How to Make a Time-Lapse Video With Your Digital Video Camera
You just have to step outside the manual a bit and find the cool things you can do with your digital video camera and your editing software.
We have all seen them in a movie or a TV show, those very cool shots where they speed up time and capture a long segment of time and condense it into a very short amount of video. My very favorite example of this technique was an arty movie of many years ago that was called Koyaanisqatsi. (view trailer) In that movie they had some very interesting segments where they did time lapse effects to show driving on a bridge, flowers growing, clouds flying by and so on. Another example is many of the TV news stations nowadays have a camera that captures the day’s weather and then they process it down to a 20 second clip to show the clouds and weather racing by on screen.
Well this technique is not just a tool in the hands of the movie makers or the big TV stations. You can do this with your digital video camera gear too. I will go into two ways that you can accomplish this effect and get some cool results for your next video project. This one is worth playing around with in order to find the right settings to get the most dramatic effect.
Technique number one is to use the camera itself to do the time lapse recording for you. Almost all digital video cameras have the ability to do an interval recording. What this means in a nutshell is that you tell the camera how long you want to record for and how long in between recordings and it will go on autopilot for you for as long as the battery lasts or the tape runs out. This is what those cameras at the convenience store do, they record a few seconds of motion every 30-60 seconds giving the overall view of the traffic in the store over time.
Now if you want to capture some time lapse in your digital video camera you will need to get into your cameras menu and find Interval Recording (or in my case Int Rec, as I use a Sony PD 150 for my camera) When you select this option you will decide how long of an interval between shots you want and how long to record each time. If you are trying to capture something that takes a long time to occur and in which not much happens quickly you will want to set the interval at around a minute and the record time as short as possible on your camera. An example would be if you wanted to record a day in the life of a flower or the clouds rolling by in the sky. Suppose however that you want to capture an event that has lots of action and occurs over a much shorter time frame. Then you would want to shorten the interval between recordings and increase the time of each recording. So in this case you might record every 15-30 seconds and record up to 2-3 seconds of video each time.
I used this technique to capture an afternoon of work being done by a team of carpenters on my house remodeling project. The result was a flurry of activity as workers raced hither and yon nailing boards, carrying equipment and building walls. I have added it to my photo collection of the project. (Hey I had to live through the project so I might as well have a great record of it for posterity!)
Now suppose you have one of the great software video editing packages on your computer to work with your digital video camera. Now you can do it in post as they say in the business. You can record any length of video you want (subject to the limitations of your tape length) and then import it into your editing program.
Sidebar:
I use Adobe Premiere Pro for my editing jobs, but I have also used Avid DV Express, Final Cut Pro, and others in the non linear editing world. These are all great programs and are very powerful products that can create some very professional looking videos. You don’t have to have these products to create your own videos but if you are serious about digital video editing it might be a good idea to take a look at these options.
I digitize my raw video of the scene I am doing time lapse on into my computer (big hard drive, video eats up GB’s of space) and then import the clip into my time line. From th3e timeline you can then select the clip with a right click. From there you will be given a menu with options depending on the software you use. Select the option that says “duration”, “speed” or something similar. Change the speed of the clip so that time will speed up considerably. If you have an hour of video in the clip and want to shorten it to 2 -5 minutes then you need to increase the speed of the clip to 3 or 4 thousand percent of normal. This will require your software to render the clip at the higher speed and may take some time top process depending on the speed of your computer.
Once you have rendered the video clip at the new speed you will want to play it to see if the movie flows evenly or if you will want to readjust the speed setting to make it better. Sometimes you may want to shorten your raw video and adjust the speed down somewhat in order to get a smooth flow of action. Once you have rendered the clip at the new speed you can now cut and splice it as you see fit with the speeded up action intact. There are some things you will record that might only need a slight speed change, take for instance some digital video of your kids playing sports. Double or triple the speed of the clip and show it to them and you might have them rolling on the floor.
You can also use these techniques to capture the growth of a flower or plant over the course of days or weeks. Simply set you camera in exactly the same place at the same time each day and record an interval that works each day fro however long you want to document. May be you get the seedling just breaking soil and follow it all the way through turning into a full grown plant.
Another interesting idea is to capture the path of the moon across the night sky. Set up your camera on a tripod in a spot that can see the path of the moon for several hours. Set the camera to interval record and put the moon on one side of the frame so that it will pass across the frame as the night passes. This one may require some testing in order to get the exposure and framing right as well as the right interval to record at. Most likely you would want to set the interval as long as you can and the record time as short as you can but do a test run first to see what works.
