Help

By admin





Using TimeLapse

Basic Help

Overview

Creating a timelapse video consists two steps: 1) you must capture images and 2) you need to “render” those images together into a video. From there you can share the video on video sites (i.e. facebook, youtube, vimeo) or save to your camera roll or computer.
IMPORTANT: Getting a phone call, SMS or phone battery warning will stop the automatic phone sequence. Its a good idea to put your phone in “Airplane Mode” and to make sure you phone is plugged in or fully charged to ensure that you get the full sequence of images you want to for a great timelapse.
So a quick run through of making a basic time lapse video.
  1. Create a new project by clicking on “NEW TIMELAPSE” from the project list screen.
  2. A blank project will appear. You can give the project a name and description. Don’t worry you can always change this latter as well as edit the captured frames from this screen. The bottom tab bar has option for each different activity you can do with the time lapse project: Details, Add Images, Render, Watch & Share.
  3. Click “Add Images” – there are two ways you can get images into your video. You can open the camera and take pictures one by one or you can open the camera to take a sequence. A sequence is the easiest method. For this method choose how often you want to take an image and how long you want the video.
  4. Click “Take a Sequence” – The camera view will appear.
  5. Click “Start” – this will start the auto taking of pictures. You can hit “Stop” or the sequence will automatically stop when the pre-programed time is reached.
  6. Next “Render” the video – click the render tab at the bottom of screen and click “Render Now” – the advanced setting are covered in the Advanced Techniques section.
  7. When the video is rendered you can watch it by clicking the “Watch” tab or share with the “Share” tab.

Advanced Techniques

This section covers some the advanced techniques you can employ with iTimelapse. Also check out www.timelapse-iphone.com for additional resources.

Rendering During Capture

This is probably the most used advanced feature. It allows you to make a timelapse video on-the-go. As each picture is taken it adds it to your video. Whenever you stop your timelapse the video is done and ready for you to watch and share. To enable this feature, flip the “Render During Capture” to On. IMPORTANT: this setting does not save images as they are take so you can not edit them later or export them to your camera roll. Also you can not add a music track with this feature enabled.

Image Capture Settings

  • Snap Interval - This setting controls how fast images are taken. Images can not be taken faster than about once every 5 seconds (about 4 secs on the 3GS). 
  • Start Capturing – This includes options for “Manual” , “Timer” and “Date”
  • Stop Capturing – You can choose how your video will stop beside clicking the manual stop/exit on the picture screen. Choices are “# of Photos” , “Timer” and “Date”
  • Overlay Previous Frame – A very useful feature when you are make stopmotion type timelapses. It will display a partially transparent overlay of the last image taken so you can match up camera position.
  • Capture Resolution - The capture resolution affects the size of your project, quality of resultant video as well as the rendering time. A video taken with a large capture resolution such as 1200×1600 will take up a lot of space on your iPhone and take a long time to render, but will look quite nice. 
  • Render During Capture – This flag will cause the video to “Render” while each picture is taken so soon as you stop taking pictures your video is ready to watch.

Video Render Setting

  • Frames Per Second – This is one of the most important settings for the visual effect of your video. As it says this is the number of pictures that will be rendered into a second of video. A low number like 1 per-second will make the video feel more like fast slide show while a high number like 24 frames a second will make the movie move at super speed.
  • Filename – You can render a project as many times as you like into different video which is important if you want to see the effect of different render settings. The filename needs to be changed for for you save each video seperately.
  • Video Resolution – This is size of the video to rendered. The larger the resolution the longer it will take for the video to render and render resolution should not be bigger than the capture resolution or you will get poor quality. 
  • Music Soundtrack – We have included a number of songs that you can add as music to your videos. Future versions will have many tracks available.
  • Add Timestamp – This will render a timestamp on each frame. Useful if you are taking a timelapse and you want to match up with time of day or want to show the viewer how much time passed during the video.
  • Show App Logo in Video – Defaults to on (and hopefully you leave it on), it will append the “made with iTimeLapse” logo to the end of your video.

Share Options

We have included a few different options for you to share your created videos. Its important to note video files are very large and upload time can be very long. For long video we strongly recommend that you are on a wifi network.
  • YouTube – Upload your video to your YouTube account. If you do not have a YouTube account go to http://youtube.com and register for an account before you upload. The “Gallery tag” switch will automatically include the “iTimelaspeGallery” tag in the videos keywords.
  • Facebook – Uploads the video to facebook. Facebook videos can be tricky to find at time and the video should be at the following url when you are logged into facebook: http://facebook.com/video/my
  • Vimeo – Uploads the video to your vimeo account. This process requires you to log into a web view that will popup so be patient as you only need to do this once.
  • Camera Roll – This will save the video to your “Photos” app. You can then sync with your iTunes to copy the video right into iPhoto.
  • Email – This will let you send the video as an email. NOTE: you can not email large video files. Basically any video that is longer than 20 seconds cannot be emailed. 

