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Trending Time-Lapse

Have you ever seen those fast video clips that make it look like a barista just whipped up a latte in 20 seconds? An artist could spend an hour painting a canvas, and you could watch the whole process in only 30 seconds. These are called time-lapse videos. Even though it may seem like a regular video that has been sped up super fast, there's much more to it than that.


Time-lapse videos are increasingly popular among social media posts and stories. They make for great content and can even be used in video sequences. When shooting on an iPhone, time-lapse videos will produce 1080 hp and 30 fps, making these the perfect clips for B roll. From your morning yoga routine to making cookies, they turn almost any task into a mesmerizing video.


Here's an example of a 15-20 minute long recording as a time-lapse video.

As mentioned earlier, it's not just a video that has been sped up. The average time-lapse video is anywhere from 20-40 seconds long, a perfect length for social media content. The length of the recording determines how fast the video is sped up, or the frame capture rate. For example, a recording duration of 20-40 minutes will capture 1 frame every 2 seconds, speeding up the video about 60 times to real-time. We recommend a minimum of 5-10 minutes of recording time for the best results.


So how do you shoot a time-lapse video? It's as easy as opening up your camera app on your iPhone, choosing the time-lapse mode, and hitting record! But there's a few tips and tricks into shooting a high quality and successful time-lapse videos. Let's take a look.

When recording anything on your smartphone, the first step is to put your phone on airplane mode and silence all notifications. Doing this will avoid any interruptions on your phones when shooting, resulting in messing up your shot. Nothing is worse than trying to get a cute photo of your dog just to be interrupted by Aunt Suzy calling.


When recording anything on your smartphone, the first step is to put your phone on airplane mode and silence all notifications. Doing this will avoid any interruptions on your phones when shooting, resulting in messing up your shot. Nothing is worse than trying to get a cute video of your dog just to be interrupted by Aunt Suzy calling.



The second tip when shooting time-lapse is to keep the camera still and shoot an area with lots of motion. Now, this doesn't have to be fast motion (ex. vehicles passing on a highway), even an artist making careful brush strokes on their canvas will seem fast due to the increased video speed. You want to shoot a subject that is stationary with motion around or in it. For example, if you are shooting a time-lapse video of a soccer game, the subject would be the soccer field, and the motion would be the players.


Another example could be a loaf of bread baking in the oven. The subject would be the oven with the pan inside (with the light on so you can see inside). While the bread rising and expanding serves as the motion. It's okay if the action goes in and out of frame (ex. birds flying by), you just don't want to be moving the camera around.


Speaking of keeping the camera still, use a tripod! This can be a standard tripod with a phone attachment, a tabletop tripod placed on the ground, or the roof of the car. You can even prop your phone against an item that will keep it still, such as the wall and counter. The main point here is to keep the camera as still as possible. Hand-held just won't cut it here.

These are a few tips to help improve your time-lapse videos. Try a few different time-lapse videos post them to Instagram and tag us @beeskneesmarketingco. We look forward to seeing what you create!



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