Time Lapse Video

WNYcarpenter

Maybe you could hire a Mexican to stand there and take a pic every 5 mins...might prove to be cheaper than hiring a production company... KIDDING!!!

That's a great marketing scheme. Something to add to your website, or a dvd hand out to potential customers.

What are the responsibilities to the customer who's bathroom you'd be filming? Would they expect a discount, royalties, pay off? Anyone have any insight to the legalities?

I did a stint in photo journalism in college and it was emphasized that you ask permission of a subject you intend to photograph before it's published.....Just curious!

__________________
"I knew I lost my wallet as soon as I threw my pants over the fence". -'lil jarhead bro when asking for a wire transfer...

Mike Finley

Have em sign a photographic property release if you are worried. Wham, bam, done. I'm sure there are free copies on line by now. It's not a bad idea at all, especially if you are investing some money into having it produced. That would be the one customer who you would think wouldn't be an issue that ends up causing you problems.

JamesNLA

No need for all that. Your not filming anyone in particular, or a minor....that is different.

In your contract add an advertisment clause:
We hereby reserve the right to film / photograph any and all activities of construction of the aformentioned contract. Furthurmore we reserve the right to use images for purposes of advertizment in still photography or video. Commercial and but not limited to private broadcast distribution or print copyrights will be the sole ownership of (insert company name) Royalty fees, residual fees, or any other forms of compensation will not exist _________ initial here.

Ya get the point here.

Mike what is the brand and mdl number of a camcorder you already have or have access to?

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

JamesNLA

LOL.....I still have my contracts...started at Law Depot.com, and then added 5 more pages on to that. I had everything from Acts of God - to terrorist attacts to equipment failures in my contract. I can't tell you how many hours I spent on that. About half as much as my construction contracts.....However they are similar.

As far as shooting people, if they are indirectly in the backround, there is no need for a release....however with the commings of HD cameras people in the back round are now almost part of the shot because the depth of feild is so great....not just static fill anymore.
I still love shooting and editing, but the hours at the computer were just killing me....Way too much time, to do a great job.


Hay mike, if you want, I know a few guys in your area that own prod companies, could see if they are interested....but it is just as easy for you to do it....no fancy camera needed, just a decent computer, an editing program (free to $4000) and some time.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

Mike Finley

I have a sony Mavica DCR-PC5 digital video recorder.

Which reminds me of another problem, video camera lenses are notorious for being less then wide. Was hoping a professional would have professional lenses to ensure a wider angle of view, which is always the problem when photographing bathrooms. On my Nikon digital SLR camera I have a 18mm lens which is still sometimes not wide enough.

JamesNLA

OK, here we go!!

2 ways you can do this. 1 is a pain in the arse, but will work.

Take that camera and mount it in a place where it can be removed and put back in the same exact position (bolt a tripod to the top wall corner or something)

Using your camera, you can take a pile of tapes (mini DV) and just hit record. Let it record all day long.

Take those tapes and import them into your computer / video editor.
Once on the time line, speed the hell out of it. See how it looks and start cutting portions where it is too static (lunch break)

Mind you this is a pain to do, because of all the footage you have to deal with.

Option 2:

Your cam doesn't have interval recording, so it's a paper weight.
I did some checking and one of the better cameras that can do it is the Sony DCR-TRV22 Mini DV.

It's about 4 years old, but totally has what you want.
It's on ebay for 150 right now. Comes with a charger, but that's all you need.

Read a review of the camera here: http://www.videomaker.com/article/9785/

THe part you care about is this:
Another creative feature is interval recording. You can record in bursts (in 1/2-second intervals from 1/2 second to two seconds) for lengths from 30 seconds to 10 minutes.

The bold I did, is really important to the quality of the image. My suggestion 2 seconds every 30 seconds. That will yeild great time lapse.

