How I create simple time lapse videos on Windows PCs

Hey, PCWorld readers! I’ve been fascinated by time lapse videos ever since I saw the video effect used on a bean-sprout growing in second grade class.

Being able to condense days of growth into a short video that I could watch in just a minute seemed like magic to me. What’s more, it opened my mind to something about plants that you just can’t see every day — the fact that they’re not just inanimate things. They can move just like us (albeit a lot more slowly).

The great thing about making a time lapse video these days is you don’t need a studio or specialist equipment to pull it off. It can be done with a mobile phone and / or a free app in Windows.

So, if you’re into a hobby that lends itself well to a time lapse (and that can be almost anything), why not make a time lapse video? Here are some ideas for inspiration:

• A flower bud opening
• An artist painting
• Traffic moving on the street
• Your own hair growing out after a snip

Tip: Slow moving things like snails and clouds make excellent subjects but require a little more time to shoot.

What to do:

One of the simplest ways to create a time lapse video is with an app called Time Lapse Creator. It gives you the option of either uploading images or videos, or shooting a video directly via the app itself.

For the purposes of this “how to,” I’ve assumed that you’ve already shot your pictures, uploaded them to your PC, and stored them in a folder. Now you can do the following:

• Download and install the free app Time Lapse Creator.
• Select either Import Folder or Import Files to select the images you’d like to turn into your video. Also select the order of the images to be played (by date or by ascending or descending order).
• Choose the frame rate (fps), video quality, and bitrate. As a guide to fps, to make 10 seconds of time lapse a professional time lapse videographer will use 240 images editing at 24fps, 250 images editing at 25fps, and 300 photos editing at 30fps.
• Press preview to view your video and tweak the settings until you’re happy.
• Once you think you’ve nailed it, save your video to make an MP4.

Dominic Bayley / Foundry

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