About Doug Niedermiller

In my last article I showed you how I set up my camera to shoot the Distortion time-lapse video.  Today were going to go into the aspects of processing a time-lapse sequence.  A time-lapse sequence is a group of still photographs let’s say about 400 or more which once complete or produce a video clip of approximately 15 second.   It may take 10 to 15 video clips to produce a 3 or 4 minute time-lapse video.  The programs we will be using to process the clips are Lightroom 4  and LRtimelapse 2.   You can then assemble your clips with any video editing program or the program I use Pro Show gold.

software I use.

Lightroom 4 -  You can try it for 30 days before you buy it.  (learn more about Lightroom 4)  This is a full version no limitations. (You need a minimum of Lightroom 3 to export time-lapse videos )  You can also buy it at amazon.com at a great price

LRtimelapse 2  – You can download an evaluation copy limited to editing 400 photographs per time-lapse sequence. (learn more about and download LRtimelapse here)  If you like it you can buy the full licensed version.

LRtimelapse  Lightroom 3/4 HD plug-ins – These plug-ins allow you to export time-lapse videos directly out of Lightroom 3/4. (learn more about and download LRtimelapse Lightroom HD plug-ins here and click on the downloades tab) there are also professional versions of these plug-ins as well.

Pro Show Gold – you can try it before you buy it. (learn more about Proshow gold) This is the program I use to assemble my video clips  into the completed  video time-lapse project.  The nice thing about this program is you can work with video, still images, sound, titles and captions.  There are other programs out there.  See a partial list below.

If you don’t already have the programs about.  Download the evaluation copies to try them out.

Note: You can do this process with just Lightroom and the LRTimelapse Lightroom plug-ins however your results may not be satisfactory.  Due to the flicker problems in time-lapse.  Also if you have a brighter beginning or ending you can transition the exposures incrementally from beginning to end.  It even handles the holy grail of time-lapse sunrise and sunset.  That’s why I recommend using the LRTimelapse 2 program.

Start Time lapse Process workflow

Lightroom

1 Open Lightroom and import all of your photographs related to the time-lapse video into its own directory.  This is important as the whole directory will be used in the processing of the time-lapse video clip.  If you have any other photographs on your card not related to this time-lapse video clip, put them in another directory. You can also watch the 3 tutorials at the bottom of this article.

LRTimelapse

2 Open LRTimelapse and in the lower left-hand panel located the directory in which your time-lapse clip  is located and click on the directory.

3  This is set up in a logical left to right  order of operation.  In the upper right panel click on initialize. this will load all the parameters into LRTimelapse.

4 – In the upper left-hand preview panel you can now preview your time-lapse clip.   Play the clip  and look for an area that has an exposure even throughout the whole clip.   We will define this area in the next step.   You can also manually sweep across the video by dragging the small cursor just below the preview window.

5 -  Click on define reference area then click OK.   finding area in the preview panel that has a relatively even exposure across the entire preview video.  Move your mouse over the preview section in the upper left panel left click and hold your mouse and drag the mouse to define the exposure reference area and release.

6 – Click on the Keyframes Wizard.  This will identify the first and last keyframes and give them a one star rating. Additionally if you change the exposure during the time-lapse shoot it will identify those adjustments and add a 2 star rating just before the exposure change and a 3 star rating just after the exposure change. you can learn more about this at LRtimelapse.com. or watch the (Day to Night (Holy Grail) Time Lapse Processing Tutorial) below this article.  But for now we’re just going to be concerned with the first and last keyframes.

7 – Click on XMP Save. This will save the information to the XMP sidecar files used in Lightroom.

Lightroom

8 – Go back into Lightroom and moved to the library module.  Open up the grid view mode. Highlight all files.  Go to the top of the screen and click on metadata and then click on read metadata to file.  This will load the information from LRTimelapse. Turn on the 1 star filter at the lower right corner of the screen.  This will bring up only your 2 keyframes.  Go to the develop module and  make any adjustments you like on the first image.

