flarione.ru → Programs

Calculation of frames in time lapse. What is time lapse - description, features and recommendations

Time lapse is a rather interesting technique, on the verge of photography and video. IN lately it has gained noticeable popularity, despite the fact that the technique itself has existed for decades. Previously, timelapse was used mainly for filming and studying slowly occurring processes and was used for scientific purposes. True, they called it by another name - time-lapse photography, interval shooting or time-lapse photography.

But let's get down to business. In short, a time lapse is a video assembled from many photographs taken at a certain interval and, as a rule, from the same point. The interval can vary from a second to several hours. It just depends on what you want to achieve in the end.

Preparing to shoot a timelapse

Preparation begins with the main thing - deciding what exactly to shoot. One of the simplest and most popular subjects, filming city life. There is always dynamics, and you can shoot from the roof of your house, or from your own window. Therefore, if you decide to practice, then you should start with a similar plot. But if you want to do something truly original and exciting, you will have to use your imagination.

The most important thing is that the final video should not be a chaotic collection of moving objects, but a full-fledged mini-film with a smooth development of events.

Time lapse about Dubai. Shooting cities is one of the most popular subjects for time-lapses

Timelapse is entirely built on the dynamics in the frame, and the dynamics are sequential. Otherwise the whole point is lost. It’s certainly possible to make a timelapse on static pictures, where nothing changes over time, but few people will be interested in it.

Therefore, before you start shooting, think three times about what kind of dynamics will be in the frame. The simplest thing that comes to mind is the movement of cars, people, clouds, and some other objects. But the dynamics may lie elsewhere. Remember the scientific videos that you probably saw in childhood, because they were all time-lapses filming physical processes - how a piece of ice turns into a puddle, how a grain sprouts and a plant appears, how the shape of an object changes over time, how a piece of bread left on the table turns into cracker, etc.

What do you need to shoot a timelapse?

Firstly the camera. Contrary to some opinions, time-lapse photography does not require a super expensive camera with a bunch of accessories. No, of course, those who are engaged in professional time-lapse filming will argue the opposite and will be right in their own way. Special devices and expensive cameras will allow you to do something special and make the photographer’s work easier. But you can shoot a timelapse with a very simple camera. It's the same as with regular photography. In order to shoot a great landscape or portrait, you don’t have to have only a top-end full-frame camera, sophisticated lighting equipment and a bunch of assistants.

So to get started you will need almost any digital camera. The main thing is that it has the ability to take pictures at a certain interval. Some time lapse manuals indicate that filming should match the video frame rate of 24 frames per second. But that's not true. Firstly, there are not many such rapid-fire cameras, and secondly, why turn time-lapse into a complete analogue of video? This makes no sense. The point of time-lapse is to fit a long process into a very short period of time. Show a whole day in the life of a city in just 10 seconds or how a plant grows not in a month, but in just a minute.

Incredibly beautiful tilapia about climbers on Everest

Another important component is the remote control to minimize possible camera shake when releasing the shutter. Ideally, a programmable remote control with a built-in timer. You can look for remote controls from both original (Canon, Nikon) and third-party manufacturers.

Some cameras have the option of time-lapse shooting directly in the camera settings. For example, Nikon d200/300/700/7000 has such an opportunity, read the instructions for your camera carefully, you may be pleasantly surprised by the presence of such an opportunity

If there is no such function, there is another way - you can look for alternative firmware for your camera that implements a similar function. For example, for Canon, such firmware is available on the website. But this is a dangerous path - since unofficial firmware from someone unknown can easily ruin your camera.

The third way is to connect the camera to a laptop or computer and control it remotely using proprietary utilities. For example Canon EOS utility. It all depends on whether your camera has the ability remote control from a computer.

If you don’t have any of this, then don’t despair. You can always just gently press the shutter release at a strictly defined interval. Yes, it is tedious, dreary, but “art requires sacrifice.” Come up with a shooting scenario where you don’t need too short an interval between frames and the task will become much easier.

One of the most essential items for time-lapse photography is a tripod. Because if the camera moves even just a little, it can lead to catastrophic consequences for the final video.

It’s also worth considering the size of the memory card, especially if you shoot in RAW and decide to create a large time-lapse of hundreds of frames.

