Evening night shot effect with the DVX at DVinfo.net

Ozan Biron · December 10th, 2003, 10:07 PM

Can I do this with the DVX? If so.... how should I set up for it? What settings are best?

URL link...

http://www.illconcepts.com/highway.jpg

John Hudson · December 11th, 2003, 12:25 AM

Wow. That's some serious time lapse there.

I do know the DVX can be set to record at interval (Time Lapse) recording with adjustable record duration and interval time (their exact words in fact). I have not personally tried it but...

I suggest getting out your user manual and giving it a shot. The best thing is to experiment. I always thought this technique was done by slowing down the exposure time on a frame of film. I wonder if the DVX is suited for this.

Hmmm... I have no idea how the DVX would do. Start trying different settings I guess. As far as Scene File settings go, I would first capture as normal to see what settings you like.

Ozan Biron · December 11th, 2003, 02:37 AM

The first thing i tired was recording 5 minutes of car footage. Then in post I speeded it up. Looked liked poo!

Maybe playing around with the shutter speed? will that do anything? Or is there an effect in after affects that i can apply to achive that light streak effect.

Barry Green · December 11th, 2003, 10:19 AM

The DVX100A might be able to do better on this, since it has slow shutter speeds down to 1/4-second...

Jaime Valles · December 11th, 2003, 10:53 AM

Yeah, this is a result of slow shutter speed, not time lapse, I believe. It's easy to do this with still photography, since an SLR camera will let you keep the shutter open for a very long time if you want to. Video is harder, but if what Barry says is right, you might be able to with the DVX100a. I'm not sure how slow the shutter can be set for the original DVX100, but it might not be slow enough to produce this effect. Try it out with the slowest shutter speed you can achieve and let us know!

John Britt · December 11th, 2003, 11:02 AM

Jaime is correct -- took the words out of my mouth

I know a guy who does a lot of looooong exposures with still photography -- as in having a shutter open for hours. Some of it is really beautiful stuff. And difficult to reproduce in video, just like really good, film-like slo-mo is hard to do in video.

I image that you could do a combo of slow shutter speed with layering multiple copies of the shot in After Effects, with each layer being slightly advanced in time, with the opacities set at 30%-50%. Maybe add some blending modes like Overlay as well...

And make sure you've got one sturdy and steady tripod!

Mikel Low · December 11th, 2003, 08:22 PM

easy access ...

http://www.illconcepts.com/highway.jpg

Stefan Scherperel · December 11th, 2003, 08:23 PM

THere is a difference between using a slow shutter for a single photograph and for video. Obviously, if your video is playing back at 24 or 30fps, any shutter speed slower than that will not give you smooth motion. For a single photo however, your exposure can be as long as you want it to be. Therefore, my question is, what type of effect are you really trying to achieve. Do you want a long exposure video? If so I have been doing some experiments with this. First prize goes to anyone that can figure out how I did it. If you think about it, it really isn't that hard.

Here is the link
http://www.stefweb.net/test.mov
Sorry for the compression, I wanted everyone to be able to view it easily.

Ozan Biron · December 11th, 2003, 08:48 PM

I am trying to achieve the streaming light effect from traffic during a time lapse on video...

I guess your movie was done with a series of still photos... put together as a sequence?!?

Robert Mann Z. · December 11th, 2003, 09:58 PM

what your looking for is motion blur...

motion blur will blur anything in your scene that has motion, in your example the cars would be nothing but streaks of light going by but the light poll would remain untouched

we do this a lot, especially with subway shots...very cool effect

but you have to remmeber that objects that are not moving need to be kept still other wise the audience will not be fooled...

i know of no way to re-create that in a video camera, adjusting the shutter will stutter the cars but not make them smooth...

Ozan Biron · December 11th, 2003, 10:13 PM

hmmmm...

i'll try the motion blur effect in after effects... Im also going to try an echo effect on the video... with blur... maybe that could do it?!?

John Britt · December 12th, 2003, 09:14 AM

Correct me if I am wrong, but the standard Motion Blur effect in After Effects only applies to objects animated within AE, does it not?

I've always though that the Motion Blur option (as available via the checkbox in the Timeline) did *not* affect any preexisiting motion within a clip. Have I been using MB incorrectly (or at least not to its full potential) all this time?

Robert Mann Z. · December 12th, 2003, 10:27 AM

John,

You are correct, but i wasn't talking about ae at all, and i should have specified that ...I was talking about my canopus card where it's called motion blur...

i looked in my ae toolbox and could not find a filter that does this...but i'm sure there must be one out there...

look for motion blur, or trail...(ps i have tinder box trail plugin it does not do the same thing)

Kenn Christenson · December 12th, 2003, 01:19 PM

Try "Frame Blending" when you speed up your footage in After Effects.

Joe Romano · December 21st, 2003, 09:03 AM

Wow, stefan, that is a cool effect. I don't guess i'll get first prize, because all i can think of is that you kept the camera open using long exposure times , but then the moon would be a streak instead of moving across the sky. it seems like a combo some how of interval exposure and long shutter speeds. Anyway, it has been over a week, perhaps you would email me and tell me how you have done it. ( I need a similar effect, different application) or you could give us all an early Christmas present and tell us here. I am VERY interested! Thanks for showing the clip!

