The time lapse video you were watching before we started this presentation was made by DAVID PEARCE of the Hardy Orchid Society and obtained for us

Transcription

1 The time lapse video you were watching before we started this presentation was made by DAVID PEARCE of the Hardy Orchid Society and obtained for us by Stephen Pickersgill many thanks 1

2 Contents What is time-lapse photography A few examples How to make a time-lapse video Software Summary Any questions 2

3 What is time lapse photography Normal film is shot at around 24 frames per second and played back at that speed so it appears in real time With time lapse the images which make up the film and shot at a very slow rate in comparison. Most of the example you will see later were shot at 20 sec intervals i.e. 3 per minute over a 5 hour period. When these are stitched together to make the file and played back at 24 frames per second the film appears to be speeded up. E.g. flower opening Slow motion is the reverse of this where one takes hundreds if not thousands of shots per second and they are then played back at 24 frames per second slowing down the action over a much longer period. E.e. Humming birds wings 3

4 Cedar of Lebanon Hughenden Manor 15 th April images 4

5 Sycamore Tree Bradenham Village 28 th July images 5

6 Installing a double gate with the National Trust 16 Th April images The gate was on a slope from left to right hence the problems 6

7 This video is a good first attempt at time lapse It does however exhibit several of the problems which need to be overcome in order to produce a smooth video. I do not have details of how this video was shot Note the flower pot keeps changing position slightly but enough to be distracting The shadows on the wall behind vary in intensity as does the light from the left consistent light is a must in this type of video 7

8 Equipment Any camera which has built in or can accept an intervalometer Spare battery if taking images over several hours or days Large memory card big enough to accept all the images or as many as possible. One does not want to be changing batteries and card if it can be helped Tripod essential as the camera must not move between shots. You may have seen time lapse videos where the camera does move smothly over the whole video on a rail system Intervalometer may be already an option in your camera if not easy to buy but vary in price. This device once setup fires the camera shutter at fixed time intervals over a given period of time. 8

9 Calculations There are several things we know and several things we need to calculate We should know the length of the event in seconds The length we want the end video to be (usually less than 1 minute in seconds) We need to know the interval between frames We need to know the amount of space that will be taken up on a memory card Calculate the number of frames to be 24 frames per second for a 60 minute video 24 x 60 = 1440 frames Interval between shots length of event 5hrs (seconds) divided by number of frames 5 x 60 x60 / 1440 = 12.5 seconds 9

10 Memory required length of the video in seconds times the individual file size e.g. 20Mb In this example 28.8Gb so a memory card of 32Gb is a must Apps are available to do all these calculations for you so no need to be a maths genius 9

11 Camera Settings Landscape format is best if you do need to use portrait formate make sure your software can cope with this more in a moment Manual mode if the lighting conditions are constantly changing then manual mode is best and looks more natural Manual focus is important because if anything comes between the camera and the focal point than the camera will refocus causing a jump in the final video Decide on a suitable aperture and shutter speed which will be acceptable during the complete shooting process 10

12 When I went to take the time lapse images of the Cedar tree I had planned to take them in landscape format. On the day I made the fatal mistake of changing my mind and took them in portrait format as you can see on the left. However the software had other ideas and produce the final result in landscape format as you can see on the right. I tried everything to get the software to output landscape format but no. I consulted the internet and the software can only process landscape mode Morel of story never change your mind without first checking never assume 11

13 Processing Software Photoshop Lightroom Stand alone software 12

14 Software Your normal software may be capable of creating time-lapse videos. Always worth checking If you have software for workinmg with digital video then you should be able to use that 13

15 PhotoShop Elements does not support time-lapse 14

16 PhotoShop Premier PhotoShop used to come with PhotoShop Elements but not now It can be purchased separately It is specifically designed to be used for working with video. So if you are into video this could be for you. 15

17 PhotoShop If you use PhotoShop then using these steps should give you a time-lapse video You may need to tweak some setting as you go. Plenty of help on the internet 16

18 Lightroom If you are using Lightroom you will need to download and install a pre-set LRTimelapse Once installed you can go to Slideshow and follow the instructions 17

19 Stand alone software This is a lot of stand alone software out there but it costs and is really only useful if you are using it all the time 18

20 Summary Check if your camera has or can accept an intervalometer Check if your software supports time-lapse or video Find a suitable subject and have fun 19

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