Time Lapse Interval (seconds)

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Time Lapse Interval (seconds) Calculation:

  • cD =

    Number of days (with or without a decimal) that will be captured by the time lapse period.

  • cH =

    Number of hours (with or without a decimal) that will be captured by the time lapse period.

  • cM =

    Number of minutes (with or without a decimal) that will be captured by the time lapse period.

  • cS =

    Number of seconds (with or without a decimal) that will be captured by the time lapse period.

  • tH =

    Number of hours (with or without a decimal) for the output duration of the time-lapse video (play length).

  • tM =

    Number of minutes (with or without a decimal) for the output duration of the time-lapse video (play length).

  • tS =

    Number of seconds (with or without a decimal) for the output duration of the time-lapse video.

  •  P =

    Number of frames per second (with or without a decimal) in the final output video.

  •  S =

    Number of seconds between frames to set on your camera to capture the input amount of time and compress it to the output amount of time given the output frame rate.

  •

    Choose the number of decimals to show in your answer. This is also known as significant figures. Select an appropriate amount of significant figures based on the precision of the input numbers.

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Time Lapse Interval (seconds) Background

Given the desired amount of time to be captured, the desired target of the final video clip, and the frame rate of the video clip, how frequently should the camera capture a frame?

TOTAL CAPTURE LENGTH / (TOTAL TARGET DURATION * FRAME RATE)

When capture length and target duration are given in seconds this formula will given the number of seconds that should elapse between capturing each frame.

Time Lapse Interval (seconds) Variables

The inputs required for this calculation are only three: desired length of time to capture, target length of final video, and frame rate of final video. To simplify the calculation time may be input in days, hours, minutes and seconds but all are converted to seconds for the calculation. Frame rate must be known in advance and is a consideration of how the final video will be published, some common frame rates are given below for reference.

Capture Days (cD)
Number of days to capture in the time lapse. This is the length of time that will be compressed by the output video. At least one capture field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Capture Hours (hD)
Number of hours to capture in the time lapse. This is the length of time that will be compressed by the output video. At least one capture field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Capture Minutes (mD)
Number of minutes to capture in the time lapse. This is the length of time that will be compressed by the output video. At least one capture field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Capture Seconds (sD)
Number of seconds to capture in the time lapse. This is the length of time that will be compressed by the output video. In the calculation all input times are converted to seconds. At least one capture field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Target Duration Hours (tH)
Number of hours in the final length of the video. At least one target field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Target Duration Minutes (tM)
Number of minutes in the final length of the video. At least one target field must be used. Decimals are allowed.
Target Duration Seconds (tS)
Number of seconds in the final length of the video. At least one target field must be used. In the calculation all input times will be converted to seconds. Decimals are allowed.
Target Frame Rate (P)
Number of frames per second required in the final output video. This should be determined based on how you intend to publish the video or set to match other video that will be placed together on the same editing timeline. Some common video frame rates are listed below. Depending on the scene being captured it may also be desirable to set the camera shutter speed at twice the frame rate to acheive a natural looking motion blur in the final video.
  • 24 - A typical frame rate for film
  • 25 - Standard frame rate from PAL television
  • 29.97 - Standard frame rate from NTSC television
  • 30 - Common frame rate for digital video
  • 48 - Double the typical film rate
  • 50 - Double PAL television
  • 59.94 - Double NTSC television
  • 60 - High frame rate for digital video
  • 120 - Super high frame rate for fast action
  • 240 - Ultra high frame rate for fast action
Interval in Seconds (S)
CALCULATION ANSWER: Number of seconds required between each frame captured by the camera in order to remap the capture time interval to the output time interval at the given frame rate. May include a decimal.

Need to find know the run length when interval is fixed?

Time Lapse Duration