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virtualdub

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 d_b 27 Aug 2016
I have been playing about with virtualdub for timelapse generation this afternoon. So far I am very impressed.

It's basically a video stream editor that lets you take a video or set of images, apply a list of filters and write an output. No other editing options available really.

What makes it shine is the quality of some of the third party plugins. I have a load of timelapse stuff from a trip last year that suffers from flicker due to use of aperture priority and camera shake due to wind vs light tripods.

About 10 minutes of finding the right stuff to download and an hour playing around got me from an unusably flickery pile of frames to this:

vimeo.com/180423307

Now all I need to do is process the rest of the sequences, edit them and pick some music.

Any suggestions for the last bit?
interdit 27 Aug 2016
In reply to davidbeynon:

If you are happy with the cli a bit of perl is quite good at deflickering. Very fast and lightweight.

https://github.com/cyberang3l/timelapse-deflicker

> Now all I need to do is process the rest of the sequences, edit them and pick some music.
> Any suggestions for the last bit?

A minute of timelapse from one angle doesn't do it for me.* Others may disagree.
If you think your minute of timelapse is so good that the majority will watch it all the way through without music then go ahead and add any old soundtrack - the music doesn't matter if the footage is that great. Music won't make average footage great though.

Otherwise you need have additional footage and to put some cuts into the film. Find the music first and then cut to the music..

* for the avoidance of doubt - I think it's a well executed timelapse, though all you are really showing is clouds moving and shadows as the day goes by. What story are you trying to tell?
A great piece of timelapse doesn't make a great film on it's own.
OP d_b 27 Aug 2016
In reply to interdit:

I agree. I wouldn't be that impressed by a a minute of static timelapse either. I'm going to be cutting it with some other footage not yet uploaded anywhere.

The final version should be about a minute long with bits from about 5 sequences.

The purpose of this upload was to demonstrate how it looked reasonably clean despite parts having a 30Hz 1/3 stop flicker*, not show something intended to be a finished film. The original footage is literally unwatchable.

The "single viewpoint" issue is an interesting problem that I haven't found a solution to - I'm not sure *good* timelapse videos are actually compatible with short climbing holidays.

For example, I quite fancy a track to move the camera around but when you have a tent, climbing gear and ruinous excess baggage charges it is unlikely to make the cut.

Similarly, moving the camera between viewpoints of the hill wasn't an option as we were only in the area a couple of days. I set the camera up immediately before setting off to attempt the hill and picked it up again when we got down. I suspect my climbing partner for the trip would have taken a dim view of me forcing us to stay an extra day for more footage as well.



*I accidentally left the cam in aperture priority mode.
interdit 27 Aug 2016
In reply to davidbeynon:

That's well recovered (deflikered) for a 1/3 stop variance. As I said - Great timelapse - well executed.
AP is a bit of a timelapse killer if clouds are moving overhead for example, but as you've shown it is quite recoverable.

Ok. So I was teaching my grandmother to suck eggs etc with the advice about cuts etc.

As for music. You either pay (Sometimes quite a lot, especially for commercial use), or try something like https://www.youtube.com/audiolibrary/music You have to do quite a bit of digging and searching, but there's some good stuff in there. Pay attention to whether you have to credit etc.
OP d_b 27 Aug 2016
In reply to interdit:

I'm open to any advice really - can't claim to be an expert at this stuff, just a punter with a camera.

I did have a go at writing my own deflicker tool based on a histogram transfer approach. It was better than nothing and quite fast but imho the virtualdub pugin i'm using now is better. I will take a look at the perl thing next time I boot into linux.

On the music front: I would always credit even if I didn't have to. It's only polite.
 Marek 28 Aug 2016
In reply to davidbeynon:

Which plugin did you use? There seem to be several.
OP d_b 28 Aug 2016
In reply to Marek:

Deflicker 1.3 by Donald Graft. I increased the window size parameter to about 16.

I tried the MSU deflicker as well. I thought it was ok but the results weren't quite as smooth.
 Marek 28 Aug 2016
In reply to davidbeynon:

> Deflicker 1.3 by Donald Graft. I increased the window size parameter to about 16.

> I tried the MSU deflicker as well. I thought it was ok but the results weren't quite as smooth.

Thanks.

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