Timelapse Question...

HueyFilms

HueyFilms

Active member
2 questions...

I'm trying to do a shot for a music video and I want to do a scene where the artist is singing in her apartment, but through the window you see the day go from morning to night- how should I go about shooting this?

Also if I were to have her lip synch fast and shoot at 60fps then play it back at 24fps would her lips match up while still being in slow motion (being of course we get her timing right)
 
1. Time lapse record the window, stop camera and put a bluescreen up so camera is locked into position. Shoot your artist in front of it and comp it later.

2. Not a chance. The timing you would be needing is far too exact. You would be better off using a software program that allows you to speed up and slow down footage at will, a la The Matrix.
 
Ideally you'll shoot her over a keyable source. You can mask it though. If planned ahead, even a feathered spluit screne will work. Obviously you'll have to shoot the window during the day and during the niht from the exact same locke down positon.
Your best best for effect number two is to speed up playback and have her lip sync faster (unles you really can shoot at 60fps). This'll put the backgrund in slow mo when you slow it down. If you are shooting film and can shoot at 60fps you can sync things up with simple fit to fills.
 
Masking for the first effects is an option. A combo is ideal. The second one, though, you wouldn't be able to sync that for an extended take with the accuracy needed. You will have to do it in post.
 
Trying to sync 60fps stuff, I think, might be damn near impossible, but you might be able to do it by shooting 48fps, then slowing the track down by half, playing it on a boom box, and having her lip synch it very slowly. I think that's how it's done. I have been wanting to try this out myself.
 
skycron said:
Not a chance. The timing you would be needing is far too exact.
Click to expand...

i just want to comment that i just shot a music video with pretty much the same effect - but 50fps (being in PAL land) - and it worked great.

you simply get the performer to sync to an exact double playback. of course this would be nearly impossible with a particularly fast track, but for most songs it's definitely do-able.

the footage is not perfectly in sync but it's damn close (ie. perhaps 3% max margin of error). furthermore this actually aids the effect, because the whole point is to create something abstract, and it has a very dreamlike quality.

this is also a very very common music video technique. i only got the idea because i'm a huge fan of nick cave, and it shows up in a lot of his videos. if you check out the 'making of' doco on the 'bring it on' clip on the latest nick cave and the bad seeds double dvd release, you'll see them doing heaps of double playback takes.

seriously, it works fine. you probably wouldn't want to do it for a full run through of the song, but do it for particular sections, looped. for example, in the video i just did i only used it for the chorus. so we made a loop of the chorus in double speed. i think having it looping over and over again actually helped the band get in sync.

so.... i don't think you should be so quick to say something is impossible. actually try it first.

EDIT: obviously i'm referring only to your second question.
 
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Morning to night is a goodly number of hours. Double speed ain't gonna make it.

Split or greenscreen the singer and comp it over the room.

Light the room very well! If you just shoot the room with the outside changing, you'll be getting weird light changes throught the day-to-night footage. A cloud goes over and the light changes, etc. It will look weird. You want the time change to only happen in the window, not the rest of the room.

Or, at least, only occur smoothly in the rest of the room.

Dimmers, carefully adjusted throughout the day, would do to get the room light to be smoothly transitioned.

A lot of work.
 
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