As far as the image will look....short of spending 4 grand on a rig, plus ALL the other things needed to make a really nive video...this is BY FAR the cheaper way to go. Kinda like tools....not the tool, but the guy holding them. Same thing here. I can make a killer video with a crappy consumer camera. As far as the angle goes...in a bathroom even a wide angle lens won't do it justice, you want something called a Fish Eye. It looks a little odd, but it will capture everything, and you can get a decent one for under $200

Editor....Crap I'll explain more in a little while, I gotta hit the batting cages before they close. Be back soon!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-DCR-TRV22-M...QQcmdZViewItem

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

Mike Finley

Damn you James!

You're making me think about doing this myself now!

Just saw the wide angle lens for that camcorder for $35.00

JamesNLA

Sweet....but get a fish eye too.......

Editor:
Now listen up, cuz I actually know what I'm talking about with this stuff!
The cheaper the editor, the harder yourlife will be. The old saying KISS.

If you try to get fancy with a POS editor, you will hate life, and punch your monitor out. I personally use Adobe Premiere Pro1.0 I actually use the entire Adobe professional suite, as well as other programs depending on what I am making.

Pinnical software is the IMO easiest one to learn. Keep in mind the hardest part about this entire thing, is the learning curve. You must have patience or it's not going to turn out good.

There are a good handful of editors out there, and you don't want the dirt cheapest one you can buy either. If your into the whole hacking thing, you can get just about any of them for free. That's what I did because I didn't like the trial versions....so after I decided, I bought a license. I think it was a few 300 bucks or so. I made my living off that program as well as Photo Shop...etc..

Any decent editor will work for what your wanting. Things to consider:
Exporting, what file formats can you export. .AVI (uncompressed) can be turned into a .WMV (windows media video) AKA web format. .MOV is Apples format, but you need other programs and that is getting more complicated. .M2v editor compressed MPEG files, basically for DVD encoding. Mpeg2 is DVD, and it's compressed to hell (I don't care for DVD technology too much)

Anyhow, a decent editor will be able to get you .AVI and .Mpeg2 those are the main ones. If you wanna do flash....talk to Mikeyco (saw your animation) I don't do or wanna know how to do flash.

Here's the problem with trial programs, 1 they are big...over 200mb to download. Next, there is a learning curve. Any editor worth his/her weight is constantly learning new versions/releases/updates/ plug in's...So just know that it will take some time to get comfortable. But if you are somewhat able to still learn new things, it ain't no thang. Pretty soon you's be asking me about capture cards to import all your old VHS tapes and make videos of the family and life long recaps......sigh...I don't miss it. I do however cherish what I have done. I have made some amazing family videos that my kids will have for the rest of their lives. All the way from first apartment / pregnant to them playing soccer.....That aspect I still love!

Anyhow, back to work:
This is by no means difficult, it does require a bit of reading and a bit of practice. Making a video about a bath remod is a piece of cake. And once you get good at it, this video will do more for you than any piece of advertisment will ever do.

Imagine a semi fast paced piece of music, and quick cuts of different finished kitchens / baths / whatever you build....10 to 15 seconds as the intro. Going into a naration (VO - Voice over) of the process, of a bath remod with you/company. The sit down, the design the contract, the happy home owners the impactful shots of demo and new timbers being brought into the site, the trailer loaded with tools, the company logo/license on the side of the trucks The (clean cut, non mexican) crew smiling as they tear through the job.........and then it appears.........15 seconds of high energy.......sped up to 5000% of its normal speed is your masterpiece....the high speed (that's what I call them) the time lapse!

The high speed goes into a fade to white, and boom. Paint is finished, tile has been sealed, Martha just got done cleaning up the place, and the home owners walk in. You shoot the reactions....the suprise....the HD TV with nothing less than the Res Sox kicking the Yankees a$$es. The bath tub, the steamer...what ever you build. The art of making a video takes creativity. Just like designing a bitchen kitchen or bath.

