{"id":10305,"date":"2022-02-06T13:31:06","date_gmt":"2022-02-06T13:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/06\/hyperlapse-vs-timelapse-photography-whats-the-difference\/"},"modified":"2022-02-06T13:31:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-06T13:31:06","slug":"hyperlapse-vs-timelapse-photography-whats-the-difference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/02\/06\/hyperlapse-vs-timelapse-photography-whats-the-difference\/","title":{"rendered":"Hyperlapse vs. Timelapse Photography: What\u2019s the Difference?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Whether you\u2019re using a smartphone, drone<\/a>, or action camera<\/a>, you might have a choice between making a timelapse or a hyperlapse. Although they sound similar, each has a different purpose. All timelapses compress time, but hyperlapses add a movement dimension.<\/p>\n

The Basic Timelapse<\/h2>\n

The basic idea of a timelapse<\/a> is easy to understand. It\u2019s a video with an incredibly low frame rate. When you watch a movie, you\u2019re seeing 24 photographs every second. Representing one 24th of that second for every individual frame. This isn\u2019t as fast as reality of course, but it\u2019s fast enough that our brains perceive smooth motion. As you add more frames for every second, the motion becomes ever more smooth, until you approach an image that\u2019s eerily like looking through a window.<\/p>\n

This is fine for things that happen at human time scales, but what about filming, for example, a plant growing out of the ground? A plant doesn\u2019t grow much in a 24th of a second, so instead, you might take one frame a day for a year and then play them back at 24 frames a second. Assuming that your camera stayed in exactly the right position, the result would be a video of a plant that shows a year\u2019s worth of growth in just over 15 seconds.<\/p>\n

Timelapses have many artistic and scientific uses and you\u2019ll see them used to great effect in nature documentaries. However, they do have limitations when you want to compress time from the viewpoint of a moving subject.<\/p>\n

Timelapse + Movement = Hyperlapse<\/h2>\n
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You may have seen videos where a drone flies over a busy cityscape and cars and people just zoom by below as a 15-minute flight is compressed into 30 seconds. This is an example of a hyperlapse. A hyperlapse is really just a timelapse where the camera moves a long distance in any direction.<\/p>\n

That sounds simple, but making a hyperlapse look good poses several challenges. When you take a timelapse, your camera is perfectly stationary and stable. However, if you\u2019re moving around with the camera, the final product is going to look shaky and chaotic.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re making a hyperlapse manually, but taking individual photos, you need to use special software to stabilize the final video. Devices that can make automatic hyperlapses for you such as drones or action cameras like the GoPro series have built-in stabilization.<\/p>\n

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GoPro HERO9 Black<\/h3>\n

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The Hero 9 Black is the latest flagship action camera from GoPro and includes an impressive automated hyperlapse function.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Another way hyperlapses are often different is that the intervals between images may not be evenly spaced. For example, if you\u2019re making a hyperlapse of a trip, you\u2019d want to make the long boring parts of the trip zoom by, while slowing things down a bit when something interesting is happening.<\/p>\n

Timelapses Can Have Movement Too!<\/h2>\n

Traditional timelapses can have camera motion as well, but here that motion is precisely controlled. Photographers use special programmable motion rigs to move the camera a precise distance and angle at set intervals. So you may then get a timelapse where you\u2019re rotating the camera around a subject incredibly slowly, but it looks like real-time camera movement in the final product. One of the best examples of this can be found in the Fantastic Fungi documentary<\/a>, where dynamic camera movements are paired with exquisite timelapse footage.<\/p>\n

Choosing the Right \u2018Lapse<\/h2>\n

Choosing the right type of timelapse style isn\u2019t hard. It\u2019s all about the subject that you\u2019re filming and how you want the camera to move.<\/p>\n

If the subject is going to be in the frame for the duration of the shoot and you only need one angle, then use a normal timelapse. If the subject is going to stay in one spot or move very slowly, you can use a motion control rig to track its movement or show a different angle of it.<\/p>\n

If you want to take the camera and run, fly, drive<\/a>, swim, or otherwise go on an adventure with it, then a hyperlapse is the best choice.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> How to Create Your Own Time-Lapse Driving Videos<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n