How do you shoot time lapse footage?

[Mark Farnik]

I have a question for all of you chasers out there who shoot fantastic time lapse footage: how do ya do it? I'm getting a Sony TRV900 camcorder shortly, and I would like to know everything about how to do time lapse footage. I eagerly anticipate your replies. Thanx ahead of time to all who reply.

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

1)Tripod Tripod Tripod...
2)set focus to infinity.
3) Zoom out... (won't have to pan as much)
4) Try and keep powerlines/ distracting objects out of the frame.

Aaron

 

[David Drummond]

I don't know Aaron, I personally find tripods hard to focus. I prefer to use a camera instead. heh

 

[Aaron Kennedy]

I'm confused? :blink: Get a sturdy tripod so the camera jiggles less in the wind.

 

[David Drummond]

I'm confused? :blink: Get a sturdy tripod so the camera jiggles less in the wind.
[/b]

It was a joke dude...never mind.

 

[Bill Hark]

I usually just let the tape run in real time. Later, I speed the footage using Adobe Premiere. There is also a low tech approach where one uses fast forward while outputting to another device ie a VCR. This method gives more digital artifacts but is usable with a digital camcorder. It can't be done with an analog camcorder becomes lines appear on the footage.

Many cameras have a time lapse function including the ?TRV900 where a single frame is shot over a specific interval of time. This allows much longer time lapse sequences but short events such as a lightning strike are missed.

Bill Hark

 

[fplowman]

Bill is right.. put it on a tripod, Let her roll.. Then in post editing.. speed your footage up..

You will then have footage of a half hour or however long you shot the footage that you will speed up in the editing process.. Thus a one or two minute clip or whatever useable footage you decide in post... Make sense?

 

[Greg Stumpf]

4) Try and keep powerlines/ distracting objects out of the frame.[/b]

Sometimes these are good to have in the frame, as a point of reference for photogrammetry.

 

[Tony Perkins]

In the case where you have a PC/laptop nearby with a firewire connection to your camera, you can use the free program WinDV to capture directly in "every nth frame" timelapse mode. This is great for lapses that go longer than a tape's length. It's a more useful scenario for shooting out a window at home than on the road.

 

[Bobby Eddins]

I've found that if you want it to be really smooth you need to turn the "Steady Shot" off. Especially if there's any wind. When sped up it will actually generate some movement as the "Steady Shot" smoothes any vibration out.