And if and when you get bit with that bug, you will spend all your money on new High end cameras, 1000 mics, 500 lenses, 2000 in bateries, another 2000 for lighting, another 3000 for tripods (sticks),
another 10000 for a 3 monitor computer editor machine like the one I am staring at now.......And just when you have it all, and it's paid for, they come out with new cameras, and new mics and new stuff for your computer.....I digress.....
I think you can do it, get your gear and start pushing buttons, learn how it works and start shooting.

I have a few videos of some time lapse stuff. And there is a ton of it out on the web. If I ever get my stupid site OFF go daddy I might put it together. I don't use my video site anymore, it's hacked down to a few megs of space now.
Good God, all this talk about video and editing.......Think I might fire up old bessie and see just what's in the time line......I remember. I shot a video of my kid going to the Mission for a school project. Teacher sent home a note saying it was the best one she had ever seen....I wasn't supprised. That's what a few thousand hours of editing will buy you.....a note from a 3rd grade teacher.
Good Night

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

woodmagman

Mike, I want to see the video you are now producing . Make sure everyone at contractortalk gets to see the directors cut.... you know what I mean, wink wink nudge nudge... you will need to put a little bit of Python animation in there... The foot coming down on the old bathroom, maybe some of the regulars on the forum could do cameos...

POOLMANinCT

I can't find an outfit to do this either "we don't want our equipment outside for x days" I've offered to bolt a tripod to a slab/block, for daily break equipment break downs & offered to pay & set up & break down "service call*" daily.

these guys are harder to get than an electrician.


ray

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

JamesNLA

Well, when I used to show up at a gig to shoot, I wasn't too kneen on leaving 15 grand in gear out of my reach.

I see why they don't want to do it.
Even if you signed a fully locked up contract meaning, you are responsible for this guys gear, that wouldn't be enough.
My issue with doing this would be dust and dirt getting into the cam. There are many small parts that are lubed, which attracts dust, it cuts the camera life. However if one charged enough it would be worth it.

You would be better off going to a rental house and rending a Sony PD 170 (my old cameras) or even a 150. If you want to shoot HD, plan on about 300 per day just for the camera. Figure at least 500 per day for sticks...batteries, ya buy your own tapes. Unless you have an account plan on a 2500 deposit per camera. On larger shoots where I needed 4 and 5 cameras, I would rent them. They are kinda like rental cars. Little banged up, but work.

Editing is where you guys will pay dearly. It takes a lot to make a good video, alot of time goes into them.

If you guys aren't interested in HD, shoot it yourselfs. This ain't rocket science. Most of you do 1000 times harder challenges before lunch vs. doing this.

If enough of you actually shoot the time lapse and other footage, I would consider making a deal on the editing and post production.

DVD's - web hosting of the video (it's expensive software to make videos look good online without it taking a year to download. (high end compression softwear).

I only edit in SD (standard definition) HD isn't a big money maker as we can't yet burn, without an 800 burner and the disks are a fortune.

I did a few shoots for another prod company that was all in HD. However I was just a shooter.....However HD shooting compressed to SD for DVD format looks alot better than just SD. That's what alot of smaller guys are doing right now.

You guys will be hard pressed starting NOW because it's wedding season, and guys are booked. Even if there is a break in their schedule, IF something happened to one of their cameras....they could break their contracts with their other clients. I used to make people sign off on my wireless mics. at 1000 a piece it's a risk.

However if you keep searching you will probably find someone hungary,
Just make sure you get the unedited masters after they are done. If their editing sucks, all you have is a crappy video (alot of "editors" really suck.....) so if you have the masters you can have them re-edited if things go south. Things like complete creative control in the contract makes it hard to not have to pay for junk....

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

woodmagman

Your doing time lapse video on a still enviroment, Speed it up 100% faster then you recommend and you still have a still enviroment! Take one still picture and and animate, fade in, zooms, text over....NICE and CLEAR........Fast loading not fuss no muss. You can do a minute video, get your point across and use only 3 or 4 photos.... real estate agents are using this for showing homes, and being very effective at it....and that is how you make simple time lapse clip that looks like a million bucks for under a dollar....