Well, the most important thing is to have patience. Especially if you plan to shoot a timelapse somewhere outside your cozy apartment. Also take into account weather conditions, especially if you decide to shoot timelapse in winter or autumn. After all, you can simply freeze, the batteries can quickly run out in the cold, and in the fall it can suddenly rain and get the camera wet if you don’t think about how to close it in advance.

How to make a time lapse. Let's start shooting

So the easiest way.
Place the camera on a tripod and securely fasten it. We set the exposure settings to manual mode. Turn off autofocus. Disabling autofocus is very important, since with automatic focus, the camera may focus on the wrong object when shooting the next frame and you will get a “jump” in the image in the final video. It’s also worth turning off all image stabilizers, they can only be harmful when shooting from a tripod. It is better to switch the white balance to manual mode, and shoot in RAW so that later you have more opportunities for error correction.

When you're ready, take a few test shots to make sure the exposure is correct. Now the most important thing is to decide on the interval. It is difficult to give any exact recommendation here, since the interval may depend on many parameters. Starting from the scene itself, ending with weather conditions and wind speed (if clouds are one of the shooting elements).
So try and try again. For example, start by filming the scene at intervals of 1 frame every 2-5 seconds. See what happened and adjust the time. Don't do too short intervals. Remember, we are shooting time lapse, not video.

If you are shooting time lapse in low light conditions, keep in mind that the interval between frames should be at least twice as long as the shutter speed. For example, if the shutter speed is 1 second, then the interval should be at least 2 seconds.

If you are going to crop the final video to the aspect ratio adopted in the video (for example, 16:9), then learn this when composing the frame, so that after cropping, important details do not end up outside the frame.

There is one nuance called “aperture flicker”, which is expressed in a change in exposure brightness between frames and is associated with technical features implementation of aperture on modern lenses. To reduce the impact of this effect, try shooting with the aperture wide open. In addition, again, it’s worth shooting in RAW, so that if this effect occurs, you can correct the exposure programmatically in the editor.

Lastly, think about the viewer. He will be bored watching a long video if nothing particularly interesting happens in it. Keep this in mind when choosing a subject and shooting interval.

Editing a time-lapse video

The last point remains. How to make a video from all the shots taken. The first thing you need to do is look through all the frames and process the photo - do color correction, exposure correction, etc. In this case, it is important that the final image on nearby frames does not visually differ much in these parameters. If you turned up the brightness too much on one of the videos or changed the white balance too much, this will be instantly noticeable in the video.

After the entire series has been processed, you need to edit the video. Any video editing program, such as Adobe After Effects, is suitable for this. Upload pictures into the program as separate frames, add music, effects, etc. Here you will also have to experiment to achieve a good result.

And finally, one of the largest and most amazing time-lapse videos made from space, from the ISS.

Every time we travel, we bring with us gigabytes of photographs with all possible landscapes, landmarks, expressions on our faces... But undoubtedly, the beauty and charm of new places is conveyed no worse (and sometimes much better) by video. We'll tell you how to create really high-quality clips using the most interesting effects.

Time lapse

Naturally, the most popular and one of the most effective is time lapse. His secret lies in stitching frames into one accelerated story. And this is one of those effects that helps our eyes see much more. For example, with the help of time-lapse, in a few minutes you can show your loved ones back at home the sunset in the highest mountains, the ebb or flow of the tides, the arrival of a cyclone, or how exotic flowers bloom in the morning. The main thing is to choose the appropriate technique that will help you convey all the beauty and uniqueness of what is happening.

According to professional photographer Dmitry Moiseenko, who is known for his aerial panoramas, many Nikon cameras are suitable for time-lapse: D750, D610, D810, D5300 and others - even inexpensive cameras have this function. In addition, the Nikon KeyMission line of action cameras will do a good job, which will also delight you with their compactness.

“Life hack for those who shoot time-lapses: before shooting, make sure that the camera sensor is clean and there are no dust particles on it. It’s one thing to clear one photo of “garbage” in post-processing, and quite another thing to clean up, say, 750 frames. And don’t rely on auto-sync in Lightroom - according to Parkinson’s law, a speck of dust will be located on the most dynamic part of the plot,” advises Dmitry.

In general, if you are creating time lapses for the first time, try to use hackneyed (albeit beautiful) stories only for training. Look for new angles, new stories so that it is not only pleasant to look at, but also interesting (for example, stories in which the ending of the time-lapse is not obvious).

