Time-Lapse Footage at DVinfo.net

Ken Tanaka · December 5th, 2002, 09:59 PM

I'm preparing to shoot a time-lapse clip with my XL1s. I know the dance-steps to set this up but have never tried this feature. If you've already tried this, can you offer me any advice or tips beforehand?

Thanks very much.

Chris Korrow · December 6th, 2002, 05:15 PM

What are you shooting? Available light outside? For how long?

I've done a little bit of work with it & have been a little disappointed. It's good for ice forming or something like that, but for clouds, city scenes or even a butterfly hatching it's too choppy. Of course that in itself has some applications. For thunderheads & such, it's much better to just burn an hour of tape.

Chris

Jeff Donald · December 6th, 2002, 07:44 PM

I've done it with clouds (quite a few years ago) and it was good enough I used it in my demo reel as a background. Good time lapse is really just persistence. I tried different FPS based on the captured images and then the speed of the clouds would change. It took me probably 6 to 8 tries to get a really smooth cloud segment.

Jeff

Josh Bass · December 6th, 2002, 08:12 PM

You guys aren't talking about interval mode, right? Something different?

James Emory · December 7th, 2002, 03:30 AM

Ken,
Check out this time lapse footage shot with the XL-1. I rolled for 30 minutes and then loaded into Premiere and bumped the clip speed up to 10,000 percent (the maximum). That wasn't fast enough to make the clouds roll like I wanted. I then composited the 10K footage and bumped it up another few hundred or so and finally got what I wanted. At these speed changes, 30 minutes condenses down to about 4-5 seconds and of course they can be looped with a slight seamless dissolve.

Time Lapse Footage:

(high speed)
198.65.158.133/romeskylines/ROMESKYLINES300K.asx

Commercials with Time Lapse: Look for Expo Big Screen & Heritage Rome spots

www.jefcommunications.com/commercials.html

Jeff Donald · December 7th, 2002, 07:16 AM

James,

Top link doesn't work (at least on a Mac w/IE). Bottom link returns page not found.

Jeff

Marc Betz · December 7th, 2002, 07:25 AM

Top link gave me file not found then I hit F5 (refresh) and it played in windows media player (winXP/IE 6.026).
Some segments are better than others (just due to the available lighting) The second segment is really pretty and sort of creepy feel to it.

Very nice

Link 2 gave me
The page cannot be found
The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.

Marc

Marc Betz · December 7th, 2002, 07:33 AM

Found it

http://www.jefcommunications.com/Commercial.html

Drop the s off of the web page name

Commercial not commercials

James Emory · December 7th, 2002, 10:47 AM

I don't know why, but Mac users aren't able to watch these files very successfully. Thanks Marc for correcting the jefcom link. Here are corrected links below.

(high speed)
198.65.158.133/romeskylines/ROMESKYLINES300K.asx

Commercials with Time Lapse: Look for Expo Big Screen & Heritage Rome spots

www.jefcommunications.com/commercial.html

Ken Tanaka · December 7th, 2002, 11:42 AM

Chris: Yes, I'm shooting an indoor scene with natural lighting (from large windows) augmented with a panel of Lowell flourescents. Total length of shoot: approx. 3 hrs. I'm considering snapping 2 secs. every 3 minutes leaving me with a total of approximately 2 minutes of coverage.

Josh: Yes, this is "interval mode" shooting.

James: Nice examples (and nice commercial spots). Thanks very much for the details.

Chris Korrow · December 7th, 2002, 12:58 PM

The XL1s only does 30 sec, 1 min, 5 min... I don't think that you can do a 3 min interval. What are you trying to shoot, the light from the window moving across the room?
Think of time-lapse like a math equation, the shortest interval with the shortest exposure gives you the smoothest footage. Ideally it would be much better if we could choose one frame per sec, per 2 sec, 5 sec etc.

For your shoot (2 sec every 3 min) a 1/2 sec every 30 sec would give you 3 sec every 3 min but it would be spaced more evenly, so if you want a smoother look to it, use the shortest exposure with the shortest interval.

Good shooting! It's nice to be able to shoot indoors. All of my stuff is outside.

Chris

John Locke · December 7th, 2002, 08:14 PM

James,

Thanks for posting your examples. Nice work. I have some questions regarding the commercials...

1. what titling software do you use?
2. are you simply using short white slates to add the transition flashes?
3. how did you do the transition that intercuts two segments really fast?

James Emory · December 7th, 2002, 08:47 PM

John,

I use a CG called Inscriber CG. It came bundled the with Matrox Digisuite package

The white flashes are simply a white color matte that are about 4-6 frames long and fade out to the video underneath

What spot are you referring to with the transition that intercuts two segments really fast?

John Locke · December 7th, 2002, 09:00 PM

James,

It's from the Rome Expo big screen commercial...looks like about 41 seconds into it.

James Emory · December 7th, 2002, 09:13 PM

Well there are two around that time. One is simply a sped up telephoto pan of the floor shot just for that purpose and the other seems to be about 5-10 4 frame shots back to back.

