[Andrew Hoag]

I just had EUREKA moment I’m quite excited about that leverages several different tools…

The first step is getting a rough match between the image sequence layers using scale, position, rotation – and in some cases Optics Compensation.

However the tool that really seems to be saving the day here is the Puppet tool. By placing several pins on the layer I’m able to match details to the layer below. I am getting some warping on the edges of my frame, however this is all being squashed from full RAW (5616 x 3744) to a 1920×1080 comp, so I’m able to crop effectively.

I also have found that your warp stabilization technique does seem to ease the transitions – so I’ll most likely apply on final output.

Thanks for all your help!

[Andrew Hoag]

Blaise,

I believe that this issue is not about stabilizing footage. The time lapses were all shot on a very sturdy tripod from a similar location each time, and slight framing issues can be corrected with simple position adjustments for each week’s image sequence layer in AE.

The issue I’m encountering is almost entirely due to variation in lens distortion between weeks. When I use the auto-align layers function in photoshop, a single shot from each week’s timelapse can all be aligned perfectly, giving me the final result I’m looking for (except for only a 1 frame for each week – not all 60 frames I need for each week’s timelapse).

I’ve also attached an image of my timeline setup to add further clarity. I’m really trying to figure out what tools can be used (similar to the auto-align function in Photoshop) within After Effects to properly compensate for these variations. I’ve had limited success with CC Lens and Optics Compensation, but even that is dodgy. Since I have had perfect success using Photoshop’s Auto-Align feature, I feel this is entirely possible. However, PS is just not efficient at applying this process to the 600 frames needed per time lapse.

Thanks for thinking through this with me.

[Andrew Hoag]

Blaise,

Wish it were that easy! I’ve attached a lo-res reference video to illustrate exactly what’s going on here. Each cross dissolve here represents the change between Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3… etc. As you can see there are slight variations in the shot and I’m trying to smooth those out!

https://reels.creativecow.net/film/long-term-time-lapse-align-test

Obviously the renovations themselves are going to provide significant change between weeks, but aligining things like the corners of walls should be possible. However as mentioned before the slight variants in lens distortion between weeks is making the task difficult.

Thanks,

Andrew