Published: June 19, 2024 | Last Updated: September 2, 2024
Time lapse is a specialized technique in photography and film that captures frames at a slower rate than usual, creating a fast-motion playback effect. It’s often assembled from a series of stills stitched together into a video sequence, but it can also be created from sped-up video footage. A time lapse condenses hours, days, or even years of real-time events into mere seconds or minutes of footage. Timelapse footage is frequently used in documentaries, building construction videos, and movies to show changes over extended periods, such as the blooming of a flower or the bustling activity in a city.
As the name suggests, time-lapse in photography and film seeks to convey the passing of time. It’s done differently in photography and videography, although some photography methods carry over into video and vice versa.
Time Lapse in Photography
As the term ‘a still’ suggests, a photograph captures a moment frozen in time. So, how is it possible to convey the passing of time?
The most common way is to use long exposure times to capture movement. Examples include:
- Fireworks (it’s possible to capture multiple rockets – both their tail and explosion in a single photograph).
- Cars driving at night (for example, it’s possible to capture the entire trip from top to bottom on a twisting mountain road).
- The silky flow of a river or clouds. This usually requires an ND filter to avoid over-exposure.
- The movement of celestial bodies at night, i.e., astrophotography timelapse.
Another method is to use time-lapse photography to take a series of still photos and stitch them together into a single photo in editing software.
There are many variations of this. Fx, you can set up a camera, take a photo from each day of the year, and then stitch them together. Or take a photo each hour for 24 hours and then combine them into a single photo. It all depends on the time granularity of what you want to capture.
Time Lapse in Film and Video
Creating a timelapse video is a common way of condensing lengthy natural processes. Documentaries frequently use this technique to show the growth of plants, the movement of celestial bodies, or the transformation of landscapes over seasons or even years. Here’s one of my favorites from ISS – the International Space Station:
Shutter Speed and Exposure
Slower shutter speeds are a common technique in timelapse photography. This allows more light to enter the camera and produces smoother, more fluid motion in the final video.
For example, a slower shutter speed can create beautiful light trails from moving cars in a nighttime cityscape to blurred people on the move.
The Difference between Timelapse and Hyperlapse
Both timelapse and hyperlapse involve manipulating time in video production, but they are done slightly differently.
A timelapse is captured using a stationary camera, often mounted on a tripod. The camera can also be mounted on an electric slider or panner to introduce slight panning, tilting, or parallax, but it stays at the same location throughout the shoot.
A hyperlapse is a timelapse variation where the camera is moved between each shot. This creates a dynamic sense of motion through space in addition to the passage of time.
Hyperlapses can be created by meticulously moving the camera on a tripod step-by-step and taking a new photo each time. This method allows you the most control and to keep a specific object in focus. It’s very time-consuming, but it can create awesome results.
You can also create it by mounting your camera on a gimbal—or even handheld if your camera’s stabilization is good enough—and recording video footage while you do so. Then, you can disassemble or speed up the footage in your editing software to create the hyperlapse.
You can also mount your camera to a car or another means of transport and let it record stills or video while you drive, as shown in Example 2 below.
Time lapse Movie Examples and Their Meaning
As mentioned, timelapse sequences are common in documentary filmmaking and are great for conveying the changing planet or the dynamics of urban life.
However, they’re also used in movies and TV shows, sometimes as an alternative to film montages.
Here are three of my favorite examples:
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
In this scene from Requiem for a Dream, a timelapse is used to show how Sarah’s mind is functioning under the influence of amphetamines. It shows how she experiences the passing of time under the influence of drugs while frantically cleaning the apartment.
Gangs of New York (2002)
In the closing shot of Gangs of New York, Amsterdam (Leonardo de Caprio) and Jenny (Cameron Diaz) leave the Brooklyn cemetery where his father “Priest” Vallon (Liam Neeson) is buried next to his killer William “Bill the Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis).
A time-lapse shows how the skyline of New York changes from 1862 to modern-day New York City while the old cemetery and the conflicts of those buried there are long forgotten. This shows that the world continues to evolve and move forward, and whatever life-engulfing (or life-ending) conflict or war is insignificant in the grand picture.
The Time Machine (2002)
CGI creates a cool time-lapse effect in the time travel sequence, as we see in Dr. Alexander Hartdegen (Guy Pearce) moving forward in time. It’s a cool way to show a hundred years passing over a short time and how Dr. Hartdegen perceives this from his machine.
Summing Up
Time-lapse is a technique where a series of photos are taken at set intervals over time and then played back at a higher speed. It captures changes that occur slowly over time, such as the movement of clouds, the blooming of flowers, or the progression of construction projects.
It is used in photography and movies, and CGI is sometimes used in the latter. However, the effect remains the same. The point is to condense and let the audience experience time passing in an impossible way with the naked eye.
Up Next: How to create a time-lapse video.
