Time Lapse settings

[Mj882]

What would be the ideal settings for a time lapse of clouds.

The entire film will be shot in 720/24pn....180.0 shutter speed....and 24 fps.

[puredrifting]

I like clouds at one frame every 5 seconds or one frame every 10 seconds but it depends on how fast the clouds are moving.

Dan

[Mj882]

How do I go about doing these changes? Interval time is in blue and unchangeble.

[Al MacLeod]

I like clouds at one frame every 5 seconds or one frame every 10 seconds but it depends on how fast the clouds are moving.

Of course, you go through a set of tires in an afternoon for fun though...:)

[puredrifting]

Mj:

Its all there in the manual.

You cannot shoot TL in 720 24pN, you need to switch to 720 30p or 60p (assuming you want 720 footage).

Dan

[puredrifting]

Al:

I have been doing a lot of car stuff with the 2FPS frame rate hack and 350d shutter. Great driving stuff, shot sunrise coming right into downtown LA from the passenger seat through a clean windshield. Love that setting for night stuff. Unfortunately even with a Pola and the 1/64 ND on the camera, it is still too light sensitive for daylight shots, have to put on an external ND also and my Pola is a thinline B+W so no threads. And I don't want to try to use the camera with the honking matte box inside the car.

I absolutely love VFRs.

Dan

[Mj882]

Mj:

Its all there in the manual.

You cannot shoot TL in 720 24pN, you need to switch to 720 30p or 60p (assuming you want 720 footage).

Dan

Would it be fine if the entire film would be edited in a 720p 24p timeline (since every other footage will be shot in 720/24pn) and including the 720 30p or 60p time lapse shots in the same timeline.

[puredrifting]

Not sure what your post workflow is? I use the Aja Kona 3 with FCP and all three work fine under the Aja Kona 59.94 DVC Pro HD preset. Are you really in a native 24p time line or a 59.94 timeline? All three are seamless for me but YMMV depending on what application and preset you are using.

Dan

[Mj882]

I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, it looks like I can't pick a preset that covers all three.

Do you really not recommend time lapses in 24pn?

[Jimmy Moss]

I got some pretty cool results shooting the moon and clouds with the 2fps hack 350 degree shutter. You can shoot 24PN that way too instead of 30p with the time-lapse options. What puredrifting said.

[Mj882]

I got some pretty cool results shooting the moon and clouds with the 2fps hack 350 degree shutter. You can shoot 24PN that way too instead of 30p with the time-lapse options. What puredrifting said.

So are you suggesting all I change is the syncro scan to 350 shutter?

[puredrifting]

Do you really not recommend time lapses in 24pn?

Correct. The camera will not shoot TL in 24pN.

Dan

[puredrifting]

So are you suggesting all I change is the syncro scan to 350 shutter?

It depends on the look you are going for. If you want straight fast TL traditional look motion with all moving detail visible, you would not want to use a 350D shutter. When you use a 350D shutter, all moving objects will smear and look really blurry, only the still objects will look clear.

We are all calling it a hack because it is 2 fps is not a supported frame rate with the HVX/HPX, but there is a way to fool the camera by editing the scene files to go as low as 2 fps without going into TL mode.

If you want the skinny, go to YouTube and search on HVX200 frame rate hack and there will be a video that will walk you through it step by step, it's simple. I LOVE the frame rate hack but I also shoot plenty of regular TL because it has a totally different look and feel from the frame rate hack, but frame rate hack looks cool with moving objects in the frame like cars at night, planes, etc.

Dan

[Mj882]

It depends on the look you are going for. If you want straight fast TL traditional look motion with all moving detail visible, you would not want to use a 350D shutter. When you use a 350D shutter, all moving objects will smear and look really blurry, only the still objects will look clear.

We are all calling it a hack because it is 2 fps is not a supported frame rate with the HVX/HPX, but there is a way to fool the camera by editing the scene files to go as low as 2 fps without going into TL mode.

If you want the skinny, go to YouTube and search on HVX200 frame rate hack and there will be a video that will walk you through it step by step, it's simple. I LOVE the frame rate hack but I also shoot plenty of regular TL because it has a totally different look and feel from the frame rate hack, but frame rate hack looks cool with moving objects in the frame like cars at night, planes, etc.

Dan

That's great information Dan. However I just did a test shot changing the syncro scan to 350.0 but the image didn't turn out smeared and blurry. The moving objects in the frame remained looking normal. What else would I need to change to get the blurry and smeared look?

[puredrifting]

What frame rate did you shoot at? In 2, 4, 6, and 8 frames per second, it will look smeary. Obvious question, did you turn the shutter on by hitting the shutter + or - button? Did your screen display 350d shutter?