Presence effect

Agree, in moments of the highest degree of delight, we often regret that our loved ones cannot share these emotions with us. Especially when traveling. Yes, of course, photographs will later help family and friends imagine how beautiful the landscape was or how majestic that waterfall was, but only 360° shooting can provide the full effect of presence.

With the help of panoramic video, you can capture not only what you see right in front of you, but also what usually remains behind the scenes - left, right, above, etc.). Imagine how surprised your family will be after watching a panoramic video of a sunset in the mountains, climbing or descending a beautiful slope, walking along the sea... And again, the Nikon KeyMission 360 action camera remains a faithful assistant. And don't mind the small size of the gadget: weighing less than 200 grams, it creates videos in 4K UHD quality, and two ultra-wide-angle NIKKOR lenses on each side of the camera capture two images, which are then combined into one. Agree, such clips are a worthy addition to your home travel collection!

Stop, just a moment

How else can we surprise our family and friends upon returning from a trip? Of course, by making several videos with a slow motion effect. This will be especially useful if you had an active vacation: skiing or snowboarding in the mountains, conquering waves on the surf, or crossing new terrain on a skateboard. Basically there are two options: either you shoot yourself, and here again you can’t do without the KeyMission babies, which have a slow-motion function. Or you ask your companions to be cameramen and film your extreme achievements from the sidelines. Only in this case you will not be able to fully control the process, and for a full-fledged camera you may need a special case (especially on water).

Growing wings

There is another way to capture the places where you have traveled for many years to come. Although this is more difficult, at least physically, believe me that a high-quality aerial panorama will cause genuine childish delight in the audience. One of the main conditions is the desire to get up early at least several times during the trip and hunt for light. “The main quality for a landscape photographer and someone who takes aerial panoramas is the ability to get up early,” says Dmitry Moiseenko. - Because the most beautiful light is at sunset and dawn. The second is a sense of composition. And the third thing - which, however, often fails with me - is the vision of the foreground.”

Try to study at least a little in advance the area you want to take a panorama of. This will help you navigate the area as quickly as possible and spend most of your time shooting, rather than searching for “that” location, light, location, etc. According to Moiseenko’s experience, it’s better to shoot panoramas with a special pole or a long tripod with a level and platform , where you can install the camera in a vertical position (you will control the camera itself using the remote control).

And the lenses that, according to Dmitry, are best suited for this genre are universal for the sea and the city

Time lapse is one of the genres of videography, the essence of which is to noticeably accelerate slow processes that are invisible to the human eye. Many individual frames taken at the same interval from one point are glued together into one video. Because of this, the long process is reduced by at least an order of magnitude!

Initially, the technique of time-lapse photography was used in science. A little later, she gained popularity among professional photographers. Long preparation, painstaking filming and labor-intensive editing of the finished result - this is how the process of producing time-lapse video could be described a few years ago. Today, due to the rapid development of mobile technologies, it all comes down to installing a special application on your smartphone and searching for an idea!

What is required to create a video?

Well-prepared equipment is half the success! First of all, we need a smartphone. Any Android device is suitable, the important condition is a good camera. The quality of the final video depends on it, which is especially important when shooting in low light conditions.

Time lapse involves taking all frames from one point, the camera must be fixed, even the slightest movement is unacceptable. The tripod is the most convenient way smartphone mounts. We talked in more detail about tripods and their use in mobile photography in. Alternatively, you can mount your smartphone using a regular car holder, which every car enthusiast can find. This method is not universal, but it is suitable for shooting time-lapses with a view from the window. Be careful, glass suction cups tend to fall at the most inopportune moment - secure your smartphone. In addition to car holders, a variety of stands and docking stations are also suitable. The main condition is the ability to place the device horizontally.

Before shooting, do not forget to prepare your smartphone. First of all, make sure that there is enough space in the device memory to record a video. One minute of video in HD quality takes up approximately 100 MB of disk space - a ridiculous amount for our time, free up memory with a small margin.

The second detail is nutrition. Shooting video is an energy-consuming process; charge your smartphone battery in advance. Better yet, use a stationary power supply or an external battery in the field.

In addition, do not forget about weather conditions. Shooting in direct sunlight in calm weather can lead to overheating and damage the device. Unexpected rain will also be a surprise! Choose a shaded location that is open to the wind. If rain is forecast, take care to protect your smartphone.

