Timelapse Video

[ddrueding]

Just started playing with this. We can talk about the various methods to get a camera to take a picture every x often for y time if anyone is interested, but I want to start with the workflow.

My goal is to move as quickly as possible from a pile of a few thousand RAW images into a 4k@60fps movie.

Going from RAW to a folder of processed and resized JPG or TIFF files is easy using Adobe Bridge, RAW, and Photoshop Image Processor. Getting the output I want from Premiere has kept me stumped for days. I have the full Creative Cloud license, is there another tool that would work better?

 

[LunarMist]

Just started playing with this. We can talk about the various methods to get a camera to take a picture every x often for y time if anyone is interested, but I want to start with the workflow.

My goal is to move as quickly as possible from a pile of a few thousand RAW images into a 4k@60fps movie.

Going from RAW to a folder of processed and resized JPG or TIFF files is easy using Adobe Bridge, RAW, and Photoshop Image Processor. Getting the output I want from Premiere has kept me stumped for days. I have the full Creative Cloud license, is there another tool that would work better?

How are you controlling exposure? Is it a mirrorless camera?

 

[ddrueding]

With the DSLR I'm in full manual and using either the Canon TC-80N3 or a cable/app called triggertrap that can trigger on all kinds of neat things. Either way, no sunrise/sunset ramping there (yet). I've installed CHDK on a S110 and S95 and there are scripts there that claim to be able to do such things. Easiest is just installing an app like FrameLapse on a phone or tablet that has significant control over the camera, a connection to the internet, and a nice interface. Worst camera, best experience.

 

[LunarMist]

With the DSLR I'm in full manual and using either the Canon TC-80N3 or a cable/app called triggertrap that can trigger on all kinds of neat things. Either way, no sunrise/sunset ramping there (yet). I've installed CHDK on a S110 and S95 and there are scripts there that claim to be able to do such things. Easiest is just installing an app like FrameLapse on a phone or tablet that has significant control over the camera, a connection to the internet, and a nice interface. Worst camera, best experience.

Forget Canon, look at a good 4K MILC system. Sometimes Ithinkyouprefer to reinvent thewheel.

 

[ddrueding]

Sometimes I prefer not to buy another camera

Making good progress, just trying to find a way to take more than one picture a second. The TC-80N3 won't do it, but triggertrap will. Also need to get a better selection of ND filters, much better results can be had when the exposure time is as close to the shooting interval as possible.

Lunar, have you done any of these?

 

[ddrueding]

And on top of that, Premiere won't let me set H.264 to 3840x2160@60, saying the profile is too low, even after I up the bitrate. The Googles do nothing. Blah.

 

[LunarMist]

Inever got past the slightly uneven exposures from thediaphragm. Has Canonsolved that or do you shoot wide open or use adapted Nikkors?
Rent a Sony.

 

[snowhiker]

I believe my Nikon will just combine all the intervalometer / time-laspe images into a MOV file? Probably just JPG images combined though. Do the Canon bodies have the same functionality?

Do you actually need a string of huge-sized RAW images joined? Would JPG be good enough?

 

[Stereodude]

And on top of that, Premiere won't let me set H.264 to 3840x2160@60, saying the profile is too low, even after I up the bitrate. The Googles do nothing. Blah.

What profile and level are you using? You need to use at least level 5.2 for UHD @ 60FPS. Presumably you're using high profile.

 

[ddrueding]

High profile was indeed the highest setting in Adobe Media Encoder. Many people have posted this issue and I haven't found a thread with a resolution. The workaround is to set up the work space as 60FPS and your source images as 3840x2160 and just leave the setting "match source" checked. Of course, this only works if you have the bitrate set high enough, but it does work. The 7DII has a built in "Continuous Shooting" mode that can shoot as frequently as 1 sec (not faster) and has a "reduce flicker" setting that I have no idea what it does but checked it anyway. I also closed up the aperture as much as possible to try and slow the shutter (full set of NDs are on their way). Photoshop is currently chewing through this afternoons batch of images (4,131 shots, originally in RAW, being post-processed into 3840x2160 TIFF with many other corrections) before dumping to Premiere. If it works you'll see a link in this thread. If not I'll talk to you tomorrow

 

[ddrueding]

Not sure why it isn't giving a 4k option on playback, the source certainly is.

[video]https://youtu.be/nouBCEmW67E[/video]

 

[Handruin]

Not sure why it isn't giving a 4k option on playback, the source certainly is.

[video]https://youtu.be/nouBCEmW67E[/video]

That's a fun video. YouTube may not have processed the 4K video yet (I'm guessing). What is the format and codec you used to upload to YouTube of the video file?

 

[sdbardwick]

Lack of actual 4K monitor means I can't verify, but it does allow me to select 2160p and the red 4K tag shows up. Buffers like 4K on my connection.
HTML5 via Epic browser

 

[ddrueding]

That's a fun video. YouTube may not have processed the 4K video yet (I'm guessing). What is the format and codec you used to upload to YouTube of the video file?

h.264, 5.2 profile, 30MB ABR with 60MB Max, 2-pass, 3840x2160@60

Mainly just verifying the workflow before we go on vacation next week.

 

[snowhiker]

Not sure why it isn't giving a 4k option on playback, the source certainly is.

[video]https://youtu.be/nouBCEmW67E[/video]

I can only select 1080p, no 2160p option.

That video is pretty much was I wanted to try but haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for sharing.

 

[jtr1962]

Just saw this. Might be one of the greatest examples of timelapse video, ever.

 

[LunarMist]

Just saw this. Might be one of the greatest examples of timelapse video, ever.

It looks awful to me. Unless that is capture on a planet with a different gravitational fields or laws of physics, the sea does not curve upwards toward the horizons. :rofl:

 

[jtr1962]

It looks awful to me. Unless that is capture on a planet with a different gravitational fields or laws of physics, the sea does not curve upwards toward the horizons. :rofl:

I can excuse the lens distortion given the content. He did mention in the comments about getting a better camera.

 

[ddrueding]

I found JeffHK about a month ago, and have enjoyed all his videos so far. Perhaps when they come for me I can take a second life at sea...

 

[time]

Awesome!

Lunar, you are nuts.

 

[Howell]

Just saw this. Might be one of the greatest examples of timelapse video, ever.

Very cool

 

[jtr1962]

Perhaps when they come for me I can take a second life at sea...

I was thinking the same thing. My great-grandfather actually was a ship's captain. Might explain why I was so awestruck watching that.

 

[Handruin]

I really enjoyed the video from JeffHK also. Not sure why Lunar is hating on it.

 

[LunarMist]

I don't hate it, but it is just not so interesting and the distortion is so terribly obvious. Maybe it would be better if they put a camera on a more interesting vessel so that there were no cargo containers in the foreground the whole time.
10 minutes is too long for this type of short.