Did you implement the frame rate hack? Try 2 or 4 fps. The fun thing about the frame rate hack and 350d is you can shoot at some super low, super smeary frame rate, then put it on your timeline in FCP, then slow down the rate that the clips plays back at. If you shoot at 4 fps and playback at say 8-12 fps, it gives you this terrific ethereal look, I have been using it a lot lately.

Dan

[Mj882]

When you say frame hack, are you reffering to the Interval and One shot time? They're both in blue. Remember I'm shooting in 720/24pn..

I changed the shutter speed in the Menu>Scene File> Syncro Scan:350.0d

And the frame rate on 12, it doesn't go any lower, just default.

[puredrifting]

Mj:

No. As I mentioned, the HVX/HPX will NOT enable interval or one shot in 720 24pN mode. You have to move to 720 30p or 720 60p to enable those modes.

In regards to the frame rate hack, you have to learn to dig, root and search for stuff like this, its all out there, all you have to do is search for it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlCAA7CYTd4

If you want frame rates lower than 12 fps, you have to enable the frame rate hack or shoot TL in 720 30p or 720 60p.

Dan

[neko30]

when you guys do a time lapse shot (2 FPS) of the sun setting, for instance, do you shoot on auto- iris?

thanks...

[Mj882]

Dan,

I've switched to 720 30p and 60p....but the interval and one shot time options still remain blue, I can't change them.

[Adam74]

Make sure your using your camera in video mode. I just tried it at 60p and it works.

[Mj882]

Ah yes, I switched to video cam and it worked.

Okay, I want the traditional TL on a shot of clouds. I've switched to video cam mode, so now interval and one shot time options are available.

I'm in 720/60p, should I choose interval or one-shot? What do you recommend would be the best for the interval or one-shot time for the TL.

I don't want the blurred, smeared look, so what should the shutter speed be? I'm guessing 1/60?

[Mj882]

I just shot some test footage, in 720/60p....Interval: 5F....shutter speed: 1/6000....ilooks pretty nice. Although, I was expecting a little more detail. The camera's aperture is on f/4.0-f/.48....didn't need to use the ND filters with the 1/6000 shutter speed.

Going to experiment with the other shutter speed and interval settings in a bit.

[puredrifting]

One shot is for manual animation, the camera will only shoot a single frame per press of the record button.

You should buy some external ND filters if you are averse to using the camera's internal ND filters, 1/6000 of a second shutter is too fast plus you really want to operate a cheap lens like these camera have in their "sweet spot" whenever possible. The sweet spot on the HVX/HPX lens would be f5.6 or an f8 split. Since you are shooting distant objects, you would actually lose resolution from the artifacts of diffraction at around f11. If you are open too wide, you are losing sharpness because most cheap lenses don't look good at wider apertures.

Yes, the standard shutter rate at 720 30 or 60P would be 1/60th or perhaps 1/50th if you have a PAL camera? Which model of camera are you using, is it a 171?

Dan

[Mj882]

I've just reviewed the footage. I also shot 10F for interval. I wasn't overly impressed with the footage, so clearly I'm not doing something right. It didn't look too different from when I would shoot 12 fps and speed up a little in post-production.

I'll take the sweet spot into account for next time. So if 1/6000 is too fast, what shutter speed do you recommend for the clear+detailed TL look.

I have the 171.

All of this was done with a Letus adapter by the way.

[puredrifting]

Hi:

I am confused, you shot 10 frames per second or one frame every 10 seconds or ??

For shutter speeds, I usually shoot 1/30th or 1/60th of a second. Using super high shutter speeds might give your footage a sort of unflattering look because there will be absolutlely zero shutter or subject blur.

Also, what is your subject? How fast is it moving? TL is all about just messing around with settings until you get the look you are after, there are no hard and fast rules.

I usually shoot 1 frame per second for cityscape stuff although with cloudscapes and sunsets, I am liking more like 1 frame every 5 seconds or 1 frame every 10 seconds. I never roll more than one frame per time interval, there is no reason to, that would make subjects look choppy IMHO.

Dan

[Mj882]

Hey Dan,

I shot one frame every 10 seconds, which is what having the Interval at 10s does, correct? (I said 10F earlier, I meant to say 10s).

I'm going to try 1/30th and 1/60th tomorrow, as I wasn't too happy with the result I got from 1/6000.

My shot will be a long shot, which will feature the skies/clouds prominently, however there will be other subjects visible at the bottom of the screen; people etc.

Also, I put the footage into a 720/24p timeline in Premiere Pro, what would be the disadvantages with doing that? Since my film will be shot in 720/24pN, only my TL sequence will be 720/60p.

[Mj882]

Ok did some new shots today in my garden. All shot in 720/24pN, besides the brief time lapse in 720/60p. I don't know why there are scaley-pixels, perhaps the vimeo compression?

http://www.vimeo.com/4339532