Editing Frames

A common problem with a video is that you have individual frames that hurt the overall quality of the video. To remove these frames click on the project “Details” tab and click “Edit Frames” – A list of all the pictures in the project will appear  (be patient this can take a few seconds to load depending on the number of frames in your project). Click the round delete icon in left of a row then the delete button will appear. Click delete from the frame your want to remove.

Exporting Frames to Your Camera Roll

If you want to compile your images on your computer you will need to get the images off your iPhone. First you need to get your images into your camera roll. To do this do to the “Details” tab of your project – click “Edit Frames” – now in the upper right corner click “Export Frames” – the images will start to export one by to the Camera Roll or “Photos” app in you iPhone. You can then sync your iPhone to your computer to download all your pictures.

Adding Music To a Video

To a music track to your video, select a song in the “Render” tab under “Music Soundtrack” settings. Once you have choosen the track, click render now and the track will be added to the video when it is ready. 

Credits

TimeLapse Ultimate is copyright Laan Labs 2009.
TimeLapse Ultimate utilizes the FFmpeg video application (Copyright (c) 2000-2008 Fabrice Bellard, et al.) for part of the conversion process.
FFmpeg is a free software licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL).
FFmpeg is a trademark of Fabrice Bellard, originator of the FFmpeg project.
Source code for FFmpeg can be found on the FFmpeg web site.
Alternatively, the source code of FFmpeg, as supplied with TimeLapse Ultimate, can be downloaded from our server at this location http://labs.laan.com/projects/iPhone/TimeLapse/source.php.



Comments


kenneth pape
November 20th, 2009

Whats a good setting to capture clouds??


admin
November 20th, 2009

Its good to have a slower capture rate like once every 20-60 seconds so that you see the clouds really move along. also you want to do it on clear day so the clouds show up crisply


Sanford Lewis
November 20th, 2009

Congratulations on release of this app. Even with just a few hours acquaintance, I’m persuaded it’s one of the most compelling and well designed apps in the app store, and I have 175 apps on my iphone. Good job!!


Ed Amsterdam
November 27th, 2009

I can’t play saved projects in iPhoto/Quick time. I only see a green screen. But opening and playing the same file with RealPlayer works fine. Does anybody know what occurs this problem/how to solve this problem?


Paddy
November 30th, 2009

Great app, guys!!

Just one thing is not clear to me. What does the small bar mean below the Start / Stop buttons on the capture screen? I can move it sideways but didn’t get the function of it.


Tony
December 7th, 2009

I made a timelapse video that is around 95 mb in filesize, but can’t export it to my camera roll because it’s too large. I can’t render it again and can’t send it to e-mail. Vimeo upload halts and Facebook just crashes the app. What to do!?


john
December 17th, 2009

i can’t play the video in iphoto with quick time
just green screen. why ?


john
December 18th, 2009

green screen problem with mac ?

maybe you need the free quick time plugin
PERIAN or flip4mac
better both
they are free and very useful generally.
or open with VLC is free


Brad
June 14th, 2010

Great program, but I think the developers have forgotten about it. They haven’t updated in over 6 months, and have not replied to any of my e-mails. It’s really frustrating because it’s a great program that I use all the time! I just want it to be updated for use with the new iPhone 4.


Robbie
July 2nd, 2010

Same problem here – I have emailed the developers twice, no response. Great app IF ONLY WE COULD EXPORT

You need to listen to your customers!


Mark
July 14th, 2010

Why did you delete my last post?!

I only want to export large videos (maybe within the iTunes-Fileshare-Feature) as every other user here but hey, let the users pay 3 Euros for your software but never answer on any supportrelated question…

I dont think that this is “good marketing”… Please fix that, how can i record HD Movies without any chance to get them on my desktop…


Chris
August 17th, 2010

Its clear after reading comments here and at the App store that users are quite frustrated NOT to have the ability to export any of HD timelapse projects they have made. I am among them.

To be clear, this is an AWESOME app… HD video or not, I love it. I am an artist and just spent 3 weeks shooting a lengthy video of a painting in progress. I had hoped to document this in HD. While I had no problem making a lower res video, I’m bummed out that I can’t export anything better. I really don’t want to throw out the 13gigs of frames, but now I’m out of space with no options to back-up or save the original frames. I wish I knew if this issue will ever be fixed.

PLEASE, it would be smart -and good business sense – to simply address your customer’s concerns with a clear posting stating whether the ability to export the HD videos will ever come, if the app will be updated, etc. etc. Perhaps for some reason its not going to be possible… thats OK, just let people know and nobody will be angry or trash this great app. Thank you.


UltraBit
August 31st, 2010

Nice App, but no way to export the Movie in high Resolution (for Example 1200×900) to my Workstation.
Please fix it.


andreas
October 7th, 2010

hello
is it possible
- to make fotos in more shorter time (e.g. half second) ?
- to deactivate the flash ?
- incase control by noise, to make not a photo, but a video sequense ?


