Timelapse Pan & Zoom Trick For the HMC40 & HMC80

BobDiaz

BobDiaz

The Professor
Assuming that you are shooting timelapse on the HMC40 or the HMC80, all timelapse video is 1080/24p. IF you are dropping this into a 720p timeline, you must drop the resolution down (scale) by 66.67% to get it to fit the whole 1080 image. However, if you increase the scale to 100%, you end up cropping into the image. I can't speak for other editors, but with Final Cut, you can make this appear like a limited zoom or a pan in post.

The details are shown in the video; you may want to watch it in full screen mode to see everything.


http://vimeo.com/35491817


Bob Diaz
 
Yeah- I do this all the time. We use HMC150s at work- but output SD for the local cable company. So, it means we all tweak framing in post, and I love to throw in the "fake-pans" on occasion, too. Now I want a cinema resolution camera so I can do this in high def.
 
voxwerx said:
Yeah- I do this all the time. We use HMC150s at work- but output SD for the local cable company. So, it means we all tweak framing in post, and I love to throw in the "fake-pans" on occasion, too. Now I want a cinema resolution camera so I can do this in high def.
Click to expand...

As Bob explained the output is HD 720, Not for full HD 1080
 
Excellent description. In Pinnacle we call those keyframe points. You can set those points to edit with all kinds of effects, fade in/out BW, etc. Such as nice easy way to make video snap if you shoot a static shot.

I had the hardest time trying to tell my vid shooter friend that I didnt need to zoom or pan in an interview. LOL. Just do it all in post and make our location job easier.
Sort of the poor man's zoom.

Nicely explained Bob.

GLB
 
and my output is in SD... the principle is the same. I was just trying to reinforce that this is yet another added bonus when working in a higher resolution than what your output is going to be. I shoot almost only time-lapse footage w/my HMC80- but haven't done any pans in post with it yet...
 
Nice tutorial, Bob. In principle you can also use the extra data in image size reduction (1080 to 720 or even SD I suppose) to reduce camera shake in hand-held shots. The software (mine is Avid Studio) locks on to key items in the frame. I saw the demo, but haven't tried it since I have been keeping everything at 1080.
 
When using SD, you can "zoom" more than you can with 720p. I shot a wedding for a friend where I had a camera in back shooting 1080/30p (not a HMC-40). Because the final output was SD I could zoom and pan a lot more across the frame. My friend thought I had someone working the camera during filming, but in reality, it was this simple trick.


Bob Diaz
 
Bob thats amazing. Time lapse shots do look great but what makes them is the pan effect. I thought that could only be added with extra equipment and outlay. Now, can I do this in Premiere :-)
 
Lee,

It's a simple trick and one that's easy to use. In about a month, I'll get a chance to meed with the producer of Motion (an outdoor hiking show) on the Live Well Network. It's also one of my favorite shows. I plan on showing him this trick. Almost every Motion show has a timelapse clip in it.
 
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