We have all heard of a Timelapse in video and we’ve gotten pretty used to seeing them used in a variety of videos and tv shows. But have you heard of a Hyperlapse? It’s quite a cool technique and can add even more to your next production.
Before we delve into Hyperlapses, what they are and how they’re made – let’s quickly look back at what a Timelapse is.
Timelapse
A timelapse in video is a sequence of photos taken at short intervals over a long period of time. This long sequence of images is later spread out over a video timeline and sped up. Traditionally a timelapse is setup on a stationary camera and left uninterrupted for a long period of time. This may include a pan or a slide in the timelapse but the camera basically stays in the same position.
Hyperlapse
The key difference of a Hyperlapse is that the camera doesn’t stay stationary. In a Hyperlapse the camera goes on a journey from point A to point B, taking the viewing on a journey also. Hyperlapses are video not a series of photos like a Timelapse, and can be made just about anywhere. Some great uses of a Hyperlapse may be to showcase a travel location, or to do a flythrough a location such as a warehouse or store, or just to show a sped-up journey.
One big factor to a Hyperlapse’s success is to ensure stable footage. A handheld camera without any support is going to look super shaky and bumpy.
What cameras are used to make Timelapses and Hyperlapses these days?
As Ottico Lab are predominantly a video production company, we gear towards video and in recent years, many video and camera’s offer timelapse features. We shoot with Blackmagic camera’s and although they can’t capture a great photography still image – they can however create Timelapses to an extremely high production quality. The Blackmagic camera can be dialled in with the same film shooting settings and then dialled in with timelapse shot intervals. The Blackmagic camera’s can be used on tripod, slider or a Pan Tilt head but also can be put onto gimbals and used for Hyperlapses.
Another great camera for Hyperlapse shooting is a 360 camera. We use Insta360 cameras and can either shoot in ‘action camera mode’ for a static POV style hyperlapse or can switch the lens out to 360 – and create a hyperlapse with full 360 degree viewing. These are super cool and add so much to your hyperlapse and even the ability to animate camera moves while selecting angles within the 360 degree aspect.
The final way to capture a hyperlapse is via a drone. Flying through the airspace to capture a spectacular journey from above.
So next time you’re considering a creative shot to add to your production, a Timelapse or a Hyperlapse might make your shotlist.