Phil
October 15th, 2010

How do I copy the file from the phone to my computer? I have tried vimeo but never uploads properly.

Also when will the software support iPhone 4 properly?


René
October 15th, 2010

Is it possible to deactivate The Flash?


Jimmy
October 23rd, 2010

Wow. I just bought this app for iphone 4 and had a problem so I came to this support page and read all the above requests. I soon forgot about my app problem after getting half way through the comments and seeing that so many people are unhappy with the app. These paid customers are being very patient and respectful with the developer and yet he can’t even take 1 minute to respond to there questions. That is pretty low. And here the paying customers are the ones having to put in the time and effort to come up with fixes for your software. BTW, Thank’s Osku and Tony P for your efforts. I think until you (the developer) can get your app working equal to what it states in the description upon purchase, it should not be available in the store for consumers to buy. This is very misleading! And you offer a forum link for us to go to for help and support which is not even a working link. I understand all app’s have bugs but the developer always continues to work on updates which should take no longer than 30 days. Not to mention the developer keeps the consumers informed of the status of the updates and bugs. This developer has not responded in 10 months. What a joke. I think you (The Developer) owe us all an apology , not to mention a refund! I elect to donate my refund to Osku and Tony P! And to the developer, I think you owe Osku and Tony P. a big thank you along with some $ since they had to take on the role of “Admin” for your pretty cool little app if it ever does what you say it does. Please contact me in regards to getting my app to work properly or to get me my refund. If no response in 3 days I will take the time to bash your app and developer name in as many places as I can find.

XOXO,
One of many customers you ripped off!


Marco
November 4th, 2010

Hi!

One question, will this app get an update, so i can use it with my iPhone 4 an iOS 4.x?


Mob
November 13th, 2010

Lots of people ask: is it possible to turn off the FLASH????????


Qschi
December 8th, 2010

Is it possible to turn off flash light??????????


jay
January 28th, 2011

the only thing i request is that we can use songs directly from our iphone.
THAT would be UH-MAZING


Marko M
February 2nd, 2011

app worked great in capture and playback, I wish the Vimeo upload feature actually worked.. The log in page never comes up and it says I failed to authenticate…


Jimmy
February 9th, 2011

These assholes have all the time in the world to produce new app’s and collect new money but they do not have time to update their app’s. Everyone who is having trouble with this app PLEASE file a complaint onApp Store/itunes. When you go to purchase this app at the very bottom there is reviews and a link to “Report a problem”. It is very quick and easy. If we get enough complaints we can get these guys shut down. They are not going to update the app. If you look at the website and reviews its nothing but people complaining. People have been asking for an update for almost 2 years. I would not waste your time asking for the update. Just report the app as fraud to itunes. People like this should not get rich off people like us. But we are the only ones who can stop it.


Mr. T
March 3rd, 2011

I have already purchased time lapse for my iPhone 3GS. For some reason it is not in my list of apps any more. When I try to instal it again it wants to charge me again.
Help.


henry
March 4th, 2011

can you use the current generation ipod touch for this app


glenn
March 9th, 2011

is there any way to turn off the screen during capture? it seems this wastes a lot of battery life.


Alex
April 23rd, 2011

I am trying to make a movie with a clip in imovke but it just goes green any ideas?


patricio
April 26th, 2011

Hi! each time the app finishes rendering, automatically quits.
and i´m never able to see the video
how can i do to see the rendered files?


airFreshing
May 2nd, 2011

Same problems here. First “green movies” after export, now the app quits each time after rendering and i can´t export any movies. An update for the app would be nice. Thx…


Dootcho
May 17th, 2011

Same problems here. The app quits each time after rendering can´t export any movies as well.

Please update! you have the luck of being the developers of one out of a 1.000.000.000 apps that make no sense, treat it well!


Marilynn Buxton
June 12th, 2011

I was told this app was free this weekend. How do I get this for free? Thanks.


cobretti
July 17th, 2011

anyone know how to remove movies from your phone? when I hook my phone up to itunes it’s showing over 40 videos even though I’ve deleted them from my phone. I assume this is taking up at least 3 gigs because it’s impossible to delete videos permanently.


Thierry
July 27th, 2011

Hi cobretti, I have seen this bug too… I don’t know why the application keeps secretly copies of all videos rendered…
> The only thing to do : uninstall your application, then re-install it…


Jonathan Bowen
August 10th, 2011

Am I on crack is there no ability to use the zoom feature on the iPhone 4?! If the ability is not currently available, when will it be updated? Let me know. Thanks!


Jan
September 15th, 2011

Please please please make à Focus exposure white balance lock :0


Susanna
January 18th, 2012

what is block landscape?


Justin
February 20th, 2012

I just made a video and when I play it has cut off half of the image but when I look at the images individually the image is all there. Can you help with this?

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