The application interface is completely Russified. The main menu is divided into three tabs, in addition to the videos you shot, the best time-lapse videos from YouTube are aggregated in a separate section - a great place to look for inspiration!

The application supports two modes. The first of them, Photo Lapse, is useful when it is necessary to demonstrate how the photographed subject changes over a long period of time. The video is assembled from many individual frames, filmed at intervals of 24 hours to a week. At the same time, it is important to take photographs from approximately one point, so that the photolapse does not turn into a slide show of frames that are not related to each other. Using this technique, you can demonstrate changes in people’s physical shape and appearance over time: weight loss, the result of gaining muscle mass, pregnancy, growing up. In addition, the technique will be useful for demonstrating the construction process, plant growth, and so on. For convenience, the application will automatically remind you of the next frame depending on the selected interval.

The second mode is Video Lapse; at first glance, the interface resembles a regular video recording. The key difference lies in the additional settings. The application allows you to adjust the resolution; all modes that the smartphone records are supported. Frame interval ranges from 0.1 second to 60 seconds, acceleration is 3 and 1800 times, respectively. The shooting duration is up to 12 hours, the application does not calculate the timing of the finished video in advance, you have to figure it out in your head. Once recording begins, the display brightness is reduced to its minimum setting to save power and prevent overheating.

Framelapse- alternative to TimeSpirit. The most downloaded time-lapse recording program on Google Play.

The application is not Russified, but the interface is simple and understandable even without knowledge English language. The main menu is the viewfinder window, no additional actions, launched and immediately began recording.

Like the previous program, Framelapse records videos in all supported resolutions. The maximum possible resolution is marked as Recommended. The interval between frames can be set from 0.1 seconds to 60 seconds. It is possible to set the duration of the finished video in advance; the informant on the main screen will notify you of the time required for recording. Among other things: timer, autofocus mode change, white balance adjustment, various effects and manual exposure compensation.

A special mode helps automatically calculate the interval between frames depending on the selected recording duration and the finished video. This function is announced in the PRO version, but for some reason it also works in the free version.

If, when creating a time-lapse, the wrong interval between frames was chosen or the finished video does not have enough contrast, you will have to edit the source material. One of the easiest video editors for Android - ActionDirector from CyberLink.

The application interface looks neat and not overloaded. Unfortunately, the menu is not Russified, but mastering the program will not cause any difficulties; each function is indicated graphically.

Greetings, readers! I’m in touch with you, Timur Mustaev. Using a camera you can not only take wonderful shots, but also compose them into mini clips. Unlike photos, video allows you to capture some process or event in time.

Just shooting a video is not difficult, but do you know how to create one from many pictures? No? Then, let's talk to you about the topic, what is time lapse.

Deciphering the concept of time lapse

Timelapse is translated as “time period”. We can say that this is time-lapse photography, since the short video shows the captured processes, usually replacing each other at an accelerated pace.

This clip can be made on almost any camera, and you don’t need video mode at all. There are several ways to take such photographs:

The camera stands motionless, mounted on a tripod. It is enabled and configured accordingly. At the same time, the phenomenon itself, which is imprinted, has temporal dynamics. This could be the opening of a flower bud, the flight of a butterfly, or a sunset.
The camera is in the hands of the photographer, the author moves relative to the selected object (landscape), filming it from different sides and after the same number of seconds or minutes, even hours. It is also possible to film seasons in timelapse.
The photographer himself gets mixed up, and a certain object performs the action (in the process). That is, the previous two options are combined. This method requires more effort and thoughtful action, but can display the observed phenomenon in all its glory.

So, to carry out filming, we can be mobile, or we can be next to the camera, which takes photographs on its own.

For many remote manipulations with equipment, the control panel is very helpful, especially if the process is expected to take a long time. For example, you are sitting relaxing somewhere under a tree or minding your own business, giving the camera the necessary commands. Naturally, you cannot move far from the device, it is unsafe.

Now I’ll explain everything using a specific and very common example.

Surely you have seen on the Internet fascinating videos of beautiful places, successive beauties and at the same time clouds running so quickly.

Interesting versions also appear when shooting the same landscape throughout the day. Then we are able to observe the amazing change of morning, afternoon, and the onset of evening, and we can clearly understand how much the entire atmosphere of photography changes thanks to light.

Clip creation technology

The question of how to make a time lapse interests many. Let's take a closer look at it.

