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October 2006 — Creative Cow Magazine24 Creative Cow Magazine — October 2006 2

Believe it or not, you havethe ability to shoot film-resolution 2K files, 1080 HD, 720HD and standard definition videowith any off-the-shelf digital SLR(DSLR) camera. For under $2000or less., that’s a lot of capability ata great price-point. So what’s thecatch? You’re limited to time-lapsephotography and stop motiontechniques, but the results arenothing short of amazing. I’ll leavestop motion to other articles on thesubject and we’ll explore time lapsetechniques in this outing. Withsome experience, you can shoottime-lapse without it even lookinglike time-lapse. When it comes tothis style of shooting, you can throwyour video camera out the window.

After reading this article, you’llsee why DSLR technology can besuperior in every way imaginable.

Resolution

When it comes to time-lapsephotography (AKA, “intervalshooting”), there isn’t a true HDvideo camera on the planet that’llout-perform the resolution, quality

and control of your standard DSLR. The best HD video cameras only go

up to 1080 HD (which by the wayequates to only 2.1 mega-pixels)and the media is fairly compressedin most cases. With a DSLR, notonly can you achieve 1080 HDresolution, you can even surpass2K film resolution with little effort.With some professional high-end professional DSLRs on themarket, you can even surpass 4Kfilm resolution while paying onlya minute fraction of what a GrassValley Viper or Sony CineAlta rigwould cost.

It’s not just a matter of framesize that makes DSLRs so muchbetter than HD video cameras fortime-lapse, it’s also a matter of

image formats.With a high quality DSLR, youcan shoot in RAW mode, which isbasically the “raw” data taken by theimage sensor (CMOS or CCD). Whatthis brings to you is much greaterflexibility in the post-productionprocess. White balance off? Noproblem. Exposure slightly low? Noproblem. With RAW images, you

can adjust image settings based onthe raw data instead of adjustingthe image based on an image thathas already been processed, likeJPEG. By doing this, you can adjustyour image with much less noiseas a result. It’s kind of like workingwith negative film and adjusting thelevels before you create a print outof it. But like anything that deliversgreater quality, a RAW image willbe larger in file size than its JPEGcounterpart. But believe me, it’sworth every extra byte.

Flexibility

Another great benefit to shooting

with a DSLR camera is glass. Nothingbeats picking your lens of choicefor a specific shot in mind. With aquality fast lens, the large DSLR’simage sensor can obtain narrowerDOF (Depth of Field); something aDV camera can only dream of.

Another interesting aspectof using DSLR versus any videocamera is size. Obviously DSLR

Using a DSLR Camera toCreate Time-Lapse Video

cameras are small when comparedto quality video cameras, especiallya broadcast SD or HD camera. I havea photography backpack that holdsthe camera, five lenses, a largeselection of filters, flash, a niftynotebook computer compartmentand miscellaneous items likebatteries, CF cards, cords, etc. All ofthis is smaller than a CineAlta HDcamera itself.

Control

 There are several ways to controlyour DSLR. Canon has a nifty digitalshutter release controller (Model

 TC-80N3) that works perfectly withmy Canon 20D. With it, you can setinterval times (minimum of onesecond intervals) and the remotewill accurately snap away as if itwere you physically hitting theshutter release button.

Another useful way to shoottime-lapse is by tethering yourDSLR to a computer via USB orFirewire. Canon offers free softwareto its DSLR users which controlsevery function of the camera fromthe software, including time-lapse

recording. You can even shoot yourimages directly to the computer orthe camera — or both!

If you anticipate shootingframes over an extended periodof time, then saving your imagesdirect to a notebook computer (oreven to an external FireWire drivefor even more space) is a powerfuloption. With memory cards at thecurrent capacity of 8 GB with 16 and32 GB on the way, external storagemay not be required. As a point ofreference, I can currently get about20 seconds worth of 24p footage ona 4 GB CF card running in RAW modeat full 8.2 mega-pixel resolution.

