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Time “lapsing” in Final Cut Express HD
Hey guys Ive been really interested in shooting time lapse scenes lately and was wondering if anyone knew of a good workflow to achieve this in Final Cut Express HD. Right now all I have been doing is capturing my HD footage from my Sony HDR FX1 and then speeding it up a certain percentage. That though, takes a long time seeing that I have to re render everytime I speed something up past 200 percent. I just want to avoid importing my footage into iMovie to do it. I know iMovie has a time lapse function but I have yet to use iMovie HD so I dont know if this is good or now. Thanks everyone
Bones
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3 Replies
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A video camera’s built-in “time-lapse” effect is not smooth at all (the way we are used to seeing it.)
In FILM time-lapse, only one or two FRAMES are exposed at a time (calculated on the length of the end-result desired.)
This gives a very smooth look to the completed sequence (and the illusion of the actual event merely speeding up.)
In-camera VIDEO “time-lapse” (using timed SECTIONS of recording, not single frames) yield a “start-stop” jerky pattern on playback.
If this is OK for your purposes, got for it!But, it is quite possible to EDIT-DOWN from a tape that was recorded in this start-stop manner to create the 1 or 2-frame smooth finished look of a film.
(In FCP, capture the tape and edit out all but 1 or 2 frames per “exposure.”)
The real difference is in how you set up the shoot.
You will need to make far more “exposures” over the 12 hours because your edit would “eat-up” 15 (2-frame) or 30 (1-frame) clips per SECOND of finished work so you need to decide how LONG the finished work needs to be. (There’s that math stuff again.)There is also computer software that will “record” smooth single-frame time-lapse from your FireWire camera direct to a laptop or tower computer’s hard-drive (don’t need to use tape in the camera at all.)
Here’s a link for one such (Mac) product:Do a Google search for more info.
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You might want to look into using a digital still camera for this. Some cameras have a built-in intervalometer feature, or an optional remote that enables that feature, or you may need to buy or rent a separate intervalometer to connect to the camera.
Arnie
Now in post: Peristroika, a film by Slava Tsukerman
https://www.arniepix.com/blog -
I’ll second this, use a still camera. Results are far more flexible and controllable. google time lapse and timelapse to find dozens of helpful sites.
The two things you must master: exposer control and focus control.bogiesan
This is my standard sigfile so do not take it personally: “For crying out loud, read the freakin’ manual.”
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