Time Lapse Techniques in Making a Video
As a videographer, I am usually attempting to efficiently tell a story. I have found that one of the most high quality storytelling tools in video production is the time lapse.
With a time lapse you can compress a lengthy and static event into a brief enticing clip. An advantageous use of a time lapse is a party like the clip under where people mingle around however do not do anything too fascinating to capture as video clip. As a single video shot this would be as fascinating as looking at grass grow. However, when compressed into about 3-5 seconds the clip is engaging, and it tells a story besides boring the viewer.
When making a time lapse there are few things to consider. First, what is it that we prefer to focus on. The picture that we prefer the viewer to lock on have to be still or slowly progressing/regressing. On the other hand, the figures or characters moving around will be moving quickly and so we prefer to blur them out. In this type of video production this is carried out via motion blur with the use of a slow shutter speed. The shutter speed in the above referred to video clip was set at 1/3 sec and we get a ghosting effect of the people. Hence, the viewer perceives the activity however is targeted on the aesthetics of the room and humans who are still or moving slow.
Another essential factor to think about is movement. As mentioned earlier, repetitive movements like people mingling around have to be blurred. However if we prefer to add drama to the video we can slowly move the camera to the point of focus or we can slowly move around the object like here. The movement be simply above the threshold of being seen because this kind of movement is fine if it is felt rather than seen.
The slow dramatic motion of the camera in a time lapse is carried out by using a mechanized slider. The slider moves the camera step by step from start to finish point every time a image is being taken.
As a videographer and a filmmaker, I do not usually set up a ordinary time lapse where camera takes photo over a set duration of time. Sometimes I will film a lengthy video clip knowing that I will manipulate the time. For instance, I will speed up a gimbal video clip to make the scene more dynamic. An advantage of this video creating method is that I can slow down the clip at unique moment to highlight something interesting.
There are additionally some very sophisticated time lapse strategies where the slider motion and or speed of the time lapse change over the course of time. These kinds of time lapses require cautious planning and equipment like a computerized application that can manipulate video production sliders or dollies.