Speaking of “control”, I’d liketo emphasize the use of shooting inmanual mode, in both the camera’s

shooting mode and the focus modIt’s very important to set everythinto manual or your frames may hav

sporadic exposure levels, whibalance levels and so on. Don’t usesingle auto-function on the cameat all! This means setting your ISyour white balance, your F-stoyour shutter speed and of coursyour focus setting. If you donknow how to use those functioindividually, this is the perfect timto learn (get out the manual!).Format Options

So now that you’ve got a ton of timlapse photos taking up gigs of spacwhat do you do with them? For mI throw the image sequence in

Creative Cow Magazine — October 2006 2

This comparison shows the amount of picture information in each of the relative formats presented.

NTSC DV

720 HD

1080 HD

2K CINEMA

4.3 MP DSLR

D16 VIDEO

8.2 MP DSLR

CINEON/DPX

12.7 MP DSLR

4K CINEMA

16.7 MP DSLR

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Time-Lapse Video Using Still Cameras , continued from page 25 

Adobe After Effects. It’s simple; youliterally drag the folder containingthe images right into After Effectsand it knows that it’s an imagesequence. If it’s an image sequencebased off RAW images, then a pop-up window will ask you for imagesetting options. At this point, youhave to know what frame-rate youwant the sequence to be in. I prefer24, but you can work in 25 for PALor 29.97 for NTSC. By default, AfterEffects will conform the image

sequence to 30 FPS, so change it tosuit your own preference.

Next, which resolution do youwant to work in? Obviously you canmake a comp running at 2K if youhave the hardware to play it back,

but for this example, I’ll talk about1080 HD.

Since I like working in 24p, Imake a new comp at 1080p24. Youcan just as well make a 1080p30or 1080i60 comp, if you so desire.If you want to work in a true 60iformat, you’ll need to change yourimage sequence (the time-lapsephotos) to 60 FPS. Why? So thateach interlaced field gets its own

temporal data. If you don’t, thenyou will have a 1080p30 clip eventhough you think you’re workingin 1080i60. Obviously making yourclip run at 60 FPS will increase thetime-lapse speed two-fold, so keepthat in mind. Confused? If so, don’tworry about it and work in 1080p30or even better, 1080p24.

Here’s something amazing...

When you drop the image sequenceinto the new comp’s timeline, you’llquickly see that the frame size of theimages is quite larger that the 1080HD frame size, at least with my 8.2mega-pixel camera it is. I literallyhave to scale my images down to55% to work in 1080 HD. Let me saythat one more time: I have to scaledown  my images to 55% for 1080HD!

Part of the beauty of scalingdown the image is that you have

two powerful options at this stageof the game: For one, you can “crop”the image sequence into the 1080HD frame exactly how you wantit (sometimes you just can’t framethe shot perfectly at the location,

ya know?); Secondly, by having alarger source image than that of thesequence format, you can pan-and-scan the source in the HD frame.Imagine that, pan-and-scanningfor HD! With this, you can digitallypan the frame across (faking a niceand perfectly controlled pan) or youcan zoom into the shot while nevergoing above the source’s 100%zoom level.

Once you finish your sequencewith the right framing and anypotential keyframing of pan orzoom, you’re ready to output to yourfavorite codec of choice for yourNLE. But before you do, make sureyour time-lapse footage looks goodon a video monitor. I do a quickRAM preview and output it throughmy AJA hardware, a waveform

vectorscope and to up to three HDmonitors — including CRT, plasmaand LCD. This combined outputexam quickly gives me feedbackon image quality, dynamic range,broadcast legality and so on.

Selling Your Craft

“You mean I can make money off this stuff?” Heck yeah! A favoriteonline spot of mine is RevolutionStock Media, “Revostock” for short(revostock.com). There you can

sell stock footage in a completelyautomated fashion. I’ve uploadedsome clips of my own (look for“OneRiver Media” under producers),which includes time-lapse footageshot with my Canon 20D and variouslenses.

