I'm going to HOOD MOUNT GH4 and drive around a while. Is it best to do some time lapse to video, or just shoot normal and speed it up in post. I will be going for "Rocket Speed" but need it to be smooth not all freaky. Advice? I've never tried ANY time lapse of anything ever before, but willing to learn if needed.
GH4 sped up car on streets: timelapse or shoot normal and speed up in post?
- Thread starter wwjd
- Start date
I would go with timelapse with the shortest possible interval. I've tried mounting my GoPro on my car before and this yielded the best results, when I did video recording it picked up a lot of road vibrations (may be because of the crummy GoPro suction mount with no shock absorption). Careful with your GH4!!!!
Just make sure to set your shutter speed appropriately for correct motion blur. With both timelapse and sped up video, it looks really cheesy with a 1/50th shutter speed.
So, depending on how fast you intend to speed up footage, or how many frames per second you plan to playback your timelapse images, set the shutter speed appropriately slow. This usually means you need a pretty strong ND filter on your lens, as setting a very slow shutter speed lets in a lot of light. I typically shoot footage at 1/6 shutter speed and then speed it up 1000%. This makes everything go ten times faster while retaining realistic motion blur.
I would shoot video, not timelapse, with a wide angle lens in 1080p. The 4k may have too much jello from the vibration of the car engine.
If you choose timelapse, the shortest possible interval may be too large for the effect you are wanting. The shortest interval is 1 second, which at 24fps is 24 times normal speed. If you are driving down the road at 35mph, it will look like you are going 840mph and you'd need a 2 second shutter speed for appropriate motion blur. That might be way too fast. But maybe not.
So, depending on how fast you intend to speed up footage, or how many frames per second you plan to playback your timelapse images, set the shutter speed appropriately slow. This usually means you need a pretty strong ND filter on your lens, as setting a very slow shutter speed lets in a lot of light. I typically shoot footage at 1/6 shutter speed and then speed it up 1000%. This makes everything go ten times faster while retaining realistic motion blur.
I would shoot video, not timelapse, with a wide angle lens in 1080p. The 4k may have too much jello from the vibration of the car engine.
If you choose timelapse, the shortest possible interval may be too large for the effect you are wanting. The shortest interval is 1 second, which at 24fps is 24 times normal speed. If you are driving down the road at 35mph, it will look like you are going 840mph and you'd need a 2 second shutter speed for appropriate motion blur. That might be way too fast. But maybe not.
Last edited:
stoneinapond
Veteran
Not suggesting either but perhaps the example will help. The opening clips were shot with the GH2 and 14-45mm, 1080 24p, most probably 1/40 shutter, holding a Gorillapod against the dashboard. Then sped up considerably in post. One thing I think is important is that the road surface you're using is relatively smooth.
Last edited:
GrahamH
Well-known member
I agree with @dvbrother. FYI, here's some footage shot with a GH2, 1 frame per second, strong ND filtration so that exposure was around 0.3sec (i.e. Not quite a 180 degree shutter equivalent).
http://vimeo.com/31981129
http://vimeo.com/31981129
You will have to take note that for very slow shutter speeds on timelapse might introduce some camera shake as your car will definitely move and jitter a little when driving.
If you want great resolution do a timelapse or else an easy alternative is shoot in 1080p with VFR on at 2fps.
If you want great resolution do a timelapse or else an easy alternative is shoot in 1080p with VFR on at 2fps.
GrahamH
Well-known member
The OP is after "missile speed" .... to pull that off convincingly one NEEDS a large amount of motion blur!
GrahamH
Well-known member
I used a Vari-ND filter on the driving clip I posted ... not sure what it was dialed down to that evening. Without the ND filter the shutter speed would have likely been 1/60 or 1/120. I was shooting at around 1/3 sec, so that would equate to 4-5 stops of ND filtration.