Timelapse- HELP

[Quad Craft]

Hello to all the fine people of the forum.

I've asked the same question in other forums that were what I thought would be more geared to my question, but to no avail, not a single response. I read this forum daily and with great anticipation, knowing that I'll pick up something every day that will allow me to fly, film, and photograph better, and edit more efficiently. In you I trust.

Anyway, I know some of you supplement your videos by using the DJI Pocket/Osmo 2 so perhaps you can assist with the following:

I have the opportunity to do a timelapse shoot for an area salon that is opening soon in one of the hottest locations in my area. The owner has asked me to document the local graffiti artist that will be painting a mural in the welcome area of the new studio. I’ve done some timelapse/motion lapse stuff before with my DJI Pocket 2, city scenes, waterfall, clouds, etc. The artist feels that the process will take up to eight hours from start to finish, so I’m not sure of the best setting for the type and pace of the painting.



Does anyone have suggestions or experience with the setting and intervals for this genre? I have access to power to the device, and the lighting will be even throughout the process. I also plan to use my Sony RX 100 VII to add another view or as backup, should the Pocket 2 fail.

Many thanks for considering my request.

 

[dkuhne]

I would set up two timelapse with your pocket 2, panning left to right (or right to left) and then one wide shot using your Sony.

8 hours is a long time (obviously) and graffiti isn’t very quick, so I think an interval of 20 seconds would work.

A pic every 20 seconds for 8 hours is 1440 pictures so make sure both camera SD cards can accommodate that much. Leave the camera in auto as your exposure shouldn’t change too much unless you are facing the sun.

Youd need power banks for both cameras.

 

[Merrill277]

Since you will be using more than one battery, I would set up a waypoint to fly to the exact same spot. Then fly to that point before taking pics each time. Lighting should be the same each time as well. Then of course you will need an editing program to put your videos together.

 

[dkuhne]

Lol, read the OP properly, there’s no flying involved.

 

[Dale D]

Hello to all the fine people of the forum.

I've asked the same question in other forums that were what I thought would be more geared to my question, but to no avail, not a single response. I read this forum daily and with great anticipation, knowing that I'll pick up something every day that will allow me to fly, film, and photograph better, and edit more efficiently. In you I trust.

Anyway, I know some of you supplement your videos by using the DJI Pocket/Osmo 2 so perhaps you can assist with the following:

I have the opportunity to do a timelapse shoot for an area salon that is opening soon in one of the hottest locations in my area. The owner has asked me to document the local graffiti artist that will be painting a mural in the welcome area of the new studio. I’ve done some timelapse/motion lapse stuff before with my DJI Pocket 2, city scenes, waterfall, clouds, etc. The artist feels that the process will take up to eight hours from start to finish, so I’m not sure of the best setting for the type and pace of the painting.



Does anyone have suggestions or experience with the setting and intervals for this genre? I have access to power to the device, and the lighting will be even throughout the process. I also plan to use my Sony RX 100 VII to add another view or as backup, should the Pocket 2 fail.

Many thanks for considering my request.

Dear Quad Craft:

First of all, I have been doing timelapse as my primary hobby, even before drones, since 2015. I use a DSLR with an intervalometer built into the camera- specifically, the Nikon D750. I primarily use the Nikkor 28-300mm zoom, lens (f/3.5-5.6). A very good tripod is key! Forget all about the Osmo crap. I have every Osmo product made and would never consider those for this job.

I set the DSLR ISO at 100, the interval as needed depending on the subject, and the lighting on Auto. If your camera does not have an intervalometer, you can buy many varieties from Amazon for about $20 USD.

The interval is the time between shutter actuations depend on the what you are trying to capture. I would guess that for a mural, I would ask the artist for his estimate of time to complete the project. I would imagine you are taking about 5-8 hours or more. You can make your own interval table. Here is one example I use;

Type of time lapse Interval Time needed for a 10 second show
people crosswalk 1 second 2.5 minutes
Cumulus clouds 2-3 seconds. 10 minutes
Stars at night 45 seconds 3.75 hours
Plant seedling. 10 minutes. 2 days

I think this will give you the idea. I am attaching another table that I often refer to. I would experiment with several cameras at the same time if you have more than one DSLR (which I do-specifically for this reason).
You need to aware of the weather, the lighting and its direction, and to be there at the scene to prevent kids , strollers, and others from bumping your very important TRIPOD, which should be sturdier than hell.

Probably, I would select an interval of 1 or 2 frames per minute. So 1 frame per minute = 60 frames per hour and 2 frames per minute would give you 120 frames per hour. If you process this at 24 frame per second (typical Hollywood film and projector speed), divide the total frames by 24 fps and you will get the time length of your show. For a 120 frames you'll get a 5 second show. For a 2 hour shoot, 120 frames, etc. =480 frames divided by 24 fps gives you a 20 second show. And with these concepts you can decide how you want to do it.

Fee free to write me for any questions.

Dale
Miami

 

[Quad Craft]

Thank you all. I'm unfortunately working today-Sunday, 10 hours a day, so I don't have the opportunity to test the process in advance.
Present during the process will pretty much be just me, the artist, and anyone he may bring with him to assist.

The light is good, no camera pan is needed, tripods will be used, power sources are available, my main concern was my equipment, and the interval in which to take the photos since the action is fairly slow. Since I'm limited to the cameras I do have Pocket 2 and the Sony RX100 VII, I reached out for some direction and several of you were kind enough to oblige with helpful advice.