9 -  Goto the develop module and go into the grid mode. Highlighted the first image. Then at the top of the screen click on photo drop-down go down to develop settings and then click on copy settings.   A dialog box will open up called copy settings.  Make sure all boxes are checked and press copy.  Now click on and highlight the second image in the keyframe.  At the top of the screen press photo then go down to develop settings and click on paste settings.  Now you can go back into the developed setting on the second image and make any final adjustments you would like on the  second image.

10 – Now that the two images look the way you like.  Go back into the library module and return to the grid view.  Highlight both images and go to the top of the screen and click on metadata and then click on save metadata to file.

LRTimelapse

11 – Now go back into LRTtimelapse click on the proper folder if it has not already done so.  Then press Reload in the upper right-hand workflow panel second line. The next step press the Auto Transition.  This will take your first keyframe and your last keyframe and all the frames in between and make a gradual transition between all frames to create a smooth transition through the whole time-lapse sequence.  Next press the Deflickr button in the workflow panel. This will reduce the appearance of Flickr in the time-lapse sequence. Next press on XMP Save in the workflow panel. This will save all the new exposures in your XMP sidecar files.

 12 – Now go back in the Lightroom and go to the library module. open up the grid view. Now disable the star filters ratings and highlight all images. go to the top of the screen click on metadata and then click on read metadata from file.  This will read all the information from LRTimelapse.  Now go to the slideshow module.  First make sure you have installed your LRtimelapse slideshow templates.  You can go to the LRTimelapse plug-ins page to download and learn how to install these plug-ins.  In the slideshow module on the left-hand side go to the user templates and click on LRTimelapse 24fps or whatever frame rate you would like. Now go to the lower left and press the export video button.   Now you’ll get a box export slideshow to video. Select the directory and filename.  Then select video preset  t0 720P @ 24 fps or which ever video preset you wish to use and press save.   This process could take some time so be patient once it is complete you can go to the directory and play your  time-lapse sequence.

13 – repeat these steps for each of your time-lapse sequences.

14 – Assembled Video Clips

I used Pro Show Gold to assemble my video clips and add music captions and titles. Pro show gold is primarily a slideshow creation program but it also works well with video.   But you can use just about any video editing program you choose or may already own.  I use Pro show Gold because of already owned it.  There are many low-cost and high-end video editing programs out there.  These are just a few: Adobe Premiere Elements, Adobe Premier, Adobe After Effects, Corel Video Studio Pro, MAGIX Movie Edit Pro and so on. prices range from $50 to $600 and beyond and there are also a few free ones out there like Windows Movie Maker.

Conclusion

As you can see there are many steps to creating a time-lapse video. It may seem complicated but after you have created a few time-lapse sequences you will find that this process is fairly easy to do.   I have also included a couple of tutorials from LRTimelapse below.  I can highly recommend LRTimelapse 2  to create stunning professional looking time-lapse sequences.  Lightroom 4  is my choice for cataloging and editing all of my photography. I occasionally use Photoshop cs5 photomatix for HDR  and Topaz labs plug-ins  which works as a plug-in in both Lightroom and Photoshop.  for slideshows I use Pro Show Gold  for both slide shows and video presentations.   So the next time you see one of those time-lapse videos out on YouTube you can now understand all the steps required to put that production together.  I hope you enjoyed this article on how to process time-lapse video sequences. My next article will be on building a powered camera slide for video and time-lapse sequences.

More Time Lapse Resources

EBook – Time Lapse Shooting and Processing by Gunther Wegner in German and English

EBook: Shoot and Create Timelapse Videos Using Your DSLR Camera

Visit PhotoZ Press on more Articles  on Time Lapse Photography

Visit PhotoZ TV to view Videos on Time Lapse Photography

Tutorials

LRTimelapse 2 – Basic Tutorial | lrtimelapse.com

Basic Features of LRTimelapse 2

LRTimelapse Day to Night (Holy Grail) Time Lapse Processing Tutorial

LRTimelapse – Before and After

Time lapse photography

The process of shooting hundreds of photographs over a period of time and compressing them into a short video which gives the effect of speeding up time.

