time-lapse videos use two popular approaches:
Method1. Shoot a Video and Speed It Up
Creating a time-lapse video using this method is just as simple as it looks. Take an extended video recording, next open it in a video editing software and accelerate the video recording up 5 x or more, based on how quickly you would like the pictures in your video footage to be going or the length of time you need your completed video clip to be
This isn't an actual time-lapse video, however, the ultimate effect is similar.
Method2. Create a Video from Photos
This method is more challenging, however, it is usually more gratifying: create a time-lapse recording from hundreds ( or even thousands ) of still pictures. You might ask: 'Why would I even take the time with capturing that many pictures when I could simply create a video recording using the method mentioned earlier?'
Well, you will discover a minimum of two valid reasons:
#1. Quality
Your end product will look amazing even when it is created using consumer-grade devices due to the high definition of the pictures. With video footage, your quality is going to be reduced.
#2. Size
Videos take up a lot of digital space, particularly if you're filming in 4K for an extended time (3-5 hours). Still images take up significantly less space on your storage device and will need less computer resources during post-production.
Irrespective of the approach you opt for, we have you covered.
Movavi Video Editor is a complete video editing software applications and slideshow creator, which enables you to produce expert looking time-lapse videos on your PC – even if you lack expertise.
The editing toolset provided in Movavi easily allows you to either turn a regular video recording to time-lapse by making your video clip speed up or put together time-lapse video clips from plenty of still pictures for Windows as well as Mac.
Additionally, it is possible to include audio, produce text captions, and utilize visual effects or transitions to your footage and even more.
Here's a short quick tutorial for creating a simple time-lapse by utilizing Movavi Video Editor.
#1. How to Convert a Normal Video to Time-lapse in Movavi
With this approach, all you have to do is shoot your video at a normal frame rate and after in Movavi Video Editor, speed up the playback.
Step 1. With Movavi Video Editor opened, click on the Add Media Files button to add your video recording. Once completed, drag your video clip on to the timeline below.
Step2.Choose the footage on the timeline. Next, click on the icon Click Properties to start up a basic panel of editing tools.
Step 3. Move the slider to adjust the speed of the video to produce a time-lapse effect similar to the one below:
#2. How to Make a Time-lapse Video with Pictures in Movavi
Step1. Download and install Movavi Video Editor for Windows or Mac, start the downloaded file and go along with the installation directions. Open the Movavi Video Editor when installation is complete and in the full feature mode select Create a project.
Step2. Upload Your Content to the Software.
Connect your video recording device and move your pictures to the hard drive of your PC. Next, in the Video Editor's Import tab, select Add Media Files. Find the folder with all your pictures and upload them to the software.
Step3. Create the Time-Lapse
On the Timeline, all the images should be instantly selected. If not, select all, by pressing Ctrl + A. Select the Clip properties icon and in the Tools menu find Duration. Adjust the duration of your frames manually to 00:00:00.100 (adjust the milliseconds first, after that the seconds).
Step4. Add Audio
A good soundtrack is key to a successful time-lapse video. Return to the Import tab, select the Add Media Files and pick some atmospheric audio for your almost complete time-lapse video. A separate Audio Track will show the audio you have chosen.
Another option is to choose from the audio included. Do this by opening the collection and clicking on Music. Next, drag the audio you want to the Timeline.
Step5. Save Your Video
You're nearly done! This is when the magic starts: the only thing left is to create the time-lapse video if to transform the sequence of still images to a video format. Click Export to do this and pick the video format you want and click Start.
VirtualDub is a video capture/editing open source software for Windows available in 32 and 64-bits. This tool is mostly for editing AVI files.
VideoDub includes batch-processing features for processing huge amounts of files and could also be extended with outside video filters. It doesn't have the overall editing power editors like Movavi Video Editor, however, it is specifically made for quick linear operations over video.
For our needs, it is a great way to produce time-lapse videos. VideoDub was made specifically for time-lapse, but it also has other tools. Watch the video tutorial below to understand the fundamentals of using it to produce a time-lapse video.
Converting your time-lapse images to a movie using your Mac PC is simple using iMovie.
This is a great tool for newbies to video editing. It is useful for those who want to create home movies and videos of kids over the years.
Editing a time-lapse is easy, just import all your pictures into iMovie and then drag them to the timeline. Once completed, choose all the pictures on the timeline and head to the Clip Information panel, and set the interval for every picture to 0.1 seconds. That's it!
Remember that the fastest fps that is allowed in iMovie is 0.1 fps. This means, at the most, it will only play 10 pictures per second. If you think the video came out too slow, below are a few ways to speed it up:
Begin by saving it as a video file and then export it once you have gathered all the photos into a video. Next, import the video again using iMovie.
After that, you can increase the video clip's speed by choosing it in the timeline and then selecting the speedometer looking icon:
On the 'Speed' popup menu and select 'Fast' or 'Custom'. With the 'Custom' setting, you can choose the speed you want such as 50% or 200%.
LRTimelapse is a computer program that assists with time-lapse editing. In your time-lapse, you can select the keyframes to be edited in Lightroom and animates them all at one to produce a smooth shift from one to the next.
Although most of the new smartphones/cameras are able to take good quality time lapses with an 'app', experts use a more advanced workflow to capture time-lapses.
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When it comes to creating professional time-lapses, there are no shortcuts. To produce a polished end product, professional time-lapse photographers have to go through a number of steps. The beginning of the process is taking a series of raw pictures taken at regular intervals. Next, the images are edited using software such as Lightroom Classic CC, which lets you fully benefit from the camera's dynamic range and resolutions.
But, there are a number of problems that Lightroom is unable to fix. Flicker and uneven exposure ramping are the biggest problems. LRTimelapse will ramp and even out Holy-Grail sequences, it will also eliminate flicker in the workflow that is very intuitive.
The Framelapse app allows you to take a set of images and produce a time-lapse video using your Android device.
Do you want a time-lapse app with virtually no rendering time? Then download Framelapse.
You have great control over the settings with this app. You have the ability to change camera settings such as white balance, timer, exposure as well as include filters in your time-lapse. Set up the frame interval, orientation and duration of the video.
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You also have the option to select the app's bitrate and resolution. For Android devices, Framelapse is one of the simplest time-lapse apps to use.
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Hey, My name is Paul – nice to e-meet you 🙂 I'm a freelance video editor who has over 4 years experiences of making all types of videos. I founded this website to provide step-by-step and easy-to-follow instructions to first-time editors or beginners like you who want to start their journey in video editing.