Convert normal rate video to Time Lapse look

[Steve Kasian]

lol! This was an awesome thread. Oh the irony! 😉

Well, to me the funniest thing here is this insistence that “time lapse” is defined specifically with <1 image per duration of time> as it’s standard… when, in fact, it simply means speeding up a recorded scene.

When working with video footage, “speeding up” the footage makes the software automatically calculate which individual images it needs to create the final video footage. It’s the exact same thing, except the computer is doing all the work for you. 😉 No difference!

So speed up your video footage all day long!! And you’ll really, truly be creating genuine “proper” Time-Lapse Photography!!! 😀

[Stephen Curry]

OK then maybe the terminology used was inaccurate.

maybe its more a stop-motion effect that is what is being looked for.

but what I and others have been seeking is a way to duplicate a visual effect, (possibly with a script) where you can designate that AE pull every X frame from a video clip to create this effect.

[Jesse Mcallister]

This thread is too complicated.

I will *try* to simplify.

Let’s clarify some things:
1) Time-lapse and stop-motion are not the same, although they are similar in effect.
2) Time-lapse is combining a set of frames taken at an interval into a video, when played at normal speed it gives the effect of time passing quickly. Events between frames will appear to be skipped.
3) The primary concern of this thread is to provide the effect of time-lapse using a video as a source.

The confusion:
Many replies have included the suggestion of time remapping, or a similar effect. This is the correct answer, although if you are not aware of how this works, it can seem confusing or even provide an undesired effect if done incorrectly. The undesired effect is that the original video will be sped up, you will still see all of the original frames and will not get a time-lapse (appearance of time skipped between frames).

Let’s explain the confusion:
A 2 minute video recorded at 30 frames per second (FPS) has 3600 frames (2 minutes * 60 seconds * 30 frames per second).

If you remap time incorrectly, it’s possible you will play 3600 frames over 1 minute, this would result in a 60 second video played at 60 frames per second (60 seconds * 60 frames per second = 3600 frames). The video will still display all of the frames from the original video at a faster speed, which is not the desired effect.

If you remap time correctly, you will play less frames at the same frame rate. This means you will skip frames, action between frames will be missing and you will get the desired effect. If you remap time from 120 seconds at 30 frames per second, to 60 seconds at 30 frames per second, the resulting video will skip every other frame. This may not be as aggressive as you want, so let’s remap time from 120 seconds at 30 frames per second to 15 seconds at 30 frames per second. Instead of playing 3600 frames over 120 seconds, we’ll play 450 frames over 30 seconds, skipping every 8th frame. (Note that the software removes the frames for you, so you just need to use some basic math if you want a specific interval)

Most editing software allows you to re-map time, you must pay attention to the options and ensure the frame rate (frames per second) remains the same before and after remapping time. You will also want to ensure any form frame blending is disabled, or you will get time-lapse with a weird transition between frames.

Thanks to Michael Szalapski, Alan Johnston, Dave LaRonde, Darby Edelen, Dmitry Pavlovsky, Bella Gavelin, Khursheed Fateh, Alyssa Barrett and Steve Kasian for providing the right answers.

[Stephen Curry]

Thank you,

you have accurately articulated exactly what I want and what Ive been asking for from the beginnings of this thread.

However, I wish to be able to do this in AE and I am not sure how to do this and was hoping for a step by step guide.

It seems it would be a simple operation but just not an obvious one to people such as myself who know enough about AE to tweak some things but otherwise not very proficient.

Thanks again
Stephen

[Jesse Mcallister]

The process for After Effects has been described in a number of posts, use the Posterize Time effect.

For a step by step guide, here is a video demonstrating the process: https://vimeo.com/44574403#at=82. The narrator describes this incorrectly as a stop motion effect, again the effects are technically different but can easily be confused.

The sample material used in the video doesn’t demonstrate the effect perfectly, but it is the common way to skip frames in a video giving you the time lapse effect.

[Jesse Mcallister]

Correction: “Instead of playing 3600 frames over 120 seconds, we’ll play 450 frames over 30 seconds, skipping every 8th frame”

Should read: “Instead of playing 3600 frames over 120 seconds, we’ll play 450 frames over 15 seconds, skipping every 8th frame”

I accidentally typed 30 instead of 15, it doesn’t alter the point, just incorrect math.

[Joseph Eulo]

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How to Convert a Video into a Time Lapse from Northwest Films on Vimeo.

[Stephen Curry]

Thanks Joseph, thats a great work around using another product.

Still seems to me that the brains at Adobe could come up with some sort of script or built in tool that allows you to tell AE to pluck out every 12 frame from a video clip and voila there’s your faux timelapse.

Seems a super simple concept to me, but go figure.

Thanks again for the great idea.

Steph

[Dave Applesmith]

BAHAHAHA this thread is hilarious.

I’m honestly shocked by how long this thread has been here and nobody has said this..

Stephen, this is a good question, obviously you’re not the only one who’s confused by this.

When you speed up your clip in the timeline(doesn’t matter what program you are using) the playback engine IS removing the frames in EXACTLY the way you are describing. When the program renders your video so that you can watch it, it’s rendering it down to 24/30fps (depending on your settings). Remember that your screen isn’t even capable of displaying images faster than 60fps..

I’m not even going to get into frame interpolation here… lets save that for next week’s lesson. Just know that you shouldn’t be speeding the footage up by fractions. Use percentages that are multiples of 100. 100%, 200%, 300% etc.. Trust me, anything else will look bad and it will take a LOT longer to render.

If you want your time-lapse to look choppy – NOT SURE WHY YOU WOULD WANT THIS LOOK – reduce your output frame rate. Something like 15fps should produce the look you’re going for.

HOWEVER, if you want your timelapse to look authentic read this:
When people take time-lapse footage, they are typically using a VERY slow shutter speed. Depending on the subject the shutter can be open for as long as 15-30 seconds!! With a shutter speed of 15 seconds you will be getting a TON of motion blur (think of the long streaks of light as a cars whip past the camera).

Thankfully it’s a lot easier to create motion blur than it is to remove it! You can even do this right inside of Premiere Pro! (or after effects if you insist on having a backwards workflow…)

Here’s a 30 second TUT that explains the process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-MDGovsRNw

TL;DR:
Right click the clip in timeline and speed up the footage using “Speed/Duration” effect.
THEN right click on clip again and select frame blending.
Voila…

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[Jason Ke]

The best way to do fake a hyperlapse / timelapse using video instead of photos is to
1. trim unnecessary parts of your timeline and apply a warp stabiliser effect (after that, you might precompose)
2. apply a posterize time effect (change the frame rate to 1-15fps since this range gives you the best result if you want the fast motion)
3.speed up your footage by using time stretch (the stretching factor depends on how long you want the footage to be) 4.apply motion blur (normally the built-in motion blur wont be helpful so apply a cc motion blur or RMBS)

Theses are the basic steps to achieve such a fake hyperlapse effect and in pre-poduction process, if there is extra stabilization, you can get a better look in post.

You can take a peek at the following link:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Filmmakers/duplicates/4an1qj/fake_longexposure_hyperlapse_by_shooting_video/

Other methods mentioned such as time remapping are not technically called hyperlapse or timelapse since they are merely sped up and they looks smooth and real.