Dale- I'll see if I can find an intervalometer compatible with the RX 100 VII - for ≈$50. I give it a shot, maybe it will inspire me to do more time/motion lapse in the future.- thank you

 

[Dale D]

Thank you all. I'm unfortunately working today-Sunday, 10 hours a day, so I don't have the opportunity to test the process in advance.
Present during the process will pretty much be just me, the artist, and anyone he may bring with him to assist.

The light is good, no camera pan is needed, tripods will be used, power sources are available, my main concern was my equipment, and the interval in which to take the photos since the action is fairly slow. Since I'm limited to the cameras I do have Pocket 2 and the Sony RX100 VII, I reached out for some direction and several of you were kind enough to oblige with helpful advice.

Dale- I'll see if I can find an intervalometer compatible with the RX 100 VII - for ≈$50. I give it a shot, maybe it will inspire me to do more time/motion lapse in the future.- thank you

You could rent the Nikon D750 and a lens. I have been using Lens Pro To Go for years. Whenever I go to Africa on safari I rent the Nikkor 600mm f/4. It is a $10,000 lens! The Nikons above D750 all have internal intervalometers.

Lens Pro To Go is great. I just went to their page- $10.00 off for 1st rental. $119 for 4 days for the D750. Just add the lens you want. Order a spare battery. How many hours will the artist require for the mural? If I had to guess I would guess 3 to 4 frames per minute as your interval but I cannot guarantee it. At 4 fpm=240 frames per hour or 10 second show at 24 fpm. At 2 frame per minute (every 30 seconds), it's 2 frames per minute = 120 frames per hour, divided by 24fpm=about 5 second show. ou can do the math. It would be easy to change the battery if you go over several hours. Just do it carefully without moving the tripod or camera.

www.lensprotogo.com

 

[Dale D]

You could rent the Nikon D750 and a lens. I have been using Lens Pro To Go for years. Whenever I go to Africa on safari I rent the Nikkor 600mm f/4. It is a $10,000 lens! The Nikons above D750 all have internal intervalometers.

Lens Pro To Go is great. I just went to their page- $10.00 off for 1st rental. $119 for 4 days for the D750. Just add the lens you want. Order a spare battery. How many hours will the artist require for the mural? If I had to guess I would guess 3 to 4 frames per minute as your interval but I cannot guarantee it. At 4 fpm=240 frames per hour or 10 second show at 24 fpm. At 2 frame per minute (every 30 seconds), it's 2 frames per minute = 120 frames per hour, divided by 24fpm=about 5 second show. View attachment 132259ou can do the math. It would be easy to change the battery if you go over several hours. Just do it carefully without moving the tripod or camera.

www.lensprotogo.com

Here is a 14 minute video fo Iceland with a lot of my timelapse sequences.

 

[Quad Craft]

Dear Quad Craft:

First of all, I have been doing timelapse as my primary hobby, even before drones, since 2015. I use a DSLR with an intervalometer built into the camera- specifically, the Nikon D750. I primarily use the Nikkor 28-300mm zoom, lens (f/3.5-5.6). A very good tripod is key! Forget all about the Osmo crap. I have every Osmo product made and would never consider those for this job.

I set the DSLR ISO at 100, the interval as needed depending on the subject, and the lighting on Auto. If your camera does not have an intervalometer, you can buy many varieties from Amazon for about $20 USD.

The interval is the time between shutter actuations depend on the what you are trying to capture. I would guess that for a mural, I would ask the artist for his estimate of time to complete the project. I would imagine you are taking about 5-8 hours or more. You can make your own interval table. Here is one example I use;

Type of time lapse Interval Time needed for a 10 second show
people crosswalk 1 second 2.5 minutes
Cumulus clouds 2-3 seconds. 10 minutes
Stars at night 45 seconds 3.75 hours
Plant seedling. 10 minutes. 2 days

I think this will give you the idea. I am attaching another table that I often refer to. I would experiment with several cameras at the same time if you have more than one DSLR (which I do-specifically for this reason).
You need to aware of the weather, the lighting and its direction, and to be there at the scene to prevent kids , strollers, and others from bumping your very important TRIPOD, which should be sturdier than hell.

Probably, I would select an interval of 1 or 2 frames per minute. So 1 frame per minute = 60 frames per hour and 2 frames per minute would give you 120 frames per hour. If you process this at 24 frame per second (typical Hollywood film and projector speed), divide the total frames by 24 fps and you will get the time length of your show. For a 120 frames you'll get a 5 second show. For a 2 hour shoot, 120 frames, etc. =480 frames divided by 24 fps gives you a 20 second show. And with these concepts you can decide how you want to do it.

Fee free to write me for any questions.

Dale
Miami

The timelapse opportunity became nothing but a challenge.

The fire marshall told the Salon owner that her ceiling tiles weren't up to code, even though the architect has used them elsewhere in the township. Instead of myself and the artist present to do the timelapse and photos, a work crew was milling about in front of the wall of graffiti with ladders and a lift to replace tiles and reroute some of the sprinkler heads. The artist showed up two hours late, and the project was extended to a second day, and I only had one day off to do the job.

I did get the chance to meet the artist and see some of his work- he brought a sample copy of a coffee table book he's publishing- we decided to do something together down the road, in a more structured environment.

I wasn't aware that I could rent more sophisticated gear than what I have on hand and in my budget- Dr. Dale- thank you for the tips.