Time-lapse editing

An undervalued aspect of producing a time-lapse video is the editing process.

There are of course the technical considerations, such as choosing the correct format to compile the jpeg images in, using and being knowledgable of the most appropriate software applications and exporting the final video in a suitable codec (to name but a few).

Just as important, though, are the creative decisions.

Knowing when to trim and fade between moments where the exposures are wildly variable to avoiding a jarring viewing effect or choosing which sections to remove entirely to serve the overall video (whilst maintaining a seamless visual experience) spring to mind.

The trickier ones tend to be the long term projects which contain a lot of stop/start work. Obviously, the more experience you have, the better - both in terms of quality and speed.

In hindsight, some of our earlier videos seem long winded, with plenty of room for improvement. Here's our very first job from back in 2008. I'd cut a lot out now but then again, people had longer attention spans back then.