Time Lapse

Time Lapse

noun | Camera & Optics

A filmmaking technique in which individual frames are captured at intervals much longer than normal frame rates, then played back at standard speed. When hours, days, or months of real-world change compress into seconds of playback, processes too slow for human perception become visible as continuous motion. A sunrise becomes a rapid bloom of color across the sky. A city street transforms from empty to packed to empty again in moments.

Quick Reference

The Explanation: How & Why

Time lapse is the extreme end of undercranking. The frame rate drops so far below the normal playback rate that the captured frames per real second falls below one. Rather than a film camera running continuously at 12fps, a time lapse captures a single frame every few seconds or minutes, triggered by an intervalometer. When those frames play back at 24fps, the compression ratio is enormous. 1,440 frames captured at one per minute over a 24-hour day play back in exactly 60 seconds.

The compression of time is the defining capability and the primary creative application. It makes the invisible visible. Cloud formations build and dissipate in seconds. Traffic patterns reveal themselves as flowing rivers of light. The construction of a building unfolds in minutes. Human-scale and geological-scale processes both become accessible to human perception when compressed by time lapse.

The technical requirements differ from conventional cinematography. An intervalometer, a programmable timer that triggers the shutter at preset intervals, controls the capture. Most modern cameras have built-in intervalometers. External triggers provide greater precision for longer durations. The interval between frames determines the compression ratio. Shorter intervals (1 second) produce lower compression for relatively fast processes. Longer intervals (1 minute or more) produce high compression for slow processes.

Exposure consistency is a major challenge. Over a long sequence, lighting conditions change significantly. A dawn-to-dusk sequence must handle a range of 8 to 12 stops of changing exposure. Manual exposure settings produce noticeable brightness jumps. Solutions include exposure ramping, dedicated time lapse firmware, or post-production deflicker processing with tools like LRTimelapse.

Camera stability is essential. Any movement between frames creates a jump in the sequence. Heavy tripods, sandbags, and protected camera positions are mandatory for clean time lapse.

Historical Context & Origin

Time lapse photography predates cinema. In 1872, Leland Stanford hired Eadweard Muybridge to prove whether racehorses' hooves ever simultaneously leave the ground. By 1878, Muybridge had set up a series of cameras with tripwires along a track, capturing sequential images of a horse in motion. This was the first example of chronophotography, the precursor to both time lapse and cinema.

F. Percy Smith pioneered time lapse in nature photography with his 1910 silent film The Birth of a Flower, using the technique to show plant growth compressed into seconds. Jean Comandon collaborated with Pathé Frères from 1909 on biological time lapse. The transition from scientific tool to artistic device came through the city-symphony films of the 1920s, including Walter Ruttmann's Berlin: Symphony of a Metropolis (1927).

David Attenborough's BBC natural history productions from the 1970s onward established time lapse nature photography as a distinct cinematographic discipline. Ron Fricke's Baraka (1992) and Samsara (2011) brought time lapse into large-format theatrical filmmaking.

How It's Used in Practice

Scenario 1 - Documentary / Nature (DP): A documentary about an urban garden requires a sequence showing a plant growing from seedling to full flower over 6 weeks. The DP sets a Sony A7S III on a locked-off tripod with a built-in intervalometer, capturing one frame every 15 minutes. Over 6 weeks, the camera captures 4,032 frames. At 24fps playback, the sequence runs 168 seconds. The DP uses LRTimelapse to ramp exposure and deflicker the day-night transitions. Each RAW frame is approximately 24 MB, requiring roughly 97 GB of card storage.

Scenario 2 - Feature Film Establishing Shot (Director / DP): A film's opening uses a 40-second time lapse of a city sky from dawn to dusk. The DP captures the sequence over 12 hours from a rooftop using a Canon R5 with a 24mm RF lens at f/8. The interval is set to 10 seconds. The camera captures 4,320 frames. At 24fps playback, the full sequence runs 180 seconds. The DP selects the 40-second portion that best represents the day's arc of light. Each RAW frame is approximately 45 MB, requiring 194 GB of storage.

Scenario 3 - Motion Control Time Lapse (DP): For an architectural sequence, the DP combines a time lapse of passing clouds with a slow camera pan. A Syrp Genie II motorized head is programmed to complete a 30-degree pan over 4 hours. Frames are captured every 5 seconds on a Sony VENICE 2. In playback, the clouds race across the sky while the camera slowly reveals the full facade of the building. The motion control movement is smooth despite happening over 4 real hours.

Usage Examples in Sentences

"Set the interval to 10 seconds for the cloud sequence. That gives us good cloud motion without it looking like a hurricane." (DP to 1st AC on an exterior shoot)

"For the plant growth over 6 weeks, one frame every 15 minutes gives us enough for a 3-minute sequence at 24fps." (DP planning a nature documentary segment)

"The exposure ramp is essential for a dawn-to-dusk time lapse. Without it, every sunrise and sunset creates a flicker that deflicker tools cannot fully clean." (Post-production supervisor to editor)

"Motion control time lapse is the best of both worlds: the compression of time lapse with the spatial movement of a tracking shot." (Cinematography workshop instructor)

Common Confusions & Misuse

Time Lapse vs. Undercranking: Both compress time by capturing fewer frames per second than the playback rate. Undercranking typically refers to frame rates between 1fps and 18fps, used for subtle to moderate acceleration. Time lapse refers to intervals of one second or longer between frames, compressing processes over minutes, hours, or days. Undercranking makes a running person faster. Time lapse makes a flower bloom in seconds.

