aspect ratio on time lapse
jonsereds
2 Dec 2021 21:16
Hello everyone. I am mainly a stills shooter and there is a lot I need to learn about video, well there is a lot I need to learn about everything. LOL. I shoot a micro 4/3 camera and when I do time lapse's they come out with black borders to each side and they are rejected. I do the time lapse in camera and set my aspect ratio to 16:9 (and I had tried 4:3) both gave me the black stripe when I uploaded them. I assumed video would be 16:9 and I wrong? or should I ask what am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance. Scott
Mizamook
2 Dec 2021 21:37
16:9 is fine, yes.
What are you using to edit with? Premiere? Resolve? Doing it in-camera may be easier (I would not know) but I recommend Resolve ... it gives you lots of options and power!
Go to the Blackmagic website and get the free version (it's the best free editor hands down) and the paid version is not some stupid subscription .. pay once ($299) and you get more.
I use DaVinci Resolve (always been a video guy and it's great for that but started using Resolve as it churned through RAW stills sequences faster than anything ... and I made those as you are now, for timelapse, but also having cameras that gave me DNG sequences for video.
Set your camera to 4:3. This gives you more options. Shoot at the max resolution your camera offers.
Set your project aspect to 16:9 or 17:9. (3840x2160 is 16:9 (UHD), 4096x2160 is 17:9 (DCI 4K). Pick one. 16:9 is more "standard" but you are actually giving the buyer more if you go 17:9. (not available in the free version of Resolve) You could do higher resolutions or lower, of course, but that's not what you asked either.
Since it's a stills sequence, choose your timeline frame rate BEFORE you make a timeline. 23.976, 25, 29.97, 30, etc ... but you cannot change it once you've started to work unless you make a new timeline. I do most of my stuff at 29.97, but do others, depending.
OK, now that you are looking at the stills/sequence in your editor's preview, you "should" see the black bars. Now you need to crop into the photo . In Resolve it is called zoom. Zoom in to the image until you don't see the bars.
At this point you make decisions .. now that you've cropped in, you've cut some of the image off. Be artful .. you can also crop in more and add faux pan/tilt/zoom actions as you wish.
When you render, make sure "Render at source resolution" is not on. (It is off by default, and will default to your project settings)
When you render, render out at the resolution/aspect ratio of your project.
You can upload to Pond5 and "test" without actually submitting. You will see black bars there (some media players do not show black bars as readily).
If you insist on continuing to do the rendering of your timelapses to video in-camera, I'm sorry I can't help you but the next person will. It would be helpful for the person helping you if you specify the camera, as there will likely be different ways of doing things with each.
What are you using to edit with? Premiere? Resolve? Doing it in-camera may be easier (I would not know) but I recommend Resolve ... it gives you lots of options and power!
Go to the Blackmagic website and get the free version (it's the best free editor hands down) and the paid version is not some stupid subscription .. pay once ($299) and you get more.
I use DaVinci Resolve (always been a video guy and it's great for that but started using Resolve as it churned through RAW stills sequences faster than anything ... and I made those as you are now, for timelapse, but also having cameras that gave me DNG sequences for video.
Set your camera to 4:3. This gives you more options. Shoot at the max resolution your camera offers.
Set your project aspect to 16:9 or 17:9. (3840x2160 is 16:9 (UHD), 4096x2160 is 17:9 (DCI 4K). Pick one. 16:9 is more "standard" but you are actually giving the buyer more if you go 17:9. (not available in the free version of Resolve) You could do higher resolutions or lower, of course, but that's not what you asked either.
Since it's a stills sequence, choose your timeline frame rate BEFORE you make a timeline. 23.976, 25, 29.97, 30, etc ... but you cannot change it once you've started to work unless you make a new timeline. I do most of my stuff at 29.97, but do others, depending.
OK, now that you are looking at the stills/sequence in your editor's preview, you "should" see the black bars. Now you need to crop into the photo . In Resolve it is called zoom. Zoom in to the image until you don't see the bars.
At this point you make decisions .. now that you've cropped in, you've cut some of the image off. Be artful .. you can also crop in more and add faux pan/tilt/zoom actions as you wish.
When you render, make sure "Render at source resolution" is not on. (It is off by default, and will default to your project settings)
When you render, render out at the resolution/aspect ratio of your project.
You can upload to Pond5 and "test" without actually submitting. You will see black bars there (some media players do not show black bars as readily).
If you insist on continuing to do the rendering of your timelapses to video in-camera, I'm sorry I can't help you but the next person will. It would be helpful for the person helping you if you specify the camera, as there will likely be different ways of doing things with each.