I can’t stress enough that using your digital video camera can be great fun and you can achieve some cool results. Play around and test. You just might find yourself creating some very creative digital video to share with the rest of the world.
Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of cool and interesting things all the time. (http://www.greatdigitalcameras.info)
About the Author
RC ADVENTURES – THE GENERAL LEE – ON-BOARD CAM! – ASSOCIATED SC10 – ELECTRIC 9T BRUSHLESS
|
|
CASIO Z57 DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS CIRCUIT BOARD W/INST $7.16 |
|
|
SONY W50 DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS CIRCUIT BOARD W/DIRECTION $10.36 |
|
|
nikon l4 digital camera main board flash parts repair $23.99 |
|
|
SONY DSC-H2 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $28.95 |
|
|
CANON SD1400 IS DIGITAL CAMERA MAIN BOARD REPAIR PART $30.00 |
|
|
CANON SX120 DIGITAL CAMERA REAR CONTROL BOARD REPAIR PARTS $17.00 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T10 T9 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $23.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T200 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $22.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W230 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $22.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T90 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $25.95 |
|
|
Canon Digital Camera S2 Part- Main Mother Circiut Board $15.95 |
|
|
Olympus FE-20 FE-360 Digital Camera – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T300 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $27.95 |
|
|
Canon SD870 IXUS 860 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $29.95 |
|
|
Canon Digital Camera S2 Part- Power Control Board $12.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W150 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $24.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W50 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $15.95 |
|
|
NIKON D80 DIGITAL CAMERA CABLE SET DG/DC BOARD REPAIR PARTS $15.00 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T77 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W290 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $27.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-T70 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
Sony DSC-S750 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $14.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W1 Digital Camera Part – Back Button Board $7.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W100 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W120 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $15.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-H1 H2 H5 Digital Camera Part – Button Board $7.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-S950 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
NIKON D80 DIGITAL CAMERA SECOND BOARD PARTS $50.00 |
|
|
REPAIR SERVICE SONY DSC P200 DIGITAL CAMERA MAIN BOARD $35.00 |
|
|
@ BRAND NEW GENUINE Olympus FE-45 digital camera MAIN BOARD parts repair $21.95 |
|
|
REPAIR SERVICE SONY DSC P200 DIGITAL CAMERA MAIN BOARD $34.99 |
|
|
CANON PowerShot A20 DIGITAL CAMERA PART CIRCUIT BOARD WITH REPLACEMENT DIRECTION $7.16 |
|
|
@ BRAND NEW GENUINE Olympus FE-370 digital camera FLASH BOARD parts repair $16.95 |
|
|
@ USED GENUINE Olympus C-750 digital camera ON/OFF S.W. BOARD parts repair $16.95 |
|
|
SONY DSLR-A700 DIGITAL CAMERA CCD SENSOR+BOARD REPAIR PARTS $150.00 |
|
|
SONY DSLR-A700 DIGITAL CAMERA DC/DC BOARD REPAIR PARTS $79.00 |
|
|
CANON SD400 DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS CIRCUIT BOARDS W/INST. $10.36 |
|
|
HP M537 DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS CIRCUIT BOARD W/DIRECTIONS $11.16 |
|
|
main board part for a Canon sd1400 Digital Camera $25.00 |
|
|
FUJI Finepix JV100 CIRCUIT BOARD & FLASH DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS W/REPLACEMENT INST $18.36 |
|
|
SONY W180 DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS CIRCUIT BOARD W/INST $16.76 |
|
|
Kodak M550 LCD/Control Board Digital Camera Parts $13.00 |
|
|
SONY Main System Board For DSC-W55 Digital Camera $15.95 |
|
|
Sony T100 Digital Camera Parts – Shutter/Zoom Button Circuit Board $9.95 |
|
|
SONY Main System Board For DSC-W70 Digital Camera $15.95 |
|
|
SONY DSC-W220 Digital Camera Part – Main System Board $22.95 |
|
|
Sony DSC-W80 Digital Camera Parts – Main System Board $19.95 |
