Shooting Time Lapse Sunrise at DVinfo.net

Craig Stay · November 24th, 2008, 09:30 AM

Thursday i will be shooting the Sunrise over a lake. Can anybody give me some ideas for how to set up my camera to get great Color in the sky. I want to make the reds, and oranges stand out.

Hubert Duijzer · November 24th, 2008, 02:13 PM

I've got some pretty decent results with the 'sun' white balance preset.
Also the VIVIDRGB preset will give you some nice saturated colors.

Martin Ben · November 27th, 2008, 10:00 PM

Make sure the white balance isn't set to auto, I've made that mistake doing a cloud time lapse and the coloring shifted dramatically a few times over an hour.

Travis Hart · November 27th, 2008, 11:20 PM

What steps do you take to do an extensive timelapse with an A1? I use a firestore, so I'm wondering how does one record for such an extensive period of time using tape or FS?

Will Mahoney · December 2nd, 2008, 04:44 PM

I don't know what you would do, but I would just change the tape at the end of each hour...IF I had to do a multiple-hour time-lapse. With the side port on the A1 you can easily switch tapes in 10 seconds.

David W. Jones · December 2nd, 2008, 04:50 PM

Use a DSLR instead!

Jacques E. Bouchard · December 8th, 2008, 12:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Craig Stay

Thursday i will be shooting the Sunrise over a lake. Can anybody give me some ideas for how to set up my camera to get great Color in the sky. I want to make the reds, and oranges stand out.

As other people have already mentioned, a camcorder is not the smartest way to shoot time lapse. Remember that video is just a succession of still images, and you'll get much better results using a digital camera, either standalone or hooked up to a laptop with capture software.

Look up user mockmoon2000 on YouTube. He's posted several breathtaking time-lapse HD videos of nature, all of which were captured using a still digital camera.

Steve Phillipps · December 8th, 2008, 12:27 PM

Not quite tru any more Jacques, as video cameras that have cache recording are perfect for timelapse as they can store single images to the chip first and then dump it as a stream to tape/disc/card.
Manual exposure and white balance essential for sunrise. You'll need to guesstimate the exposure when the sun is up and set for that. It may be f8-11 or so. If it's set too wide you'll burn out as soon as the sun gets up.
Steve

Mikey Williams · December 8th, 2008, 07:58 PM

One thing that I have heard from many other videographers in regards to timelapse, shoot your timelapes with your exposure set on Auto.

I personally haven't tried this yet, but i have seen lots of great results using this method. Just make sure that you turn off the gain so that it will not ruin your picture when it's completely dark.

I usually set it manually but it can be VERY tricking with a sunrise, muchhhh easier during sunset.

Also, why not use interval recording? You will need to speed it up still quite a bit in post, but it will not use hours and hours of tape like a continuous recording would be.

If you want to go even further you can remove one frame for each 1 second capture to produce a something technically accurate to a real timelapse process done one frame at a time. This is how i've achieved my best results.

Craig Stay · December 9th, 2008, 07:26 AM

Awesome info guys i have been slacking because i dont like to get up early when i dont need to. But i am going to do some sunrises and sunsets soon. I really want to put alot of timelapse stuff in my next film.

November 24th, 2008, 09:30 AM	#1
Craig Stay Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Plattsburgh NY Posts: 62	Shooting Time Lapse Sunrise Thursday i will be shooting the Sunrise over a lake. Can anybody give me some ideas for how to set up my camera to get great Color in the sky. I want to make the reds, and oranges stand out.

November 27th, 2008, 11:20 PM	#4
Travis Hart Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Stafford Posts: 68	What steps do you take to do an extensive timelapse with an A1? I use a firestore, so I'm wondering how does one record for such an extensive period of time using tape or FS? __________________ Guiseppe Palumbo is a talentless scam artist -- avoid him at all cost.

December 2nd, 2008, 04:44 PM	#5
Will Mahoney Major Player Join Date: May 2007 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 259	I don't know what you would do, but I would just change the tape at the end of each hour...IF I had to do a multiple-hour time-lapse. With the side port on the A1 you can easily switch tapes in 10 seconds. __________________ http://exposureroom.com/members/WillMahoney.aspx/ www.youtube.com/truckaccessories

December 8th, 2008, 07:58 PM	#9
Mikey Williams Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Squamish, BC, Canada Posts: 28	One thing that I have heard from many other videographers in regards to timelapse, shoot your timelapes with your exposure set on Auto. I personally haven't tried this yet, but i have seen lots of great results using this method. Just make sure that you turn off the gain so that it will not ruin your picture when it's completely dark. I usually set it manually but it can be VERY tricking with a sunrise, muchhhh easier during sunset. Also, why not use interval recording? You will need to speed it up still quite a bit in post, but it will not use hours and hours of tape like a continuous recording would be. If you want to go even further you can remove one frame for each 1 second capture to produce a something technically accurate to a real timelapse process done one frame at a time. This is how i've achieved my best results. __________________ Mikey Williams Down To Earth Productions

November 24th, 2008, 02:13 PM	#2
Hubert Duijzer Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Netherlands Posts: 177	I've got some pretty decent results with the 'sun' white balance preset. Also the VIVIDRGB preset will give you some nice saturated colors.

November 27th, 2008, 10:00 PM	#3
Martin Ben New Boot Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 8	Make sure the white balance isn't set to auto, I've made that mistake doing a cloud time lapse and the coloring shifted dramatically a few times over an hour.

December 2nd, 2008, 04:50 PM	#6
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	Use a DSLR instead!

December 8th, 2008, 12:27 PM	#8
Steve Phillipps Inner Circle Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 2,130	Not quite tru any more Jacques, as video cameras that have cache recording are perfect for timelapse as they can store single images to the chip first and then dump it as a stream to tape/disc/card. Manual exposure and white balance essential for sunrise. You'll need to guesstimate the exposure when the sun is up and set for that. It may be f8-11 or so. If it's set too wide you'll burn out as soon as the sun gets up. Steve

December 9th, 2008, 07:26 AM	#10
Craig Stay Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Plattsburgh NY Posts: 62	Awesome info guys i have been slacking because i dont like to get up early when i dont need to. But i am going to do some sunrises and sunsets soon. I really want to put alot of timelapse stuff in my next film.