I know you all have seen these fascinating videos out there on YouTube or Facebook that seemingly look like clouds  moving abnormally fast or stars at night moving slowly across the sky which you would not normally see in real-time. This is the world of time-lapse photography. I am mesmerized by these time-lapse videos and decided to put one together myself.  I would like to share with you my experiences and show you how to shoot your own time-lapse video.  First will start off with a few basic steps on how to set up your camera and shoot a time-lapse sequence. Then i will go into how to process and put these videos together in my next article with several software packages that make time-lapse photography a whole lot easier these days.

To start with you will need a DSLR or any camera that will accept an inexpensive external wired interval timing unit and a sturdy tripod. The main piece of equipment you may not have will be the interval timer. The one I use for my Nikon D 300s camera is the Godox EZA-N1 Digital Timer Remote Control for Nikon Cameras with a CL-DC0 connector. You can find the one that connects to your particular camera Here.

Distortion – the time lapse video

Time lapse photography is a fairly advanced topic.  I assume you have a good understanding of photography and how to set up your camera.

Basic camera settings and equipment for time-lapse photography.

1. Use a tripod a must.
2. Use an interval timing device – Make sure you read the manual and understand how this device works before you start.
3. Set the camera to the raw file format.
4. use a White balance card for raw shooters.
5. If you must use JPEG make sure you set to the appropriate white balance settings (do not use auto white balance).
6. Set your camera to manual exposure mode (M)
7. Disabled auto ISO.
8. Disabled autofocus.
9. Disable image stabilizer if equipped.
10. Use and understand your cameras histogram.
11. Use a neutral density filter in daylight applications. I recommend B&W brand.
12. Bring a small notebook to take notes of your process and calculations.
13. bring a kitchen timer or you can use your watch to keep track of time.
14. Bring a chair and a good book

I recommend you use a the widest wide-angle lens you have to start with for two reasons the depth of field is much greater and  the look and feel of the final video clip is much more dramatic. but try your telephoto lenses as well. There are other settings you may want to consider but for now this will get you started.

Planning for your first time-lapse.

The first thing you will have to do is determine your subject.  It could  be anything like clouds in in the sky in a beautiful setting,  Traffic,  perhaps people walking around,  A flower getting ready to bloom,  Star in the night sky, moon rise or anything with movement not necessarily visible to the naked eye. The most difficult being sunrises and sunsets which require special techniques not mentioned in this article. Your imagination is your only limit. Now that you decided on your subject matter it’s time to determine the amount of time between exposures.  Below is a guide to get you a started.  There are really no absolute rules so experiment with different intervals.

1 second intervals – traffic, people moving, fast-moving clouds

2 – 5  seconds intervals – sunrises, sunsets, slow-moving clouds

15 -30 seconds intervals – Stars in the night sky,  Sun or moon moving across the sky with no clouds, Moving shadows in buildings or the forest.

90 – 120 seconds intervals -  growing plants in a studio setting (indoors only)

Make a note of the interval time you have selected for your subject.

Frame rate

The frame rate we are going to use is 24 frames per second.  There are many other frame rates out there but for simplicity sake. Each frame rate has its advantages and disadvantages.  Here is a list of  the most common frame rates. 12, 15, 24, 25, 30, 50.  Of these frame rates the most compatible frame rates that can be mixed and matched our 12 and 24, 15 and 30, 25 and 50.

How many exposures

Number of exposures required for a video clip.  We are to start off assuming our end movie is going to be 24 frames per  second.  As this is the framework that the motion picture industry uses and produces the most aesthetically pleasing results. At 24 frames per second you will need  360  photographs to produce a 15 second time-lapse video clip. for a 30  second 720 photographs.  Time required to shoot a 15 second time-lapse sequence. This is the minimum recommended amount of time you should use for a time-lapse clip. for different lengths and frame rates the formula is as follows: frame rate multiplied by number of seconds in clip equals number of exposures required.

Make a note of how many exposures in your time-lapse clip.

How long will it take

Once you have figured out how many photographs you will need for your 15 second time-lapse clip. you can determine how long it is going to take to shoot that sequence. The formula to calculate this is: Intervals time multiplied by number of exposures  divided by 60 equals number of minutes required or  divide by 3600 equals number of hours required.

below are examples of several scenarios with different interval times using the formula above.

