Long term hyperlapse is a technique I used couple times in previous project. It’s definitely something for patient filmmakers 😉 This week I release a hyperlapse shot of growing tulips in my city 🙂 To learn how to do long term hyperlapse shot like this, watch the shot and then read my tips below.
This is a shot from my 52 Timelapse Project. You can check out the details of the project or full list of the shots.
What is Long Term Hyperlapse?
This mini-tutorial requires basic knowledge about hyperlapse. Check out my tutorial if you’re not familiar with this technique: How to shoot hyperlapse [TUTORIAL]
Long term hyperlapse is a technique to capture different states of the subject or even different seasons on one hyperlapse shot. This technique is not very popular, I saw only a few people using that, but it can give you amazing results. I have been developing this technique since my first timelapse film in 2014.
If I have to describe this technique in just a few words, I would say: shoot a hyperlapse, remember, where the tripod was and what was the fixed point, and then come back after a few hours/days/months.
The tulips shot
In my tulips shot the usage of long term hyperlapse is not that visible. Probably some of you could say that it’s pointless, however in my opinion those small things make the final video something memorable.
Here’s another example of this technique, this time the effect is really noticable 😉
So, the tulips shot contains 4 different hyperlapses shot over a month. It’s important to find the good place for your tripod (I strongly suggest to use a tripod). Around those tulips there was a fence (it’s visible at the end of the shot), which was nice for positioning the tripod. So, two legs of the tripod were touching the base of the fence. I was moving the tripod one paving stone between pictures. For the hyperlapse fixed point I used a middle part of the fountain.
Each time I was shooting there, I’ve got to repeat those settings as precisely as possible. I was shooting at the same time of the day (around 6 pm.) trying to catch the same weather (which could be better in this shot).
No matter how well your memory is, take a picture of the framing and position of the tripod. After a few weeks or months you probably won’t be sure of anything, trust me 😉
Post Production
Every time I shoot a hyperlapse there, I’ve got to stabilize it manually. Warp Stabilizer doesn’t like this kind of movement very much. The first thing to do in manual stabilization is to position the fixed point. For the begining of the shot I’ve got to do it frame by frame. For the last hyperlapse, without those neons on the fountain, I use Stabilize Motion feature inside after effects. Then it needs some rotation correction and it’s done 🙂 Sounds easy, but it’s really annoying and time consuming 😉
Because of the manual stabilization, firstly I position the hyperlapses on the timeline and add a opacity animation. I didn’t want to stabilize the footage, that I won’t use in the final shot 😉
Other examples
It’s an interesting technique for day to night hyperlapses without using a Holy Grail method. I also used that for a construction site timelapses and showing different seasons. Basically, experiment! 🙂
That’s all for this week. Make sure to show me your expreiment in my Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/timelapse.hyperlapse/
Would you use that technique? Please let me know in the comments 😉
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