Harder, Faster, Vastly More Time Consuming: The Timelapse Thread

Zillah

I've been trying out some timelapse photography lately and I've finally put together a showreel of sorts. I'd like to talk about timelapsing!

How do you do it?

Well, the simple version is this: You set your camera to take regular photographs over a long period of time and then compile them into a video later. For my Nikon I use an Intervalometer, which plugs into the camera, and I can control it from a tiny remote doohickey that lets me choose exactly how many images to take and with what frequency. Those of you using Canon can take advantage of MagicLantern custom firmware, though personally I like having a separate device to control it and to avoid any (however slight) risk of bricking the camera!

I typically try to shoot 300 images per timelapse, which allows me to generate a ten second segment at 30fps. How long between shots depends on your subject; crowds of people can be as fast as one second, distant clouds could require ten or more. However, for safety I would rather do 600 at 2 seconds, rather than 300 at 4 seconds.

I then process the batch in Lightroom, and compile the video in After Effects. These aren't the only tools to use but it's a system I find works for me.

Shooting!

Important things to remember: Everything needs to be fully manual or your shots won't be consistent. Manual exposure/focus/ISO/White Balance. I ruined a whole bunch of timelapses because I forgot to use manual WB. You'd imagine it would be consistent, but minor changes in the scene cause it to process the image differently, which causes irreparable flickering in the image.

I have also read that most modern lenses only close down the aperture as they take the photo, and as such can have tiny variations between images. To avoid this I got a pair of old-school mechanical lenses that barely talk to the camera, but who cares about that when I need to be 100% manual anyway.

What's It Look Like?

I was thinking about posting a bunch of timelapse videos here but there are so many good ones you're better off searching around Vimeo/Youtube for them yourself. I will post two, however: The one I saw last year which made me fall in love with the idea, and a short compilation of my efforts so far. You might notice that some of the clips have small errors like a little flickering - these are the older shots from when I didn't really know what I was doing!

The one that inspired me: http://vimeo.com/56879439
What I've managed so far:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5N25lMQrRY

Theirs is amazing, and I suppose putting them side by side may not be the best idea, but I'm only learning :pac: I strongly recommend watching in HD with sound.

I'd love if there were any boardsies doing timelapse, if so; please share!

Otherwise feel free to ask questions or post links to videos you think are good!
Nice overview tutorial here: http://www.prestonkanak.com/extensive-raw-time-lapse-tutorial/
Thanks to tylercollins for posting that in a previous thread.

OldGoat

My first ever intervalometer arrived in the post this morning so I'm pretty sure I'll attempt this soon.

dirtyghettokid

i complied a few time lapses recently, but they are embedded amongst other footage in a compilation video. might separate them out and put them up here.

one thing that's troubled me, is exposure times with the change in light. they all say to shoot in manual, but i can't find an exposure time that suits sunset and blue hour.

i've done a few sunsets using aperture priority, but you get the flickering (as expected, really)

Kenny Logins

Nice work. How are you panning, with a crop?

Kenny Logins

BTW, you don't need an Interthingy, not on Nikon DSLRs anyway.. they have a multi-exposure option built in.

Zillah

Kenny Logins wrote: »

BTW, you don't need an Interthingy, not on Nikon DSLRs anyway.. they have a multi-exposure option built in.

I was going to say that my model doesn't but a quick googling tells me that it...bafflingly...does. I've never seen the option. Well, I really like the intervalometer anyway

Kenny Logins wrote: »

Nice work. How are you panning, with a crop?

I use key-frame motion in After Effects. The source content is about five times the size of a HD video so there is lots to play with.

magicbastarder wrote: »

is creating a timelapse photography

The shooting of it - camera, lenses, tripod, exposure, filters, shutter speed, white balance etc - are all very much photography, and would definitely require a photographer's skillset. The post, too, is largely the same. I process one photo the way I would a normal photo, and then apply the same settings to them all.

Anyway, I'd really rather not have a big debate about it. I'm sure if the photography forum gets inundated with a relentless barrage of timelapse threads then the mods will intervene.

PaleHorse

Here's one I shot during the Perseids Meteor Shower. The camera didn't pick much up. I think that's the Space Station in the first few seconds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMwMqstWC4g