I am looking for some advice on frame rates for creating time lapse videos. I want to record the movement of cloud formations, but I am also interested in doing other time lapse videos, so any guidance is welcome.
What frame rate is good for capturing clouds to produce a video that will make the clouds appear to move quickly yet smoothly? How long would I have to record to get one minute of video?
What are some frame rates for other subjects that produce visually pleasing videos, like traffic, flowers opening, sunsets, that sort of thing. Links to helpful websites are welcome also.
What other interesting subjects have you shot in time lapse?
I suppose I could do test videos, but if I can learn from your experience, why not take a short cut? I am going to be lugging a tripod a couple of miles up a mountain to get a good view, so I don’t want to waste time (and my legs).
A quick google search for “variable speed video players” retuns lots of results for Windows, iPad, and Android. So maybe getting the capture frame rate exact is not as critical as you’d think?
For clouds, I’d suggest starting with no faster than once every 10 seconds; however, wind speed (more importantly winds aloft) has an impact on your subject matter. Go to one of the aviation sites to get winds aloft forecast. I can provide you some assistance there, if you need.
One minute of video is a factor of # of frames/minute times the display duration of each image. I typically do one shot every five seconds (12/minute) & display for ¼ second each to produce one hour condensed down to three minutes.
The other option (though not my favorite) is shoot video & hyperspeed it up with your editing software. Just a thought; don’t know what you’re equipment capabilities are.
While not exactly shooting clouds, I do a lot of aerial videos & therefore, get sky/clouds in the finished product…like this
There’s no reason you can’t do some playing in your front yard to determine what you like before you lug equipment anywhere. Angling the camera high enough & you shouldn’t get anything but sky & clouds; however, if it’s just for learning purposes, who cares if there’s a tree or neighbor’s house at the bottom of the frame. It may actually help to do that. Get the tree in the bottom at 10 sec, turn your tripod to get the roof of the house at 15 sec, etc. That way you’ll get a good visual reminder of what your settings were & what you like before going up that mountain.