December 10th, 2003, 10:07 PM	#1
Ozan Biron Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Vancouver, CANADA Posts: 137	Evening night shot effect with the DVX Can I do this with the DVX? If so.... how should I set up for it? What settings are best? URL link... http://www.illconcepts.com/highway.jpg

December 11th, 2003, 08:22 PM	#7
Mikel Low Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: San Francisco, Ca Posts: 39	small assist easy access ... http://www.illconcepts.com/highway.jpg __________________ Cheers! K. Mikel Low

December 11th, 2003, 08:23 PM	#8
Stefan Scherperel Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Seattle WA Posts: 209	THere is a difference between using a slow shutter for a single photograph and for video. Obviously, if your video is playing back at 24 or 30fps, any shutter speed slower than that will not give you smooth motion. For a single photo however, your exposure can be as long as you want it to be. Therefore, my question is, what type of effect are you really trying to achieve. Do you want a long exposure video? If so I have been doing some experiments with this. First prize goes to anyone that can figure out how I did it. If you think about it, it really isn't that hard. Here is the link http://www.stefweb.net/test.mov Sorry for the compression, I wanted everyone to be able to view it easily. __________________ Stefan Scherperel SSE Productions http://www.stefweb.net

December 21st, 2003, 09:03 AM	#15
Joe Romano New Boot Join Date: May 2003 Location: new york Posts: 16	Wow, stefan, that is a cool effect. I don't guess i'll get first prize, because all i can think of is that you kept the camera open using long exposure times , but then the moon would be a streak instead of moving across the sky. it seems like a combo some how of interval exposure and long shutter speeds. Anyway, it has been over a week, perhaps you would email me and tell me how you have done it. ( I need a similar effect, different application) or you could give us all an early Christmas present and tell us here. I am VERY interested! Thanks for showing the clip! __________________ peace, Joe

December 11th, 2003, 12:25 AM	#2
John Hudson Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: 32° 44' N 117° 10' W Posts: 820	Wow. That's some serious time lapse there. I do know the DVX can be set to record at interval (Time Lapse) recording with adjustable record duration and interval time (their exact words in fact). I have not personally tried it but... I suggest getting out your user manual and giving it a shot. The best thing is to experiment. I always thought this technique was done by slowing down the exposure time on a frame of film. I wonder if the DVX is suited for this. Hmmm... I have no idea how the DVX would do. Start trying different settings I guess. As far as Scene File settings go, I would first capture as normal to see what settings you like.

December 11th, 2003, 02:37 AM	#3
Ozan Biron Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Vancouver, CANADA Posts: 137	The first thing i tired was recording 5 minutes of car footage. Then in post I speeded it up. Looked liked poo! Maybe playing around with the shutter speed? will that do anything? Or is there an effect in after affects that i can apply to achive that light streak effect.

December 11th, 2003, 10:19 AM	#4
Barry Green Barry Wan Kenobi Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,863	The DVX100A might be able to do better on this, since it has slow shutter speeds down to 1/4-second...

December 11th, 2003, 10:53 AM	#5
Jaime Valles Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: New York City, NY Posts: 316	Yeah, this is a result of slow shutter speed, not time lapse, I believe. It's easy to do this with still photography, since an SLR camera will let you keep the shutter open for a very long time if you want to. Video is harder, but if what Barry says is right, you might be able to with the DVX100a. I'm not sure how slow the shutter can be set for the original DVX100, but it might not be slow enough to produce this effect. Try it out with the slowest shutter speed you can achieve and let us know!

December 11th, 2003, 11:02 AM	#6
John Britt Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 621	Jaime is correct -- took the words out of my mouth I know a guy who does a lot of looooong exposures with still photography -- as in having a shutter open for hours. Some of it is really beautiful stuff. And difficult to reproduce in video, just like really good, film-like slo-mo is hard to do in video. I image that you could do a combo of slow shutter speed with layering multiple copies of the shot in After Effects, with each layer being slightly advanced in time, with the opacities set at 30%-50%. Maybe add some blending modes like Overlay as well... And make sure you've got one sturdy and steady tripod!

December 11th, 2003, 08:48 PM	#9
Ozan Biron Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Vancouver, CANADA Posts: 137	I am trying to achieve the streaming light effect from traffic during a time lapse on video... I guess your movie was done with a series of still photos... put together as a sequence?!?

December 11th, 2003, 09:58 PM	#10
Robert Mann Z. Skyonic New York Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NYC Posts: 614	what your looking for is motion blur... motion blur will blur anything in your scene that has motion, in your example the cars would be nothing but streaks of light going by but the light poll would remain untouched we do this a lot, especially with subway shots...very cool effect but you have to remmeber that objects that are not moving need to be kept still other wise the audience will not be fooled... i know of no way to re-create that in a video camera, adjusting the shutter will stutter the cars but not make them smooth...

December 11th, 2003, 10:13 PM	#11
Ozan Biron Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Vancouver, CANADA Posts: 137	hmmmm... i'll try the motion blur effect in after effects... Im also going to try an echo effect on the video... with blur... maybe that could do it?!?

December 12th, 2003, 09:14 AM	#12
John Britt Major Player Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 621	Correct me if I am wrong, but the standard Motion Blur effect in After Effects only applies to objects animated within AE, does it not? I've always though that the Motion Blur option (as available via the checkbox in the Timeline) did not affect any preexisiting motion within a clip. Have I been using MB incorrectly (or at least not to its full potential) all this time?

December 12th, 2003, 10:27 AM	#13
Robert Mann Z. Skyonic New York Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: NYC Posts: 614	John, You are correct, but i wasn't talking about ae at all, and i should have specified that ...I was talking about my canopus card where it's called motion blur... i looked in my ae toolbox and could not find a filter that does this...but i'm sure there must be one out there... look for motion blur, or trail...(ps i have tinder box trail plugin it does not do the same thing)

December 12th, 2003, 01:19 PM	#14
Kenn Christenson Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Medford Oregon Posts: 152	Try "Frame Blending" when you speed up your footage in After Effects.