December 5th, 2002, 09:59 PM	#1
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Time-Lapse Footage I'm preparing to shoot a time-lapse clip with my XL1s. I know the dance-steps to set this up but have never tried this feature. If you've already tried this, can you offer me any advice or tips beforehand? Thanks very much. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

December 6th, 2002, 08:12 PM	#4
Josh Bass Slash Rules! Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 5,472	You guys aren't talking about interval mode, right? Something different? __________________ The Bass' camerawork The Bass on IMDB

December 7th, 2002, 03:30 AM	#5
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Time Lapse Footage Ken, Check out this time lapse footage shot with the XL-1. I rolled for 30 minutes and then loaded into Premiere and bumped the clip speed up to 10,000 percent (the maximum). That wasn't fast enough to make the clouds roll like I wanted. I then composited the 10K footage and bumped it up another few hundred or so and finally got what I wanted. At these speed changes, 30 minutes condenses down to about 4-5 seconds and of course they can be looped with a slight seamless dissolve. Time Lapse Footage: (high speed) 198.65.158.133/romeskylines/ROMESKYLINES300K.asx Commercials with Time Lapse: Look for Expo Big Screen & Heritage Rome spots www.jefcommunications.com/commercials.html

December 7th, 2002, 07:25 AM	#7
Marc Betz Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: NH Posts: 95	Links Top link gave me file not found then I hit F5 (refresh) and it played in windows media player (winXP/IE 6.026). Some segments are better than others (just due to the available lighting) The second segment is really pretty and sort of creepy feel to it. Very nice Link 2 gave me The page cannot be found The page you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable. Marc __________________ Marc Betz

December 7th, 2002, 07:33 AM	#8
Marc Betz Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: NH Posts: 95	2nd clip Found it http://www.jefcommunications.com/Commercial.html Drop the s off of the web page name Commercial not commercials __________________ Marc Betz

December 6th, 2002, 05:15 PM	#2
Chris Korrow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whidbey Is, WA Posts: 326	What are you shooting? Available light outside? For how long? I've done a little bit of work with it & have been a little disappointed. It's good for ice forming or something like that, but for clouds, city scenes or even a butterfly hatching it's too choppy. Of course that in itself has some applications. For thunderheads & such, it's much better to just burn an hour of tape. Chris

December 6th, 2002, 07:44 PM	#3
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	I've done it with clouds (quite a few years ago) and it was good enough I used it in my demo reel as a background. Good time lapse is really just persistence. I tried different FPS based on the captured images and then the speed of the clouds would change. It took me probably 6 to 8 tries to get a really smooth cloud segment. Jeff

December 7th, 2002, 07:16 AM	#6
Jeff Donald Warden Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Clearwater, FL Posts: 8,287	James, Top link doesn't work (at least on a Mac w/IE). Bottom link returns page not found. Jeff

December 7th, 2002, 10:47 AM	#9
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Updated / Corrected Links I don't know why, but Mac users aren't able to watch these files very successfully. Thanks Marc for correcting the jefcom link. Here are corrected links below. (high speed) 198.65.158.133/romeskylines/ROMESKYLINES300K.asx Commercials with Time Lapse: Look for Expo Big Screen & Heritage Rome spots www.jefcommunications.com/commercial.html

December 7th, 2002, 11:42 AM	#10
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	Chris: Yes, I'm shooting an indoor scene with natural lighting (from large windows) augmented with a panel of Lowell flourescents. Total length of shoot: approx. 3 hrs. I'm considering snapping 2 secs. every 3 minutes leaving me with a total of approximately 2 minutes of coverage. Josh: Yes, this is "interval mode" shooting. James: Nice examples (and nice commercial spots). Thanks very much for the details. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

December 7th, 2002, 12:58 PM	#11
Chris Korrow Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Whidbey Is, WA Posts: 326	The XL1s only does 30 sec, 1 min, 5 min... I don't think that you can do a 3 min interval. What are you trying to shoot, the light from the window moving across the room? Think of time-lapse like a math equation, the shortest interval with the shortest exposure gives you the smoothest footage. Ideally it would be much better if we could choose one frame per sec, per 2 sec, 5 sec etc. For your shoot (2 sec every 3 min) a 1/2 sec every 30 sec would give you 3 sec every 3 min but it would be spaced more evenly, so if you want a smoother look to it, use the shortest exposure with the shortest interval. Good shooting! It's nice to be able to shoot indoors. All of my stuff is outside. Chris

December 7th, 2002, 08:14 PM	#12
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	James, Thanks for posting your examples. Nice work. I have some questions regarding the commercials... 1. what titling software do you use? 2. are you simply using short white slates to add the transition flashes? 3. how did you do the transition that intercuts two segments really fast? __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 7th, 2002, 08:47 PM	#13
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Transitions John, I use a CG called Inscriber CG. It came bundled the with Matrox Digisuite package The white flashes are simply a white color matte that are about 4-6 frames long and fade out to the video underneath What spot are you referring to with the transition that intercuts two segments really fast?

December 7th, 2002, 09:00 PM	#14
John Locke Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Austin, TX USA Posts: 2,882	James, It's from the Rome Expo big screen commercial...looks like about 41 seconds into it. __________________ John Locke SursumFilms.com

December 7th, 2002, 09:13 PM	#15
James Emory Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Atlanta, Georgia Posts: 1,892	Transition Well there are two around that time. One is simply a sped up telephoto pan of the floor shot just for that purpose and the other seems to be about 5-10 4 frame shots back to back.