How to make timelapse video in Final Cut Pro X

All,

Came across this, might prove helpful to anybody wanting to make their stills into a timelapse video in FCPX

You can also use MPEG stream clip and then export as Pro Res with the native resolution of your stills, this way, no rendering in FCPX

Are there any de-flicker plugins available yet for timelapse videos?

If you have QT 7, it puts together timelapse photos really quick and easy into a video asset.

My case is similar but not the same. Is there any way of doing a timelapse from a video file? I want to make a sunset timelapse and I got 30 minutes of video. How can I do it on FCP X?

Thanks in advance

In FCP X you can speed up clips as much as you want. Cmd-R brings up the retiming header, then pull the handle on it's right side in to shorten it up so it plays as fast as you like.

Motion does an excellent job with Image Sequences.

Really kind of you!
Thanks, my friend

creative..thumbs up for thisB)

oweng69 wrote: Are there any de-flicker plugins available yet for timelapse videos?

NOT YET!

I use boris fx in CS6 for now tho...

First, if you're using stills, you should be using a Progressive timeline to assemble them in. No deflicker necessary. If you are mixing with interlaced footage, and need to deinterlace it, there are settings for clips and Timelines in FCP X to do that.

Ben: Please explain how no deflickering is necessary in a Progressive timeline. You can't float a statement like that without giving us the details:-). Really, deflickering is the holy grail of timelapse and the only two programs I've seen to handle it are LR Timelapse and one other PC only thing.

Can you explain further? Pretty please? Many thanks, Bob

1st, I do LOTS of timelapes work, have done for years. Never had a flicker problem. Flickering or juttery patterns on screen are an interlace video issue. It's very simple, really. Again, I've never had a flicker issue with my own timelapse projects.

I think there may be some confusion with this topic.

I would agree that you need to de-flicker almost every time when you do a time-lapse taken from JPEGS/RAW'S, where the camera is set to AV (due to increase / decrease in exposure during the duration of the time-lapse). Correct me if im wrong, but this is generally the best method to capture time-lapse where the exposures change dramatically.


Example: a time-lapse from day to night - I always get small jumps of exposure that look like flicker once sequenced - I don't think this has anything to do with Progress vs Interlaced.

LR Timelapse / GBE De-flicker etc do a great job on smoothing the exposures so there is a gradation with no flicker. Personally I have used Boris FX flicker plugin for this (CS6) and it has worked a charm.

BEN: If your doing time-lapse with a DSLR say? I couldnt image how you can avoid flickering when shooting a day to night time lapse for example. If you dont get this issue, i would love to know your work around.

I never let a camera auto-adjust during timelapes. I babysit it and manually adjust as needed over time. Any auto settings for timelapse is a huge no-no. Again, I've never gotten "exposure flicker" in any timelapse I've ever done. To say you need to de-flicker almost every time you do timelapes baffles me.

Most of the time, the cause of time lapse flicker can be attributed to the type of lens/camera combination. Here's why: on cameras with electronically controlled apertures (Canon DSLR e.g.) using an auto focus lens, the cameras default position aperture is wide open for best metering and then stops down at the moment the shutter is pressed. Say your lens is an f1.4 but you're shooting at f8. Every time a picture is taken, the camera closes the aperture for the split second of exposure. Over the course of a timelapse, the tolerance of opening and closing is not exact and creates the minute exposure variation known as flicker. The only way to avoid this with an auto focus lens is to shoot wide open, but of coursenthatnis rarely acceptable. Using a plugin to cure this will always yield inferior results.

The way to fix this is to use manual focus/manual aperture lenses like a Nikon AI or Zeiss ZF on a Canon (Zeiss ze poses the same problem as using canon AF) using an adapter. Then the aperture can be manually set and left in position for the duration of the shoot.

The second type of flicker comes from minute changes in exposure from cloud/sky variations. This is hard to fix, but usually not objectionable.

A third type of flicker, usually a problem for indoor timelapse or stop motion is tungsten light flicker from an unregulated power source. On professional stop motion shoots, we use voltage regulators to cure this.

(One poster mentioned progressive vs interlaced. This is not relevant to the discussion of how to remove flicker from timelapse footage as I would assume we're all working in an NLE like final cut to get away from dealing with interlacing. )

My advise: buy a couple of old manual lenses and an adapter and your problems will be solved.

I totally understand the issues with flicker, and I always shoot manual. The day to night stuff I always struggled with, I don't think im willing to stay up for 12-24hrs to manually adjust exposures - whether it be in camera or manual aperture on the lens.
I read up on Tom Lowe's settings, and Tom Guillemette / Philip bloom have done quite a few tests with day - night time lapse (some 36hrs / over 20 stops variance) and have always suggested AV or TV being set to auto, preferably AV, then running some sort of de-flicker remedy in post.

So I guess my question is, is there a better way to get a day - night timelapse (full sun to night stars) than using AV mode in this scenario.

BEN: you might be baffled by me using de-flicker, but please share your knowledge on how you can achieve this any other way (day - night), i would be very welcomed to a method I haven't tried.

You can turn off the autofocus on a Canon lens. I never leave anything set to "auto" when doing timelapse.

Autofocus in manual mode has nothing to do with it. The problem is that even if your camera and lens are set to full manual, the design of a Canon autofocus lens means that the aperture is stopping down on each exposure every time and this is an imprecise process compared to using a manual exposure lens with a mechanically operated aperture ring. When you use a manual aperture lens, the aperture can't change. Canon engineers design their lenses for autofocus and exposure, not timelapse and manual. The tolerances are not built into the product. That is why autofocus lenses are not comparable to cinema lenses. Not a slam on auto focus lenses, but they're built for a different purpose.

BEN: I would say auto focus turned off would be as important to making sure your camera is turned on. I understand the points your making with auto. This whole time I have only mentioned "one" auto setting I currently use in specific circumstances, although common for most.

My question again, from your experiences how would you achieve / maintain correct exposure from light to dark over a long period? Is it strange to use "one" auto setting (AV) and applying a De-flicker in post to correct flicker? BTW I'm not being rude here, I actually want your knowledge, as im willing to learn / adopt another more simplified method.

I'm guessing there is no hard and fast rule here for it besides the totally obvious?

Paul: This makes perfect sense. And if you shoot all manual settings, this issue is non-existent - what Ben is stating (I think).

But pretending we know how all this works, how would you tackle a 12hr timelapse with over 20 stops of exposure change/s? Full manual? Manual adjust exposure settings frame by frame? This is where these last few posts lost me... up until now I have always used AV for that particular circumstance.