|
|
Kodak EasyShare M863 Digital Camera Main Board Repair $59.00 |
|
|
CANON PowerShot A60 MAIN/CIRCUIT BOARD DIGITAL CAMERA PARTS W/REPLACEMENT INST. $11.16 |
|
|
GENUINE CANON SD1400 IS DIGITAL CAMERA MAIN BOARD SYSTEM REPAIR PART $35.00 |
|
|
Victorinox Fibrox 7-Inch Granton Edge Santoku Knife $26.99 Nothing is worse than going to cut with your cutlery, and having the handle slip around in your hand. To combat this potential for injury, Victorinox has created this Fibrox santoku knife. The Fibrox® handle is textured and provides a firm grip, even when wet, and does not slip or slide around. It is comfortable and fits naturally to the shape of your hand, and provides an attractive and modern s… |
|
|
Panasonic SD-RD250 Automatic Bread Maker with Fruit/Nut Dispenser $219.99 - Microprocessor controlled bread bakery- Special dispenser for fruit / nuts (5.29 oz)- 5 Baking modes (Basic/French/Pasta/Pizza/Bake)- 2 Loaf sizes (M XL) – Light or dark crust mode- 13 Hour preset timer- Diamond fluorine non-stick coated pan- Large LCD readout- Power interruption protection- White / gray lid- Power interruption protection / safety fusePANSDRD250… |
|
|
Victorinox 46892 Fibrox 3-Piece Chef’s Knife Set $67.95 Nothing is worse than going to cut with your cutlery, and having the handle slip around in your hand. To combat this potential for injury, Victorinox has created this Fibrox 3 piece knife set. The Fibrox® handles are textured and provide a firm grip, even when wet, and do not slip or slide around. They are comfortable and fit naturally to the shape of your hand, and provide an attractive and mode… |
|
|
Logitech WiLife Digital Video Security–Outdoor Add-On Camera $149.89 Add up to five additional cameras to monitor and protect your entire property. Using innovative HomePlug technology, the Outdoor Add-On Security Camera transmits encrypted video over existing electrical wires straight to your PC…. |
|
|
Micro Maestro 6-channel USB Servo Controller $19.95 The six-channel Micro Maestro raises the performance bar for serial servo controllers with features such as a native USB interface and internal scripting control. Whether you want high-performance servo control (0.25?s resolution with built-in speed and acceleration control) or a general I/O controller (e.g. to interface with a sensor or ESC via your USB port), this tiny, versatile device will del… |
|
|
Black & Decker CP120B 20-Watt Power Backup Battery Pack $29.99 Powers and Recharges Personal Electronics Product InformationThe Black & Decker PocketPower Rechargeable AC/USB Power Supply is a compactportable source with rechargeable backup battery that powers and rechargespersonal electronics while on the go. The PocketPower simultaneouslypowers and recharges mobile electronic devices such as cell phones BlackBerry/PDAsMP3-like devices digital cameras … |
|
|
Combo: 6 pcs Tenergy Li-Ion Flat Top 18650 Cylindrical 3.7V 2600mAh Rechargeable Battery with TABS $38.99 Features and Benefits * Li-Ion 18650 cylindrical rechargeable battery provides higher energy density with optimized electrodes design. |
|
|
Li-Ion 18650 Cylindrical Rechargeable Battery 3.7V 2400mAh $4.95 WARNING: Use special caution when working with Li-ion cells, they are very sensitive to charging characteristics and may explode if mishandled. Protective Circuit Board is required when making packs. Make sure user has enough knowledge on Li-Ion rechargeable batteries in charging, discharging and assembly before use. Put the batteries in fire-proof container in charging. Never leave batteries unat… |
|
|
Hitech – 4 2500mAh Rechargeable Ni-MH AA Batteries for Video Game Controllers, Toys, 2-Way Radios, Digital Cameras, and Anything That Uses AA Batteries $11.00 Hitech rechargeable AA batteries are a great alternative to alkaline batteries. They will save money in the long run and help to protect the environment. These work best in high-drain devices like Wii remotes, the Wii Fit Balance Board, some other wireless video game controllers, digital cameras, 2-way radios, toys, handheld games, CD players, flashlights, etc…. |
|
|
Domke 701-J83 J-803 Satchel (Black) $122.99 The first J-Series satchel, designed to carry the laptops, electronic organizers and digital cameras that are becoming standard equipment for today’s photographer. For long-term durability, the outer shell is 1050 denier ballistic nylon, with 420 denier oxford nylon on the back panel. Features II compartments and pockets, plus a Padded Insert. Large front pocket for laptop or files. 2 Velc… |