Filming a timelapse....

[mattlad564]

Hi all,

 

I have a large set up next week that will be over several hours. The person I will be working with and I thought it would be quite cool to film a time lapse of it all happening.

 

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to a good way to do this. Due to the time scale I think that recording to a laptop will be best for the storage capabilities but am not sure of the best way to do so.

 

Many thanks,

 

Matthew

 

 

 

[Dave m]

If you know anybody with a goPro or similar, they can do it.

I have a cheap Chinese knock off and a couple of goPros.

 

You can download a simple programme from the net to stitch them together.

 

If you only have a video camera, you can set it up to record the whole thing, then import it and speed it up.

that's a bit clonky.

 

a DSLR can be used.

 

There are apps for mobile and iPads - some are free.

 

security needs to be addressed, as does battery.

[jmdh]

Hi all,

 

I have a large set up next week that will be over several hours. The person I will be working with and I thought it would be quite cool to film a time lapse of it all happening.

 

I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to a good way to do this. Due to the time scale I think that recording to a laptop will be best for the storage capabilities but am not sure of the best way to do so.

 

Many thanks,

 

Matthew

 

 

 

 

I was thinking of using my GoPro (with built in time-lapse mode) for simple time lapse photography of getins, but I haven't actually got around to that yet. No need for a vast amount of storage as you don't need to record full motion video. You can set the go-pro to record at intervals of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 5.0, 10, 30, 60 seconds - work out how many frames at 25fps you want, then calculate the best setting for the length of the event.

 

 

Most DSLRs can be controlled by either built-in or external triggers - I've used http://www.amazon.co...duct/B00345XKV4 with my EOS 1000D, for example.

[mattlad564]

Hi guys,

 

 

thanks for the replies

 

I have access to a Panasonic HC-V550 video camera, or a kinda cheap 14mp digital camera, and also a laptop, do you know of a way to do it with kit like this?

 

Security wont be an issue as will be able to have it locked in our lighting box which has a great view over the area.

 

The issue ill have with doing it off something like an ipad is the memory requirements.

 

 

I was thinking that people would recommend a GoPro, might need to see if I can borrow one for the event as it seems it might be the easiest way, but is there a way to have them plugged into power and filming?

 

Thanks,

 

Matthew

 

 

 

 

[timsabre]

If you have an android phone the free version of Framelapse is good, but it keeps the screen turned on so you need to plug in a charger. You will also need some way of holding the phone in the correct position, the first time I tried to hold it with blu-tack only to find it had slowly fallen over onto its back when I came back to it - interesting movement effect on the timelapse but not what I wanted.

[jmdh]

Hi guys,

 

 

thanks for the replies

 

I have access to a Panasonic HC-V550 video camera, or a kinda cheap 14mp digital camera, and also a laptop, do you know of a way to do it with kit like this?

 

Security wont be an issue as will be able to have it locked in our lighting box which has a great view over the area.

 

The issue ill have with doing it off something like an ipad is the memory requirements.

 

 

I was thinking that people would recommend a GoPro, might need to see if I can borrow one for the event as it seems it might be the easiest way, but is there a way to have them plugged into power and filming?

 

Thanks,

 

Matthew

 

 

 

 

 

According to the manual at ftp://ftp.panasonic.com/camcorder/om/hc-v550_hc-v250_en_advanced_om.pdf the HC-V550 has a built-in time-lapse mode.

[mattlad564]

Thanks,

 

I managed to skip right past that in the manual.

 

Thanks for the help

 

Matthew

[Cameroon]

You can do timelapse relatively easy on an iPhone, built into the latest update camera. If not there are various apps you can get both free and paid. Won't look as great as a real camera but still works for something easy. Just remember to plug the charger in!

[ImagineerTom]

We use the Swann Outback Cam (http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/swann-outbackcam-n53kg) it's an impressive little unit that can be programmed to time-lapse film based on movement detection, specific operating hours, light levels and all sorts of other useful features (so you just leave it switched on 24/7 and you don't end up with huge chunks of inactivity being recorded) - the interface is a little odd to get your head around but once you have then it's a great little unit.

[the kid]

There is a bit of freeware you can get that will contorl your DSLR via USB and will direct upload to your laptop which is good. it does keep the camera on so battery time is about 3 hours or so.

 

When I did timelapse I did 1 frame per 60 seconds for about 90 hours ish (not non stop) and got a good 2 mins of run time. I did however play with the edit, take out lunch breaks, slow down focus and plot cause it looks nicer.

 

[richard_cooper]

A few years back I picked up a Brinno TLC200 dedicated time-lapse camera, which can be picked up for ~£90. Not the absolute best quality but really easy to use, point, set your interval, and go. Spits out an AVI onto the SD Card.Has a tripod mount despite odd form factor. Batteries last forever. As I kept being asked for these things it has come in real handy over the years!

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brinno-TLC200-Green-TLC200-Green/dp/B006ICOK00/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448893546&sr=8-1&keywords=tlc200

 

An example:

 

https://youtu.be/ztlaQ4qsDMc

 

Richard

[bruce]

We bought a couple of ABUS time-lapse cameras, specifically for jobs like this. I’m sure we got them from CPC or Farnell, although I don’t see them on the catalogue now. But Ebay and Amazon have them.

 

Cheap and cheerful, but do the job.

 

Completely self contained, battery powered, record to SD card, weatherproof. And sufficiently ugly that they’re unlikely to get stolen - they look a bit like PIR detectors. At around 50 quid each, we’ve had no qualms about leaving them gaffataped to a lamppost in the city centre for a fortnight....

[mattlad564]

Thanks all for the replies.

 

I would prefer to use the camera we have, saves money and it means I can keep my phone on me at all times.

 

I've worked out how to set up the timelapse on the camera, will just have to record for the time it says it can and then stop, copy to laptop, delete on camera and start again.

Unless there is a piece of software that works for camcorders as well as dSLR??

 

Many thanks

 

Matthew

[alistermorton]

Webcam on a laptop? That's what our chief set constructor uses for time lapsing the get outs.

[MarkPAman]

I've worked out how to set up the timelapse on the camera.

 

If it's got a time-lapse setting then memory should be no problem unless you want the finished project to last for hours!

 

If you record using a time-lapse setting, then the memory needed will be what the finished film needs. For example, ten hours recorded at 1 fps uses the same amount space as one hour at 10 fps, and both will play back in 25 minutes. So you only need enough memory for 25 minutes.

 

If you record in "real" time and then speed it up in editing (or playback) then you will need the large memory space.