Timelapse help

Rv6tc wrote on 3/30/2016, 11:35 AM

I'm not very experienced with timelapse stuff. I have some timelapses of a large commercial construction project that a friend wants me to turn into video. The issue is that the shots were taken several times a day over a year and some of the individual images are either very dark (from clouds) or very brite. The resultant effect is a flicker/flash effect that almost gives you vertigo.

Outside correcting each image for briteness/contrast, which would be a ton of work, how can I minimize the changes in exposure?

Thanks,

Keith

Comments

videoITguy wrote on 3/30/2016, 1:04 PM

Creating good timelapse photo sequence is an art to its own. You might search the forum for the topic as it gets occasional coverage.
What you are experiencing with your "found" example demonstrates what can really go wrong if your goal is an animation without prior planning for creating it.

john_dennis wrote on 3/30/2016, 1:38 PM

http://www.granitebaysoftware.com/Products/ProductGBD.aspx Here is something to smooth the flicker.

I was supposed to be doing time lapse in retirement. Whatever happened?

Rich Parry wrote on 3/31/2016, 1:39 AM

I am experienced with time-lapse (IMHO), what you need is LRTimelapse. It is ideally suited for exactly what you want to do. There is a tutorial for a construction project shot over days/weeks.

What you need is not trivial, be prepared to spend time, it is not just hitting a button.

http://lrtimelapse.com/

Good luck,
Rich

Rv6tc wrote on 3/31/2016, 2:18 PM

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input.

Rich, I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that this will be a huge time commitment if I decide to go thru with it. Thanks.

Keith

jim cowan wrote on 4/2/2016, 11:05 AM

Hi,
You might try the instructions at
http://www.jakeludington.com/virtualdub/20071203_how_to_deflicker_8mm_movies.html

I found that they worked pretty well, and it uses free stuff like
VDub.

thanks
jim

john_dennis wrote on 4/2/2016, 5:05 PM

Your friend should have engaged you about a year ago. With a still image sequence of 3 stills/day the flicker was baked-in before you arrived on the scene. With more stills/unit time you would have had a much easier time smoothing the changes in lighting. Here is one where the shots were taken every 30 seconds even though the lighting was generally very predictable.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=gOT2DRMVV7I

Here is one where the shots were taken every 30 seconds, but in a period where the sun was rising.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Uu5Q77HpXiM

I didn't use any external application to remove the flicker on this one even though it's more obvious. Rich is correct that it's a mind-numbing amount of work and better results come from planning.

In this flicker-fest, I had to move my camera multiple times to accommodate the work and they managed to drop my old laptop through the ceiling. It survived.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jkU0f9Lr9LE