I wanted to share my current workflow for creating time lapses with motion to validate that I'm using the optimal settings and steps for the smoothest motion possible, once I render from LRT.  I realize some of this has to do with my physical setup, camera shake, distance moving vs. interval. 

Here was the physical set up:

• 2 second exposure
  
• 6 second interval
  
• Total distance moved on slider = approx 35 inches
  

 Here is my workflow:

1. LRTimelapse / Lightroom workflow
   
2. Render video from LRTimelapse at 30fps, ProRes 4K, uncheck Motion Blur
   
3. Import footage into Premiere Pro
   
4. Create a 23.976 fps sequence at 1920x1080
   
5. Interpret footage from 30fps to 23.976 and add to sequence
   
6. Scale footage, keyframe, etc. for sequence size
   
7. Export from PP to .mp4 (H.264), render at Max Quality, Time Interpolation: Frame Sampling (default)
   

I posted some sample footage below which follows the steps above with one exception - I had to apply warp stabilizer after step 6 because as the raw footage showed, the subway under the street actually makes the street (and my rig) shake a bit.  I would love some feedback on the steps I'm following and the result.  I think it looks pretty smooth, but it's always good to get multiple pairs of eyes on it.

[Video: https://vimeo.com/192126222]

Why would you render with 30fps, put that into a 23.9 fps sequence and interpret as 23.9 ? Yes, this works - but I'd recommend to directly export with the final fps from LRTimelapse - it's much easier and much less prone to errors.

Apart from that I'd work in 30 fps if I were you - 24 fps is the old cinema standard, and as long as you don't produce for a cinema film, 30 fps will be much smoother.

Yeah!  Why WOULD I do that?!  

Thanks for the input.  My thinking was for when I would need to combine time lapse sequences with a bigger project that was 23.976 fps.  But I guess it doesn't matter for a standalone time lapse clip.  30 fps to be used going forward.  Would it even matter if I dropped a 30 fps clip on a 23.976 cinema sequence / project?

This post was last modified: 2016-11-18, 23:36 by Gunther.

yes it would. You shoud not mix framerates, because that would cause jitter. Use the framerate that your regular video files have. The timelapse can then be exported in that framerate.