Stage one

At the first stage of working in Timelapse mode, you need to select the topic of the future video and shoot. As always, don’t forget about the appropriate settings:

We switch to manual mode, since the automation here may not work adequately due to the situation changing over time (lighting, object position, etc.).
We set the necessary parameters - the basics of a good frame.
Select the focus type. If you are shooting moving objects, then choose continuous autofocus; in other cases, single-frame autofocus will do.
Set the desired interval between photos. Typically, a long gap is preferable if the camera is filming an event that extends over time, and a short gap if the events are dynamic and occur quickly (sunrise, etc.).

Remember about such “little things” as the capacity of a flash drive. Stock up on more capacity and clean your memory card. Its occupancy rate will be greatly influenced not only total quantity photo, but also the format used.

Large format takes up a lot of space. You may not need it for the final video unless you plan to make detailed adjustments to each frame.

Second stage

Stage No. 2 – image processing. Regardless of what brand of camera you have - Canon, or maybe Nikon, as long as it is capable of taking high-quality shots, you will most likely have to retouch them.

Even professional photographers who shoot with expensive photographic equipment cannot do without it. Somewhere you need to frame something, cover something up, add a warm/cold shade, increase the contrast, and so on.

One of the main problems with photographing landscapes that can look so great on video is the harsh light difference between the surface of the earth (or water) and the sky. All these problems can be solved using any graphic editors, for example, the well-known Lightroom or Photoshop.

Stage three

The third stage is the creation of your own video clip, for which we did the previous work. Users note the Final cut pro program for editing photographic material. It is easy to use and allows us to fully realize our idea.

First, we transfer all the images to the utility. Then, using the “clip” button, we make a slide show from the photo.

To make a video, you need to use the “change duration” command, and also adjust the frame display time - 1/24 of a second.

Results

In conclusion, I would like to draw general conclusions and identify perhaps not entirely obvious facts.

Firstly, to create a video clip from a photo, the camera is not that important. You can make a decent video even when filming with your phone. The difficulty in this case is the lack of a shooting function at certain intervals, but special programs or a timer are at your service.
Secondly, use additional technical means in the form of a tripod and camera remote control. The first will provide stabilization to the device, which means picture clarity, and the second is convenient for settings at a distance and long-term shooting from a location.
Thirdly, set up correctly, take test shots.
Fourthly, the size of the video must match the capacity of the available memory card.
Fifthly, for a perfect picture, it wouldn’t hurt to slightly improve the image quality during post-processing.

These are just preparatory steps, however, completing them will greatly facilitate further video editing.

Before finishing the article, I wanted to recommend you a somewhat wonderful video course on photo processing.

Lightroom is an indispensable tool for the modern photographer. I highly recommend the course, especially for beginners who want to learn how to quickly post-process photos in Lightroom.
Photoshop from scratch in VIP 3.0 video format. If you are completely new to Photoshop, then this course is just for you. The Photoshop program is described in great detail.
Photoshop for the photographer 3.0. VIP. This course is designed for people with basic knowledge of Photoshop. Everything is shown using real examples. After studying the course, they will become so beautiful that you yourself will not recognize your photographs.

If you want to become proficient with your camera and take great photos, I recommend the following courses:

My first MIRROR- for CANON camera users.

Digital SLR for a beginner 2.0- for NIKON camera users.

Goodbye, dear friends. Appreciate the art of photography! See you again on my blog! Subscribe to updates and share with friends.

All the best to you, Timur Mustaev.

Time lapse is photographs taken sequentially, at a certain interval, and subsequently compiled into a video sequence.

Creating a timelapse involves two and a half stages:

Direct shooting.
Post-processing and mixing into video.
Publishing your masterpiece in video storages in order to show off to relatives, friends and acquaintances.

Currently, almost all SLR and mirrorless cameras, the latest generation compacts and even some smartphones have the “interval shooting” function. So, we put the article aside for a while and opened the instructions for our device in search of the treasured function.

I will show it using my Nikon D5200 as an example. Select this function:

Then we decide whether we will start taking pictures right now or at a specific time. The second point is usually used when you have the exact time of sunrise and sunset in your hands. Most often they use the first point - since we’ve already gone out to do a time-lapse, now we’ll click.

From personal experience: an interval of 1 second is most suitable for the movement of people, cars, trains, etc. An interval of 2 seconds is more optimal for cloud movement. Longer intervals in timelapse are very rare, although I have come across some. For example, filming the movement of fog over a river used an interval of 28 seconds.

