L'évolution du time-lapse : Capturer le temps autrement
You’ve probably seen those videos where clouds race across the sky or flowers bloom in just a few seconds. Well, that’s time-lapse! A video editing technique that captures the passage of time in an accelerated way, creating a truly captivating visual effect. Beyond its stunning impact, time-lapse offers a genuine marketing opportunity for businesses. Discover its history and potential in this article.
What is time-lapse?
Time-lapse is a video editing technique. The idea? Capture a series of photos at regular intervals, then assemble them into a smooth video. The goal? Show the passage of time in an accelerated way. Essentially, time-lapse allows you to condense a period that typically spans a day, a week, or even months (or years for the most patient!) into just a few seconds.
You’ve probably seen videos of flowers blooming in mere seconds, clouds racing across the sky, or the streaks of car lights on a highway at night sped up. These have surely caught your attention. Why? Likely because time-lapse reveals what the human eye cannot perceive.
Seasonal changes, the construction of a building, the hustle and bustle of a city at night, or the attendance at an event or trade show—watching a time-lapse lets you admire in seconds phenomena that usually take hours or months through short, impactful videos.
The result? A nearly guaranteed “Wow” effect and a captivated audience! Now you know how to stand out on social media.
A little history: the beginnings of time-lapse
Let’s explore the beginnings of time-lapse: find out how this technique captured the imagination of viewers (and has done so since the early 20th century!).
Georges Méliès, creator of the first time-lapse
Time-lapse made its debut in the world of cinema as early as the beginning of the 20th century. It was Georges Méliès who experimented with the first time-lapse in 1897 for his film Carrefour de l’opéra, where he used accelerated sequences to create special effects that amazed audiences.
At that time, time-lapse was considered a technological innovation, reserved for fantasy films and trick scenes.
John Ott, a pioneer of time-lapse
It was only with the arrival of pioneers like John Ott that the technique truly gained momentum. Fascinated by nature and photography, John Ott made a decisive contribution to the evolution of time-lapse. Starting in 1927, he captured sequences of flowers blooming overnight in his own home. His work quickly progressed, and he built a large laboratory in the form of a greenhouse on his property, equipped with sophisticated systems to automate shooting, control lighting, and regulate environmental conditions.
These early innovations were complex, requiring expensive equipment (and above all, extraordinary patience!) to produce just a few minutes of film. John Ott later invented devices to adjust the greenhouse windows based on external light levels and even alarms to alert him if temperatures exceeded a critical threshold. Thanks to these innovations, he was able to create time-lapses with unprecedented precision for the time.
Highly valued by the scientific community, John Ott’s work also captivated the general public. His time-lapses were widely featured in advertisements and documentaries such as Secrets of Life and Nature’s Half Acre. He even hosted his own television show (How Does Your Garden Grow?), which introduced thousands of viewers to time-lapse and inspired awe at the life cycle of plants.
Jean Comandon and the advancement of microcinematography
Another pioneer of time-lapse was Jean Comandon, who developed techniques to film plant growth during the 1920s and 1930s. For his 1929 film La Croissance des végétaux (Plant Growth), he designed devices that allowed him to film at varying speeds, making the processes of plant growth and their responses to environmental stimuli visible.
His work significantly contributed to the advancement of microcinematography and the scientific understanding of movement in the plant kingdom.
The technological advances that changed everything: why time-lapse is even more immersive today
In the past, time-lapse required precise planning and manual adjustments to capture the passage of time. Today, high-resolution sensors (4K, 8K) provide exceptional image quality, enabling precise details and maintained sharpness even during zooms in post-production. Projects like Paris in Motion (by Mayeul Akpovi), The Longest Way (by Christoph Rehage), and The Great Corelli (by Abel Carbajal) showcase this evolution.
Technological advancements that changed everything:
- Software like Adobe After Effects and LRTimelapse, which simplify stabilization and light adjustments for increasingly smooth day-to-night transitions;
- The use of drones, adding a dynamic dimension with aerial views and exceptional moving sequences;
- Modern devices like GoPro cameras, which further simplify the process with built-in interval modes and preset options.
These innovations make time-lapse accessible to everyone, from amateurs to professionals. Today, capturing the rising tide or tracking the progress of a construction site is within anyone’s reach. So, why not use it to your advantage?
Time-lapse, a powerful communication tool that's a must-have!
Used in films and advertisements for many years, time-lapse has gradually been adopted by digital marketing. It is now a powerful communication tool that leaves a lasting impression while adding real value to a business or product. Time-lapse content is easily shareable on social media and has significant viral potential (you know what to do to create a buzz!).
Some stats to convince you:
- A video is 6 times more likely to be retweeted than a photo (even better: a tweet generates 10 times more engagement if it includes a video);
- 30 billion views per day worldwide for YouTube Shorts (short and impactful formats are all the rage!);
- 85% of viewers will watch a 30-second video until the end (only 22% of users will finish a video if it’s longer than 20 minutes);
- 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound (and you don’t need sound to grab attention with a time-lapse!);
- Finally, 81% of companies have a dedicated video marketing budget (don’t let your competitors get ahead!).
The best part? A good camera and a tripod are all you need. Then, simply use video editing software to assemble your images into a captivating time-lapse!
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