At  a 1 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 6  minutes.

At  a 2 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 12  minutes.

At  a 5 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 30  minutes.

At  a 10 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 1 Hour.

At  a 30 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 3  Hours.

At  a 90 second interval – Your 15 second time-lapse sequence will take 9  Hours.

Make a note of how long it will take to shoot your sequence. (This is important)

Exposure Setup

ISO

Set your ISO as low as possible to prevent noise.  Night shots may require a higher ISO.

Shutter speed

You want to have a shutter speed around 1/30 of a second or longer if possible. You can use a neutral density filter for daytime shooting to get a longer shutter speed.  This will minimize the Flickr effect after you put the movie together.  The less than 1/30  of a second or longer rule seems sort of counterintuitive to photography in getting sharp images. But the little bit of blur you get in the moving objects allow the final project to have a more natural smooth look.

Aperture

Some say to use a wide open aperture. looking at this scenario it works great for low light or evening photography but during the bright sunny day it is nearly impossible to achieve these settings without using a neutral density filter. I use a ND 1.8 which i already have that subtracts 6 f-stops.  But a better choice might be the 3.0 which will subtract 10 f-stops.  I like to set mine to around F8 or F11 to get the best image quality and increase the depth of field in my subject.

White balance

In raw file format white balance will be set in post processing. I use a white balance card and photograph the first photograph in the sequence and last photograph in the sequence for a white balance reference in post processing.  If you use the JPEG format you will have to set your white balance to the appropriate setting for your light conditions. Do not use auto white balance.

Test shot

Take a test exposure and use your histogram to determine whether you have a properly exposed photograph. the histogram should be as far to the left as possible without clipping on the left. Adjust exposure if required and take another test exposure until your exposure is correct. This step is important because you spending a lot of time shooting a sequence and you want the best exposure you can get. here is an article on using your histogram tools for better exposure.

Time to shoot

Now it’s time to shoot your sequence. With your camera firmly supported on a tripod and connected to your interval timer, set up your interval time, compose your subject,  set your ISO, shutter speed and aperture to a proper exposure,  focus your camera. raw format shooters should hold up your white balance card on the first and last shots in your sequence as a white balance  reference.  You can remove them later in post processing. Set your kitchen timer or stopwatch  to the amount of time required to shoot your entire sequence. Now start your sequence and start your timer.  do not disturb your camera or tripod during the entire sequence of shots. Sit down in your chair and be patient. Read a good book or just enjoy the scenery. When the timer goes off your sequences complete.

It may take 8 to 10 or more sequences of different subjects to put together a short 3 minute time-lapse video.

Star time-lapse photography

If you are shooting stars and do not want to see the star trails or streaks you see in many long exposed photographs.  You can use the rule of 600 to determine the maximum exposure time for your particular focal length of your lens. To calculate this. take the number 600  and divided by  the focal length of the lens you’re going to use.  example:  600/12mm = 50 seconds or less  To get stars without tails, A 24mm lens would be 25 seconds or less and 50mm  lens would be 12 seconds or less.

I hope this helps you in your pursuit of time-lapse photography. Even if you never shoot a time-lapse video. I hope this article gives you a great appreciation of the time and effort it takes to put one of these videos together. It can take many hours or even days of shooting and processing just to create a short 3 minute video. In my next article I will be discussing how to processing these individual photographs into a video clip and how to  assemble them into a short video.  The Software I used to produce my time lapse video is Adobe Lightroom 4,  LRtimelapse 2 and Photodex Proshow gold. I highly recommend the e-book LRtimelapse listed below as a comprehensive and complete resource to learn more about how to shoot and process time-lapse videos.

 Books on time-lapse photography

LRtimelapse e-book Click here to view more details

EBook: Shoot and Create Timelapse Videos Using Your DSLR Camera

Visit PhotoZ Press on more Articles  on Time Lapse Photography

Visit PhotoZ TV to view Videos on Time Lapse Photography