Time Lapse vs. Hyperlapse: A hyperlapse is a time lapse in which the camera physically moves between frames. The camera position shifts a short distance between each frame along a planned path, producing the appearance of the camera flying through the environment at high speed. A standard time lapse has the camera in a fixed position. Both compress time, but a hyperlapse adds continuous spatial movement.

Time Lapse vs. Stop Motion: Stop motion captures individual frames of a manually manipulated subject (like a clay figure) and plays them back at normal speed to create the illusion of continuous motion. Time lapse captures frames of a naturally changing scene at intervals. Stop motion is fabricated motion. Time lapse is real motion compressed.

Variations by Context

Key People & Films

• Eadweard Muybridge - Pioneer of chronophotography. His 1878 horse motion studies, commissioned by Leland Stanford, established the foundational technique that time lapse photography built upon.
• F. Percy Smith - British filmmaker who pioneered time lapse nature photography with The Birth of a Flower (1910). His work demonstrated that time lapse could make botanical processes visible and compelling to general audiences.
• Ron Fricke - Cinematographer and director of Baraka (1992) and Samsara (2011). Used 70mm time lapse on a global scale, establishing time lapse as a theatrical cinematic technique rather than a documentary tool.

Equipment / Tools Reference

• Intervalometer - A programmable timer that triggers the camera shutter at preset intervals. Most modern cameras (Sony A7S III, Canon R5, Nikon Z8) include built-in intervalometers. External units like the Nikon MC-36A offer greater precision for long-duration shoots.
• LRTimelapse - The industry-standard software for processing RAW time lapse sequences. Enables gradual exposure adjustments, deflickering, and Lightroom sync across hundreds or thousands of frames. Used on professional nature and architectural productions.
• Syrp Genie II - Motorized motion control head and slider system for time lapse. Programs pan, tilt, and slide movements over hours with sub-degree precision. Popular for motion control time lapse in nature and architectural photography.
• Edelkrone SliderPLUS - Motorized slider with time lapse programming capability. Combines smooth linear movement with intervalometer triggering for compound motion control shots.

Standards & Specifications

No formal SMPTE, ISO, or ITU standard governs time lapse as a technique. Time lapse playback follows standard frame rates: 24fps for theatrical projection per DCI specification, 23.976fps or 29.97fps for broadcast, and 30fps or 60fps for web delivery. The interval calculation formula is: Interval (seconds) = Shoot Duration (seconds) / (Playback Duration (seconds) x Playback FPS). For example, a 2-hour shoot producing a 10-second clip at 24fps requires an interval of 7,200 / (10 x 24) = 30 seconds. RAW frame sizes vary by camera: Sony A7S III RAW is approximately 24 MB per frame, Canon R5 RAW is approximately 45 MB per frame. Battery life on a Sony A7S III with LCD off and 20-second intervals yields approximately 1,000 to 1,200 frames per NP-FZ100 charge.

Common Questions / FAQ

Q: How do I calculate the right interval for my time lapse?

A: Use the formula: Interval = Shoot Duration / (Playback Duration x FPS). For a 2-hour sunset producing a 10-second clip at 24fps, the interval is 7,200 / 240 = 30 seconds. For fast-moving clouds, use 2 to 5 seconds. For construction, use 1 to 24 hours. Always round to a practical interval your camera supports.

Q: Should I shoot time lapse in RAW or JPEG?

A: RAW gives you far more latitude for exposure correction and deflickering in post, especially for sequences with changing light. JPEG works for simple, well-lit scenes but limits your ability to fix exposure shifts. For professional results, shoot RAW and process through LRTimelapse or a similar workflow.

Q: How do I prevent flicker in my time lapse?

A: Shoot in manual exposure mode with locked aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. Disable auto white balance. Use LRTimelapse for deflicker processing in post. For sequences with changing light, use exposure ramping (gradually adjusting shutter speed or ISO between frames) rather than letting the camera auto-expose.

Q: How long will my battery last during a time lapse?

A: Battery life depends on the camera, interval, and whether the LCD is off. A Sony A7S III with the LCD off and a 20-second interval captures approximately 1,000 to 1,200 frames per NP-FZ100 charge, representing about 6.7 hours of shoot time. For longer shoots, use an external power supply or a dummy battery adapter.

Related Terms

• Undercranking - The in-camera technique that underlies time lapse; time lapse is its extreme slow-frame version
• Frame Rate - Time lapse radically reduces the effective capture frame rate below normal values
• Overcranking - The opposite technique; expands time rather than compressing it
• Slow Motion - The perceptual opposite of time lapse; stretches rather than compresses time
• Static Shot - Time lapse is almost always captured from a fixed, locked-off camera position
• Shutter Speed - Each frame in a time lapse requires a shutter speed that balances exposure with motion blur

See Also / Tools

Use the Time Lapse Calculator to calculate intervals, frame counts, and playback durations for any time lapse sequence. Enter your shoot duration and desired playback length to get the exact interval setting. The Codec Storage Calculator helps calculate storage requirements for RAW time lapse sequences based on frame count and file size per frame.