The next window asks how many pictures we want to take. The calculation for this window is simple. Let's say we want to make a 10-second time-lapse video at 24 frames per second. Accordingly: 24 x 10 = 240 frames. This is exactly the number we display in this window.

Well, and finally the final window - the launch itself. When you select the “Now” option, shooting will begin 3 seconds after you click the “OK” button.

So, I think that you have already studied the instructions for your device. And, if you have discovered the “interval shooting” function, then you can breathe easy. But what if your camera is not “trained” for this?

There are two options here:

Buy this little thing called INTERVALOMETER. And it doesn’t have to be “branded” at all. Now the Chinese market supplies such a device for almost all camera models at a very reasonable price of 20-25 euros. In general, for comrades whose hands grow where they should, you can find many options for homemade intervalometers on the Internet.

This is “alternative firmware”. The thing is that device manufacturers, to reduce the cost of production, use the same chips in models of different prices and software, simply making a number of features unavailable in cheaper models. So, by installing alternative firmware, for example, on your compact, you can force it to shoot not only with an interval, but also get a number of useful functions: shooting in RAW format, creating HDR, etc., right down to simple toys and reading e-books. Canon owners can easily find alternative firmware for their models on the Internet. But owners of cameras from other companies will have to make an effort in searching, but I have seen alternative firmware for Nikon, Sony, and Samsung.

This is how professionals go out to shoot timelapses.

But we are simple people, so let's do the bare minimum. All we need is a camera and a good tripod. By “good” I mean tripods that don’t sway in a slight breeze or jump on all three legs after every click of the shutter.

Static time-lapse looks “sluggish”. Therefore, a large number of different devices (sliders) were created that move the camera from shot to shot. But their prices... Below in the article, when we look at post-processing, I will show how you can simulate movement. At the same time, we will not spend a penny from our budget.

So, we got out into the lap of nature, onto the roof, to the observation deck, to the side of the road. We set up a tripod, placed the camera on it, and chose an angle. Now is the time to talk about camera settings.

The parameters below are optional and are described here more to make your life easier and to try to avoid basic mistakes.

From personal experience: Be careful when taking time lapses from the side of the road. For some reason, all motorists passing by think that they are being photographed with their mistresses or lovers.

We switch our camera to “M” (manual) mode, i.e. completely manual installations. This is done with the goal that all time-lapse frames are the same, not subject to any cataclysms (for example, the sun has gone behind a cloud), and to avoid flickering when viewing.

If your lens has a switch between manual and auto focus, be sure to set it to “M” mode as well.

ISO. If set to AUTO, then switch to a specific value. I won’t discover America if I recommend low values of 100-200. However, I have seen night time-lapses with ISO values reaching up to 1600. Modern devices have high-quality noise reduction, so at high ISO values, do not forget to turn it on.

W.B. The white balance also needs to be switched from the AUTO value to a specific value (“sun”, “clouds”, “shadow”, etc.). Otherwise, in automatic mode, the device may make small shifts in the white balance, which will flicker when viewing the finished video.

Excerpt. When shooting during the day, short and ultra-short shutter speeds are desirable. The sharpness of moving objects is the “feature” that distinguishes time-lapses from videos. But for night photography, fairly long shutter speeds can be used. For example, when you want to show not the cars themselves, but only the trace of the headlights and turn signals.

JPG or RAW? What format should I shoot in? There is no clear answer to this question. Many people recommend using the RAW format, explaining that later, at the post-processing stage, you can correct flaws and “pull out” details. Their opponents are owners of cameras with old, slow processors and slow memory cards, since a JPG file is much smaller in size. In good lighting, I did not notice any difference in the final result of the timelapse. If you shoot in JPG format, pay attention to compression and image size. Compression should be set to minimum (quality “Excellent” or “Fine”). The final video size is 1920 x 1080 pixels. In order to have “play” during processing (cropping unnecessary things, simulating movement, correcting perspective, etc.), it is not advisable to set JPG sizes lower than 2500 x 1500 pixels.

The camera is on a tripod, the settings have been made, the focus has been manually adjusted - now it’s time to launch the “interval shooting” function (or turn on the intervalometer). Now we can have a smoke break, drink coffee or just relax.

