Time Lapse photography of my workshop build? How do I do it???
I have a spare Windows XP desktop and a Canon ZR500 digital camcorder. I'd like to use them (or a cheap but higher quality webcam) to make a stop motion movie of the upcoming workshop build beside my house. I've got a great window in the house to film out of and with only a 3 week build time it should be a small manageable project. However, I don't have a clue on how to get started. Anyone ever do something like this? Ideas?
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I'm sure someone can chime in on this with a camcorder, but I have done all my time lapse videos with stills. You set up the camera to take shots at what ever interval you want. Then compile them in a editing suite (i use premier) and you can increase or decrease to speed to what ever effect you want.
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get something like this: http://granitebaysoftware.com/Produc...uctGBTEOS.aspx
let XP run the camera, then putting all the stills together is easy. |
Did you use a regular camera or some sort of USB web cam type device? I would have mentioned my camera as a tool I could have used but I'm sure my wife will be out taking pictures of the work while it is being done. I wanted something I could set up and leave running for 3 weeks.
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it's all the same once connected through the usb...
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Maybe I'll dig into Windows Movie Maker and see if it will handle everything for me. Hmmm....
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doubtful. but im sure you can find a freeware program like i linked that can.
basically once you plug your camera in, it's essentially a webcam that can be controlled directly through software. |
I have found a freeware program, Monkey Jam, that might fit the bill. I'll experiment with it tonight and see what I can come up with.
http://monkeyjam.org/ AFAIK, there is no way to automate taking the pictures with this program. It works fine if I click the mouse each time I want a pictures but other than that, it does not do what I need it to. Ugh... |
w00t!
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OK, my dumb ass was calling it stop motion photography and I was getting no where. It is amazing what you can find if you actually use the correct terminology (time lapse photography). Anyway, here is my first test movie. I filmed 2.5 hours of a shadow on the wall. Sky Studio Pro took 81 pictures (even though I told it to take a pic every 1 minute and I filmed for 147 minutes???). The pics were 640x480 and took 70MB disc space. I used Monkey Jam to create the uncompressed AVI. Monkey Jam crashed several times while creating the 6 second movie. I'll have to play with it some more...
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OK, test #2 has been completed (understanding the software better and shooting where the workshop will actually be built). Well, this was actually test #3. The real test #2 was made shooting through a window. The afternoon sun was causing a mirror image off the window. I have since built a rig that will let me have the window partially opened but only leave a small hole for the camera to look through. Charleston, SC has a horrible pollen problem at this time of year (everything is completely covered in yellow pollen and it would really ruin the interior of my house) and we are also already using air conditioning so this fix was a nice one.
This is a 10 second film made from 265 pictures over the course of 7 hours: |
omg white truck!
that's pretty cool. |
I have no idea why she insists on parking her truck in my picture???
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Not sure if anyone is interested in this or not but here is test #3. I took pictures at 3x the frequency of the last test and did some action in the middle (starts @ 0:20). FWIW, I was cleaning an old broken compressor a friend gave me. Cleaning it took 1.5 hours and shows up as 7 seconds on the movie.
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do you plan to edit out "night time" so you can see only the daytime construction stuff?
that last test is pretty good. everything looks very smooth. |
Yes, I'm sure there will be a ton of editing. Any breaks in the action on construction will have to be cut out and I'm sure that some stuff will just flow better on camera than other things will. I'm going on the assumption that I will only be able to use half the pictures that I take. I'd really like it to be a 3 minute video because anything longer than that will start to get a little boring but I won't know until everything is finished.
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I'll have to do something like this, I experimented with the time lapse stuff on my gopro, but never figured out how to turn them into a movie.
So you're using Monkey Jam for this? |
Sky Studio Pro
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Very cool. Your neighbor's lawnmower looks supa fazt!
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Well, we are three days into the work (today was really the first full day - the other two days were only around 4 hours of work total) and I am already over my goal of 3:00 max. I did not want the video to be this long but I think I'm going to have to make a long one and then speed it up somehow to make it more condensed. Still, the project (the video project) looks like it is coming along fine. There is a of editing in this so far (cutting out a second here and a second there).
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Cool. Id watch the full movie on the big screen, with a few beers.
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I definitely need to do some further editing but it is starting to look like something. Concrete and framing...
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You should check out this site:
http://www.jughandleproject.com/cam.html They built a 4 lane bridge next to the highway, and in 4 days of closure, removed the road, excavated, slid the huge bridge in place and bolted it all up. It's called "rapid bridge construction". You can click through the images, but the finished movie isn't up yet, a week later. |
Just about all I am going to get from the front. This one is heavily edited (pretty close to the final edit):
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Excuse my construction illiteracy but what are they doing from 0:00 to 0:16 (in the most recent video)? It looks like they are pouring some concrete behind where the shop is being built, what is the purpose?
Also did you have concrete supports poured for the two post lift? I can't wait till I own enough land to build a big ass shop on. Congrats on yours. Video is cool btw |
pressure treated wood?
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Originally Posted by Efini~FC3S
(Post 859422)
Excuse my construction illiteracy but what are they doing from 0:00 to 0:16 (in the most recent video)? It looks like they are pouring some concrete behind where the shop is being built, what is the purpose?
Also did you have concrete supports poured for the two post lift? I can't wait till I own enough land to build a big ass shop on. Congrats on yours. Video is cool btw |
Originally Posted by Braineack
(Post 859453)
pressure treated wood?
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Originally Posted by curly
(Post 859651)
Electrical perhaps? Also I think it's his neighbor's, not his. He's too cheap to build a garage, let alone install a lift in it. That or this is what he's been saving his money for since he was a kid and found his first penny on the ground.:party:
I've been a cheap ass my entire life. I told my wife when I turned 45 it would be time to "learn" to spend. I hit 45 on Feb 26th of this year. I did not make 12' walls or add extra support in the concrete on purpose. I did not want a lift in my workshop. Just more stuff to trip over. I'll probably put the kwiklift in there for now but if it gets in the way I'll put it back in the garage. The building is supposed to be for wood/metal work. I don't do much car stuff at this time. |
Wood shop?
This is no longer relevant to my interests... |
Originally Posted by rmcelwee
(Post 859675)
No, just regular stuff...
and it's directly on concrete? |
Originally Posted by Braineack
(Post 859854)
and it's directly on concrete?
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It depends on the area that you are in, how much your concrete sweats, and if the foundation comes up higher than the dirt around it to know if you need pressure treated or not. I use it in everything that touches the concrete, but we have 90% humidity year round and concrete here can sweat like crazy.
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I'm surprised they didnt put any wire in the floor. For a slab that size it would cost roughly $150-$200 more, and its something I always recommend to our customers.
Usually when we do monolithic slabs we put in knee walls as well, but not everyone is looking for the extra support. For the purposes you plan on using the shop for that slab should do just fine. I've been toying with the idea of doing some time lapse videos myself for some of the jobs we do. Only problem is most of the time its out in the middle of nowhere, so I'm not exactly sure how I'd keep the camera battery charged all day. |
A different view:
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Nice videos!
You need a random scary face to pop up. |
The video project is almost completed. They are working today but it will be one of the last times I will get usable video. Now I just need to write a song for the background music, figure out how to play some instruments and record it.
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i hope OSHA doesnt see this video.
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