Time Lapse

​One of the things that I'm learning to do are time lapses. I mean I know how to do them I want to do it properly and do it well.

The bottom line for doing time lapses well is by creating motion blur. This is achieved by longer exposures and closing down the aperture. For example when doing a dawn scene close down the aperture to f22 while opening the shutter for longer periods such as 1/16th of a second. The same thing goes for time lapses that occur at dusk. This effect will create a motion blur of subjects such as cars or people. This creating a smoother transition from one frame to the next. 

If you want to do a time lapse outside of the "Golden Hour" such as shooting at midday when the sun is in full strength then use a neutral density filter. This way you can still creating motion blur. A ND filter 16 or ND 8 may do the trick. Close down the aperture and drag out your shutter speed say to 1/30th of a second and it may achieve the same results. Play with your shutter speed til you get the right amount of motion blur. 

Once you've created your time lapse, take it in to your video editor and create a push/pull effect to acquire an even more professional look. In Final Cut Pro (FCP) you can apply a "Ken Burns" effect. In Premiere Pro (PP), I believe you have to create a key frame to add dynamic movement to your time lapse.

Hopefully I'll be doing more of this on my videos as I recently purchase a full ND kit.