As we have already calculated, for a 10-second video with a frequency of 24 frames/sec, we will need to take 240 frames. At an interval of 1 second, the shooting time will take 4 minutes (240 frames divided by 60 seconds). At an interval of 2 seconds, respectively 8 minutes, etc.

From personal experience: When shooting, do not move far from the device. There will always be passers-by who will definitely look into the lens - “why is he clicking there on his own?”

Phew! Filming is over! When you come home, the first thing you do when dumping the results of your work onto your computer is to remember to place a series of pictures for each time-lapse in a separate folder.

Time lapse occupies an intermediate state between photography and video. And if previously post-processing was carried out exclusively in video editors (Adobe Premiere Pro, Sony Vegas Pro, etc.), now this is also available in Adobe Photoshop, starting with version CS6. Here I will show post-processing using the example of Russian-language Adobe Photoshop CC 2014.

Open the program, select the menu: File - New... In the dialog box, in the Set drop-down list, select “Movies and videos”, and in the Size list - “HDTV 1080p/29.97”. In general, this is not necessary and you can enter all the parameters yourself, I just, for example, like the already prepared guides for the screen in this template.

And a little more about time-lapse standards. “De jure” they do not exist. So you can choose the 720p template (just for practice; if your computer is slow; or if I prefer it that way). The de facto standards for timelapses are as follows: dimensions - 1920 x 1080 pixels, frame rate - 24 per second, video compression - H264 codec.

Next, go to the menu: Window - Timeline. A panel appears at the bottom for working with video and animated GIF files. Click on the Create timeline for video button.
When working with photos in Photoshop, few people have used this panel. So let's quickly get to know her.

Return to first frame
Go to previous frame
Start video playback
Move to next frame
Muting the sound
Setting the video playback quality at the creation stage. Does not affect the final video quality in any way
Scissors. Cutting video or audio parts
Transition effects from one video to another
A slider indicating which part of the file is in at the moment displayed on the screen (can also be dragged manually)
Seconds and frames scale
Drop-down menu for this panel
This triangle opens up additional possibilities for creating effects using key frames (we will later use it to create the effect of the slider)
Additional menu for working with video
Used to add video or audio parts to the same track. Makes sense when creating slideshows and is not at all acceptable for time lapses if we want to use button 12
Menu for working with audio, also serves to add the audio track itself
Button to convert video to frame-by-frame animation
Calls up the video export (creation) dialog box
The exact time (before the frame) where the slider is currently located
Frame rate indicator
Scale for increasing/decreasing the video part in the panel

Before sclerosis torments you, it’s time to change the frame rate that was on the template (29.97) to a more standard 24 frames per second. Go to the time panel menu (button No. 11) and select Set frame rate on the timeline... In the dialog box that appears, select frame rate 24 and click OK.

Well, now that we have become acquainted with the video panel, let’s move on to the most interesting part - the actual creation of our time-lapse. Go to the menu: Layers - Video layers - New video layer from file... As a result, a standard file selection dialog box will open. We look for our folder with photos for the time lapse and select the very first file. And click the Open button.

And now we see that a new layer with a film strip icon has been created in the layers palette. Those. a set of our photographs is compiled into a video series. True, there was one “hiccup” here. Due to the fact that initially the size of the photographs exceeded the size of the finished video, naturally, everything did not fit. To transform, we need to first convert this layer into a smart object.

To do this, go to the menu: Layers - Smart Object - Convert to Smart Object. Now that's order! Press the key combination Ctrl+T to transform and reduce it to the required size, remembering to press the Shift key to maintain the proportions.

Do not reduce the width to fit the frame, leave a small piece. It is through this that we will simulate the movement of the device along the slider.

In general, if we are satisfied with everything, we can finish with processing and move on to rendering to get the finished timelapse. But that’s what’s good about processing time-lapse in Photoshop, which allows you to make the most incredible corrections to color, shape, noise reduction, etc. What’s especially pleasing here is that we’ll be doing all this with a smart object, i.e. No matter what we do here, the source files (photos) will remain intact.

In addition, all filters applied to a smart object can be called again by clicking on them in the layers palette, and you can correct what you are not happy with about them. If you want to be original, the Filter Gallery is at your service. Here is an example of using the Edge Glow filter. Well, isn't it original?

