Time-Lapse Photography Art and Techniques by Mark Higgins
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camera itself as well as movement in your subject.<br />
Panning<br />
This technique is often used for shooting still photographs as well as video <strong>and</strong> is the same movement<br />
either way. A panning shot simply emulates the movement that you will make when looking left to<br />
right or vice versa. A sports photographer will do this when they are shooting a racing car on a track,<br />
for example.<br />
This is a simple shot to achieve for regular video but if you were shooting a panning shot for timelapse<br />
you would need a motorized tripod of some kind that would pan the camera slowly whilst the<br />
camera is capturing stills. Panning movement can be achieved more easily in your time-lapse videos<br />
with editing software, without moving the camera during capture. You effectively zoom into the video<br />
in post-production <strong>and</strong> move left <strong>and</strong> right across the final time-lapse. If you wish to do this in<br />
software, make sure that you shoot your video with a wider focal length <strong>and</strong> with the highest<br />
resolution to give room for movement.<br />
Tilting<br />
A tilting shot would emulate the motion that you make with your head if you look up <strong>and</strong> down. For<br />
video this would be relatively easy to achieve on a good tripod with a fluid head. For time-lapse it<br />
would again require specialist equipment. Tilting can also be achieved after shooting the time-lapse<br />
in video editing software. Make sure you leave room for the tilting movement if you plan to do this<br />
because you will crop into the image in order to move around the frame.<br />
Dolly shot<br />
A ‘dolly’ or ‘slider shot’ is filmed on what looks like a small railway track. The camera is moved<br />
along the track either left <strong>and</strong> right or forwards <strong>and</strong> backwards. The end result is a very smooth<br />
movement in whatever direction is desired. To get this shot for time-lapse, you will need a motorized<br />
slider. This moves the camera along the track very slowly whilst the camera captures the time-lapse.<br />
If you are capturing time-lapse with slow shutter speeds to get motion blur in traffic, for example, you<br />
will need a motorized slider that is capable of stopping for each <strong>and</strong> every frame that is captured<br />
whilst ultimately moving in any given direction. The other option for this kind of shot is to try a<br />
hyperlapse video <strong>and</strong> walk with the camera.<br />
Jib shot<br />
A jib is basically a small crane that has the camera on the end of it <strong>and</strong> is controlled <strong>by</strong> a person<br />
st<strong>and</strong>ing at the back end of it. This kind of movement is generally not used for time-lapse photography<br />
because the rig needed would be very specialist. These kind of rigs do exist but most people’s<br />
budgets will not stretch this far; it is nevertheless a great shot to be able to identify within film<br />
making.<br />
Zoom<br />
A zoom shot can be achieved <strong>by</strong> zooming the lens either in or out, whilst the time-lapse is being shot.<br />
You can zoom into the time-lapse video in video editing software after shooting. This is much easier<br />
to achieve than physically zooming the lens during capture <strong>and</strong> is much safer because zooming the
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