JamesNLA

I was actually one of the first guys to shoot houses for real estate. However we were doing full productions of a companys listings.

As for animating a still image....that has no business in the same sentance as time lapse. Two COMPLETELY different things, with very different results. The 3 or 4 pics you mentioned are for something totally different. Two different outcomes and two different effects.

Stay tuned, I'm going to put a few samples online to show you what I am talking about.

And FYI when your talking about time lapse photos that is about leaving the shutter open for a predetermined time to allow more light either on the film, or the optical sensors (cmos).

While one can do it with multiple stills, the results looks like crap in comparison to video time lapse. As for what you mentioned with the fade ins and zooms that is called animated stills. When it is produced into a clip or segment, that is called a montage. I have won 2 awards from nationally recognized videographers associations. I know how it's done, I'll throw one together inna little bit.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

JamesNLA

Ummm, just because you can do it, don't make it a good idea. 6-9 (depending on the transition) seconds of animated stills MAX. Anything longer and people get bored.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

JamesNLA

OK, have a look at: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=dvpro1

I don't normally post videos on this but my video site is 2 clicks from being deleated. I'm still hosting a few things for clients.

Anyhow, watch the time lapse video first. It's raw, not fancyd` up at all. And yes the sprinklers nailed my lense. Water had alot of iron in it, and killed my lense, but whatever.

The time lapse was set up just before dawn and ran to around 3 or 4...I don't remember exactly.

The other video is a montage I did for a good friend that passed away. I spent about a 5 hours editing this together.
So for demonstration purposes, notice the animation and how it's not over done. A lot of guys think you need to do extreme movements...not true. Notice the composition, how each page blends into the next. There is a little sync to the music beat. I'm big on that, but not for this kind of video.

Notice how the high speed becomes a focal point of the clip. Same thing can be done with a video about construction. From a marketing stand point my goal was to make my clients videos leave a lasting impression on their clients. Same for all of you interested in this. A well shot and produced video can reep many rewards for your business. If I wasn't so damn busy I would actually be a lot farther along with mine.

Hope ya like it, and sorry for the piss poor compression...you tube errr

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

woodmagman

Still photos Animated...........This is contractor talk I could have said Fuc*9ing moving in and out all different directions then put words over them and play music in the back ground. You just showed me a dozen still photos that are animated to give the ellusion of movement.

I apologize for my Canadian accent, somtimes the meaning gets lost in the translation.
WABH he he

JamesNLA

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. If you care to get specific make your own video and show us..........

I'm just being helpful here, not interested in a pissing match. Take it for what it's worth.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

woodmagman

This is a bathroom renovation company asking for input on making a marketing video I think.....pissing is what happens in that kind of video...or is there a lot of drinking from the toilet bowl and butt wipping....

James how many of you are there, or is the implied us......mean you are having a puddle party with fluffers and noise makers and everything...

JamesNLA

This is a bathroom reno company that wanted to know about making a time lapse clip..

"Pissing is what happends in that type of video"..........sigh....

Umm sir, are you an idiot? I mean, I get that your from Canada, but I know there are smart people up their. I have met a few over my years and most of them were very plesent and respectable. Maybe it's your english or translation abilities, whatever. Please let me know if what your typing is not what you are wanting to say. I am not an ignorrant man.

Look I really could care less what you have to say or offer in this topic. I have forgotten more than you will ever posibilly concieve.

So unless you have something insightful to add or question what has been posted, just read it like everyone else and be on your way.

This is not the James and Woodman thread, this was about Mike wanting to either make one or hire out a video for his company. I used to make a living at this exact thing so I can be of help. You know about as much as some random AOL internet site. Be Gone.

__________________
"....And then we all switch places when I ring the bell"
-Adrock

woodmagman