Personally, I like the Camera Raw filter introduced in Photoshop CC, which allows you to process JPG files in the same way as RAW files. In it I saturate the color of the clouds, suppress digital and color noise, correct perspective, change the temperature of the image and much, much more. If you like to do all this with the help of other filters and tools - do it! Photoshop allows this.

Finally, we got to simulating the movement of the camera on the slider. Photoshop allows you to do this in two ways: the first is completely automatic (so if our imagination runs wild, it will limit it) and the second is arbitrary (this is where we can go wild).

Let's start with something simple. When we studied the Video panel, at the end of the video layer (under number 13) there is a triangle, clicking on which will bring up the “Motion” dialog box. In the drop-down list, select “Panoramic view” and indicate the number of degrees. 0° - the clip will move from right to left, 180° - from left to right. A different number of degrees will cause the clip to move obliquely, or even vertically (-90° and 90° respectively).

But if we want our clip to first move horizontally, then vertically, and at the end turn upside down, then we cannot do without the second method. On the video panel (under No. 12) There are triangles, by clicking on which we get access to managing key frames.

Keyframes are fixed values for position, opacity, style, etc. Everything that is between them is automatically smoothly transferred from one to another by the program.

To create a key frame, you must first set the slider (No. 9) to the location you need. After that, click the stopwatch icon and change it to the value we need.

Let's look at specific example. Our slider is set to the position of the first frame. Click the stopwatch icon in the “Perspective” line. The first key frame has been created.

Let's move the slider to, say, the 5 second position. After that, we move our image to the left to the border. A second key frame is automatically created. Over the period from zero to five seconds, Photoshop will smoothly move the image from right to left.

Now we move the slider, for example, to the 7 seconds position and move our picture up. The third key frame has been created.

So, between zero and fifth seconds the image moves from right to left, and between the fifth and seventh seconds it moves from bottom to top.

In fact, time lapse does not imply audio accompaniment. But we make loved ones for ourselves.
In the video panel, in the audio recording line, call up the menu (button No. 15) and select Add audio file.

Well, and finally, let’s depict the camera “zooming in”. Set the slider to the very end, press the key combination Ctrl+T, and, holding Alt+Shift, enlarge our image proportionally. Press Enter. The last key frame has been created.

It's that simple. And you don't need any expensive sliders!

In the standard dialog box, select the track we prepared and click OK.

From personal experience: Photoshop does an excellent job with MP3 files, but for some reason it starts to cringe when you give it an AAC file.

If it is necessary to trim excess, set the slider (No. 9) to where we want to cut and press the “Scissors” button (No. 7). Select the unnecessary piece and press the Delete key on the keyboard. By the way, the video track is cut in the same way.

Now that we have everything ready, we can Export our timelapse. To do this, select the menu: File - Export - Export video (or even easier, click button No. 17 on the video panel).

Here we can change the name of the file and select the folder where it will be saved. I recommend leaving all other parameters as they are. We press the “Rendering” button and go drink coffee, smoke, watch TV. On my not the slowest computer the process takes 10 seconds. The video takes 7 minutes.

Appendix to the article or a little more mischief

Let's create the arrival of sunset in our timelapse. To do this, create a new empty layer in the layers panel and fill it with orange (#d8670c). Let's set the blending mode for this layer to “Overlay”. True, not only the clouds turned purple, but the whole picture. To fix this, add a mask to our layer. And using a large black brush (approximately 200-300 pixels) with soft edges, paint over everything that does not touch the sky. No special precision is required here.

Then we go to the video panel and open access to keyframes for this new layer. Only now we will change not “Position”, but “Opacity”. Set the slider to the beginning of the time-lapse, click on the stopwatch icon in the “Opacity” line. We have added the first key frame. We return to the layers panel and set the opacity value for this layer to 0%. We returned to the video panel, moved the slider to the end of the time-lapse and again to the layers panel - set the opacity to 100%. A second key frame has been created. Now, when playing a time-lapse, the sky from normal at the beginning will slowly turn purple towards the end.

Oh yes! They forgot that dusk comes at sunset. Add a new layer and do everything exactly the same as in the previous case. There are only two differences: we will fill the layer with dark gray color (#323232), and we can not draw the mask again, but simply copy it from the previous layer and then invert it.

So those who like to go to bed early can now not suffer from unphotographed sunsets, but can simply finish it later in Photoshop.

This is where I end and wish you success in creating brilliant time-lapses!

*A number of photographs by Colin Rich are used in this article