Time-Lapse Photography: Videos Telling a Story Over Time

   I've long been a fan of time-lapse photography.  Who isn't?  It's fascinating and somewhat hypnotic.  There's just something about the ability to compress time and view the results with a click of the mouse.
   There is no secret to creating time-lapse content.  It begins with a subject, the focus of your video.  The subject should change over time, and you should have the ability to repeatedly photograph that subject over the required length of time.
   Let's say you're a science teacher and the class is beginning an exploration of botany.  Discussing phototropism, a plant's natural tendency to seek light, will help students to learn the concept.  But creating a film in the classroom by repeatedly photographing a plant on a windowsill through the day may carry a greater learning impact.  Students can see for themselves that plants actually move quite a bit in the course of a day in response to external conditions such as light.
   It is helpful to know some basics about time-lapse photography.  The typical time-lapse video has about 20-30 frames per second.  The more frames per second, the smoother the transitions appear.  But more frames per second involves more time and more work; most filmmakers feel comfortable with a middle ground between choppy results and an overly time consuming project.
   Well produced time-lapse films involves a fixed camera.  Mounting a camera on a tripod or other solid platform and leaving it untouched through the production is important.  Sometimes, it's not possible to avoid a camera relocation.  Though it will change the overall impression of the film, a time-lapse project is still the result.
   How does a filmmaker take 20-30 shots per second over hours, days or even longer?  There are tools for this tedious task.  Cameras are now sold specifically to produce time-lapse sequences. (Here is one example: Brinno TLC200) Timers can be attached to cameras and set to trigger the shutter as needed by the user.  (If you're really interested, search this term: intervalometer.) Given these tools, it would be uncommon for a filmmaker to stand by a camera and manually release the shutter over and over again in order to produce time-lapse content.
   Time-lapse work can be more than just fun.  It can help shed light on areas as diverse as science, construction engineering and project management.
   The University of Indiana's Professor Roger Hangarter (Department of Biology) experiments extensively with time-lapse photography in helping to understand plant life. His web site is full of searchable time-lapse videos of plants in motion.

    A construction engineer might want to study the process by which a building is built. Though many tools exist on a micro-level, few macro-level tools are helpful.  But a video like this could help with solving engineering challenges on the next skyscraper project:

 

   What about an individual who manages a project?  Especially if the project recurs, it's useful to look back and see what might be improved the next time. Here's a look at a recent Superbowl, including the arena "makeovers" during Superbowl week. 

   Finally, let's take a look at the addition to Founders on our campus.  The project began in late May and concluded in mid-October.  Approximately one photo was taken each day. In total, two camera perspectives were used.  The first set of photos was taken from a perch above the construction site.  The second set of photos was taken near the northwest corner of Hockenbury.  Though there are certainly not 20-30 frames per second in this video, it does provide the viewer with the ability to watch a multi-month construction process unfold in a couple of minutes.

   (Having trouble viewing the video? Click on The Founders Addition Project.)

 
   Beyond filming a plant on a windowsill, are there classroom applications?  A Health class could use a time-lapse video to decode which salad bar items are the most popular offerings?  A Statistics class could gather data on human behavior in a public setting. A World Language class could examine non-verbal communication cues as people converse.  In short, there are many opportunities to use time-lapse video; your curriculum and your imagination can point you towards the possibilities.

   Bonus content: this morning, a student showed me a very impressive time-lapse video.  The overall effect is stunning.  It's called Natural Phenomena.