What is Time-lapse Photography?

Time-lapse photography is a technique that is often used and well known in cinematography. This technique captures a scene or a specific object that has a slow state-of-change and turns into a video that is played back in high speed. This means that something that takes days or weeks to grow/change can be shown the whole process in a matter of seconds.

How is it created?

Hows this works is the frequency at which film frames are captured lower than what will be used to play the sequence back. Film is often shown at 24 frames/s (this is where 24 images appear on the screen per second). Since the projection speed and recording speed are set to the same, the images appear to move at normal speed. When a film is recorded at 12 frames/s this will appear to move twice as fast.

The change in speed of the on-screen image can be calculated by dividing the projection speed by the camera speed.

The exposure time can be calculated based on the desired shutter angle effect and the frame interval.

The speed that the camera must move to create a perceived normal camera motion can be calculated by inverting the time-lapse equation.

History

The first main use of time-lapse in a feature film was used in Georges Méliès motion picture 'Carrefour De L'Opera', this was filmed back in 1897. In 1909 time-lapse photography of biological phenomena was established by Jean Comandon, this was in partnership with Pathé Frères. Time-lapse photography was further established during the mid 1920s via a series of feature films called 'Bergfilms' by Arnold Flack. Between the years of 1929 and 1931 Royal Raymond Rife (R. R. Rife) astounded journalists when he revealed high magnification time-lapse cinemicrography.

Examples of Time-lapse Photography