Ett av de mest dynamiska sätten att lägga till effekt och omedelbart förmedla tidens gång i videor är genom att filma timelapses. I den här handledningen utforskar vi de viktigaste valen du har för att fotografera och redigera timelapse-videor för att säkerställa att de kommer att ge en professionell, visuell kraft.
Vad du kommer att lära dig
- Valet mellan att ta stillbilder eller video
- De beräkningar som krävs för att fotografera timelapses
- Varför hastigheten på ditt motiv är nyckeln
- De bästa tipsen för att fotografera timelapses
- Varför är kvaliteten på filmerna avgörande
- Fördelarna med stillbilder för timelapses
- Hur man ändrar vanliga videoklipp till timelapses
Vad du behöver
- En kamera med, helst, minst 1080p om inte 4K-fotograferingsalternativ
- En kamera med manuell kontroll över alla exponeringsinställningar
- Ett pålitligt kamerastöd som förblir stilla
- En kalkylator för att räkna ut nödvändiga fotograferingsinställningar
- En dator med professionell bild- och/eller videoredigeringsprogram
Timelapses är ett fantastiskt kreativt sätt att indikera tidens gång i videor, som från dag till natt, eller för att dokumentera förändringar som tidvatten som går in och ut eller en blomma som sakta öppnar sig i solljus. De används ofta kreativt i TV och filmer.
Till exempel använder den amerikanska deckarserien "Rizzoli &Isles" ofta korta timelapse-sekvenser för att betyda att en dag passerar, genom natten, till nästa dag, medan serien "House of Cards" använder timelapses i sin öppningssekvens.
Men hur ska du fotografera timelapses och vilka bästa tips och tekniker hjälper dig att ge dem mer effekt?
Stillbilder v timelapse filmlägen:hur man väljer
Traditionellt har timelapses skapats genom att ta en serie stillbilder på en kamera – ofta via en inbyggd intervallometer – och sedan redigera dem tillsammans för att skapa en bit timelapse-film. Detta ger dig kontroll över alla dina stillbildsfiler men kan vara tidskrävande om du måste arbeta med dem och redigera dem innan du skapar den sista timelapsen.
Ett alternativt alternativ som finns i vissa nuvarande kameror är en dedikerad timelapse-filmfunktion/-läge som automatiskt kan sy ihop stillbilder till en timelapse-film.
Kameror med inbyggda timelapse-filmlägen inkluderar Canon EOS 5D Mark IV och EOS 80D DSLR, Panasonic S1R och S1 fullformatskameror, Nikon D850 DSLR och många andra.
- Nikon D850 timelapse-handledning:hur man ställer in lägena Interval Shooting och Timelapse Movie
I kameror med inbyggda timelapse-filmlägen behöver du bara ställa in parametrar för intervallen mellan varje bild, antalet bilder (det maximala tillgängliga antalet kommer att variera beroende på kameran) och hur lång du vill att den slutliga filmen ska vara, med andra ord uppspelningstiden.
Timelapse-filmläget bearbetar den till en hel film och sparar resultatet som en videofil. The down side with this mode is it doesn’t save images as separate files during recording so you have no control over editing individual images.
There are also timelapse specific outdoor cameras such as the Brinno TLC200, which simply requires you to turn it on, set your interval, pick your subject, record and then replay your timelapse videos in-camera.
7 key tips for timelapse videos
There are certain technical considerations and parameters that you need to remember for shooting timelapses:
- As you’re creating a video, for every one second of video you’ll need to capture between 24 and 30 frames. For example, if you’re shooting 12 hours of timelapse and you take a still every minute you’ll end up with 720 still images and, at 24fps, you’ll get a 30 second timelapse. It’s best to plan how long you’d like your final timelapse clip to be and then you can do the maths to work out how best to shoot it.
- You must always consider the speed of your subject when deciding on the intervals between each shot. For fast moving subjects, such as cars or people, this will probably be well under one second whilst documenting a slowly changing landscape may only require a few shots, or a few dozen shots, per day.
- Always do a series of test shots to see if your framing, exposure settings and the chosen intervals between each still image will work. I would recommend setting exposure manually, or at least using aperture priority, so you can guarantee that you retain full control of exactly what the camera will shoot when you are not behind the lens. Relying on any auto settings can cause unwanted things, like flicker, in your final timelapse footage.
- Decide on whether to shoot your stills as JPEGs or as RAW files. If you’re planning a 1080p HD movie JPEGS should be of sufficient quality but if you want your timelapse edit to be any quality above 1080p then shooting RAW files is the best option. Shooting RAW will also give you the flexibility to edit the colours in post or to zoom in or crop on the original image files. This is simply because RAW image files ‘hold’ more information and thus will give you more flexibility at the editing stage.
- If your camera gives you the option to select a 16:9 shooting ratio it’s probably best to do so – this is the traditional cinema ratio, so the result will look more natural in a movie edit.
- A steady camera is essential for timelapses, so always use a tripod. Check to make sure it is level before setting your camera to shoot so you avoid having to straighten out any footage in post-production.
- If your camera doesn’t have an intervalometer or a built-in timelapse video function you should consider using an external remote controller for your camera or even an interval shooting app. There are a few apps available for cameras and smartphones, so just check which one is compatible with your camera or phone. Examples of such apps include Framelapse, Lapse It, Hyperlapse and iMotion.
Quality of footage &exposure length
As mentioned earlier many modern cameras offer timelapse shooting functions but, up until a couple of years ago, the downside of this was that their maximum footage resolution is just 1080p. You must decide on the quality of final footage you want before choosing such a mode or opting to shoot higher res stills and edit them together in post.
The other factor to weight up when considering to shoot stills or video for timelapses is that stills will offer you the flexibility to play with exposure times. As mentioned, shooting video means you must shoot at least 24 frames per second, so no exposure can be longer than 1/24th of a second.
In contrast shooting stills gives the flexibility to shoot longer exposures and, as a direct result, you’ll potentially get timelapses with much more impact, such as star trails or car headlights at night.
How to change standard video clips to timelapses
Whilst the advice and tips mentioned earlier in this blog are the ‘traditional’ ways of shooting timelapses, there is another way… converting standard video clips into a timelapse. Many desktop video-editing suites will allow you to convert a standard clip into a timelapse movie.
For example, in Adobe Premiere Pro, you can adjust the frame rate of a standard video clip in a way that does so by ‘posterizing’ or separating the frames. So, you could adjust a 24fps video to, say, 1fps, which will give a more ‘jumpy’ effect.
You then need to adjust the clip speed/duration (say 800%) of each frame upwards so as to alter the time between each frame, in this case eight times faster. You can experiment with the speed so you get the best look out of your clip. This speed adjustment will result in a sort of stop-motion or timelapse/hyperlapse effect.
If you decide to try this route it’s best to work with clips of around one minute in length and upwards so that you have more information to work with, otherwise you could end up with a very short timelapse clip.
Keep experimenting
Like many choices when shooting video footage you have to marry up the practical side of camera settings and what you want the creative, final result to be. If you’re a newcomer to shooting timelapses it’s perhaps best to start simple and shoot a flower opening. You can then expand this to day to night timelapses and those of moving subjects.
Whatever option you choose for shooting timelapses if you follow the tips outlined above and choose a great subject you should, hopefully, end up with a great piece of timelapse footage. Keep experimenting with different subjects, different lighting situations and different camera settings and you should quickly end up with some timelapses with that are full of visual impact and tell a story.