Using QuickTime To Make A Video
GBTimelapse captures an image sequence. To make a video, you need some other program to convert the image
sequence into a movie. QuickTime Pro is one such program.
A Workflow is a series of steps needed to produce a time-lapse
movie sequence. What workflow is right for you depends on the quality you want
to produce and the tools you have. Since that can be extremely varied, I'll
just cover two possibilites
You'll need a copy of Quicktime Pro. It's an inexpensive upgrade to Apple's
free Quicktime Player.
You can buy it from Apple's web site at
Buy QuickTime Pro
HD Workflow using Quicktime Pro
High Definition (HD) is normally a 16:9 aspect ratio and can be either 1920x1080
interlaced or 1280x720 progressive scan. It offers exceptionally high quality
(more than four times SD) and a more appealing wide screen look.
These steps will work with QuickTime 7.1
Step 1: Capture an image sequence
Use GBTimelapse to capture a sequence of jpeg images. For HD, you should set
your camera resolution to 1600x1200 which is larger than the required 1280x720
size for High Definition. Capture at least enough images
to playback for several seconds. For example, if you want the clip to play for ten
seconds, you will need 300 images played at the rate of 30 frames per second
(fps).
Step 2: Import the sequence into Quicktime Pro
Run Quicktime Pro and select Open Image Sequence from the File
menu.
Navigate to the folder holding the image sequence and select the first image.
Set the "Frame rate:" to 30 frames per second and then click Open.
After Quicktime opens a new window displaying the first frame on the video clip,
you may want to set the window to Half Size to see the entire
frame on your screen. Then click the Play button to watch the
clip. It will probably not play smoothly (unless you have a very fast computer)
because it is displaying a jpeg file for each frame.
Step 3: Crop the image to 1280x720
Quicktime Pro has Mask feature that you can use to crop your 1600x1200 images
down to 1280x720. To do this you need a 1600x1200 pixel .gif file with a
1280x720 solid black rectangle on a white background. Click
Here to see an example Mask file that you can save onto your
computer.
Select Show Movie Properties from the Window menu
and then select Video Track from the list. Next click on the
Visual Settings tab.
Click on the Choose... button in the Mask panel and
choose the mask file you want to
use (like the sample .gif file mentioned two paragraphs up) and then close the
dialog box. The Quicktime window should now show the first image cropped to the
desired size.
Step 4: Save the sequence as a movie file
Choose Export from the File menu, navigate to
the folder where you want to save the clip and enter a file name.
Set Export to Movie to Quick Time Movie and
then click on the Options button.
In the Movie Settings dialog click on Settings
and then set the Quality to Best. Make sure
the frames per second is set at 30.
Click Ok and then click the Save button to
create the move file. This may take some time depending on how many
images are in the sequence.
Exit from Quicktime Pro.
Step 5: Watch the clip
Using Windows Explorer, find the movie file and double click it to launch the
Quicktime Player.
SD Workflow using Quicktime Pro
Standard Definition (SD) usually refers to normal digital camcorder resolution
of 640x480 pixels in a 4:3 aspect ratio and has the same appearance as a
regular television image. You may want to create a SD time-lapse clip and
include it as a scene with traditional camcorder footage just to add some
interest.
Step 1: Capture an image sequence
Use GBTimelapse to capture a sequence of jpeg images. For SD, you should set
your camera resolution to 640x480 and capture at least enough images to
playback for several seconds. For example, if you want the clip to play for ten
seconds, you will need 300 images played at the rate of 30 frames per second
(fps).
The jpeg file names should be numbered sequentially (as is done automatically by
GBTimelapse) and should be stored together in one folder on you computer.
Step 2: Import the sequence into Quicktime Pro
Run Quicktime Pro and select Open Image Sequence from the File
menu.
Navigate to the folder holding the image sequence and select the first image.
Set the "Frame rate:" to 30 frames per second and then click Open.
After Quicktime opens a new window displaying the first frame on the video clip,
click the Play button to watch the clip.
Step 3: Save the sequence as a movie file
Choose Export from the File menu, navigate to
the folder where you want to save the clip and enter a file name.
Set Export to Movie to Quick Time Movie and
then click on the Options button.
In the Movie Settings dialog click on Settings
and then set the Quality to Best. Make sure
the frames per second is set at 30.
Click Ok and then click the Save button to
create the move file. This may take some time depending on how many
images are in the sequence.
Exit from Quicktime Pro.
Step 4: Watch the clip
Using Windows Explorer, find the movie file and double click it to launch the
Quicktime Player.
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