Getting Advanced

If you really want your footageto stand out, use camera motioncontrol to physically pan, tilt, truckor dolly the camera for a trulycompelling effect. Even though youcan pan-and-scan a lock-down shotin post, that does have its limits andit won’t have the same dynamicperspective that a moving camerahas. Using a motorized cameratripod mount, you can achieve thisslow and steady motion control.You’ll need a device that worksat a whopping .1° per second likethe Hutech AZM-100 motorizedtripod mount. It’s an alt-az (altitude-azimuth) astronomy mount andserves my needs for such tasks.

By using a motorized mountlike this, and panning across anystatic subject like a clear mountainvista or a city skyscraper, will make itappear that it’s not even time-lapsein the first place — making peoplewonder, “how did they afford toshoot this super-high resolutionfootage?”

Your secret is good with me.

n

Marco Solorio is a multi-award-winningcreative media developer. He ownsOneRiver Media (www.onerivermedia.com), a video and audio postproductionfacility located in the San Francisco Bay

 Area. Marco is a longtime Creative Cowleader and contributing editor. You canfind him online in our Final Cut Pro and

many other forums.

APPLE SCORE:

Plays nicely with others: What others? 

Playing with themselves: A++

Extra credit: Acknowledging After Effect s.

More extra credit for anyone using Automatic Duck.

Even more extra credit:  Sticking the conceptual landing on the combinationof compositing and editing with Final Cut Pro.

Final grade: If you care, MAC RULES!!! WINDOWS SUCKS!!! If not, whatever.

My fondest wish for the future: I still use Macs, but...whatever.

AVID

Here are the notes I scribbled when I was outlining this section: “Astonishingto me that nobody else offers 3D and hardware. Unfortunate that somesoftware components are outside the Avid family. More unfortunate that thetwo key apps might as well be.”

It’s not that Pro Tools and Avid editors don’t work together. It’s one ofthe industry’s most firmly established connections. But to the extent thatintegration is for individuals? On Windows, not bad. On Mac? Not at all.

Hey! Where’s the surround mixing?Still, I can’t believe that anybody sells an audio app without a dedicated

control surface, because a mouse is not an audio tool. The indispensableDigi 002 and Command|8 audio interfaces keep adding features in the videoediting apps, too.

 The growth of Avid 3D is another bright spot. Video passes easilyover, and rendered animations with alpha channels play in real time whencomposited over live video back in the editor. Nice! You might think that Avid3D is Softimage XSI Lite, but especially in the latest version, simply untrue.

Overall, Avid’s Studio offerings can feel a little wobbly. Also, the full suiteis missing Media Compose software, whose video (not film) feature set lines

up most closely (for better and worse) with Final Cut Pro and Premiere Pro(yes, really).Avid offers another approach to integration with Avid Liquid: everything

in one application, featuring some of the company’s most advancedtechnology. Just three examples: background ingest (!!!), integrated 5.1surround mixing, and not just Avid’s most advanced but the industry’s mostadvanced GPU acceleration.

For After Effects integration, Wes Plate once again rides Automatic Duckto the rescue.

Can it really be that Media Composer is the only fully-fledged (alas, Xpressdoesn’t have all its feathers yet) dual-platform editor? Yep.

AVID SCORE:

Integrates 3D and hardware:  A-ish.

Pro Tools: The real deal, but no surround? De rigeur in this category. On a

scale of 1 to 5.1, PT gets a 2 -- one for each stereo channel.

Pro Tools integration: B, as in Barely B if I’ve had a s nack after naptime, C if I

haven’t. Don’t ask me what the grade is if I miss both a nap and a snack.

After Effects integration: God bless Wes Plate and his Duck.Bonus points: “It’s an Avid.” It really is and it really matters.

More bonus points: Media Composer software, even as part of an

incomplete suite.

Degree of difficulty for supporting two platforms: Gazillion.

Overall grade: Still trying to corral all the pieces of the suite to give them a

single grade.

My fondest wish for the future:  Avid acting like one company. How cool

would that be? So Avid, pretty please?

Workflow: Table For One , continued from page 21

FORMAT SIZES & MEGAPIXELS AT A GL ANCE: