Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Raise your game and increase your production value by learning to capture time lapses with real-time camera movement at one of our Motion Control Timelapse & Cinematography workshops. You'll learn how to get the most from the latest motion control gear, including how to combine multi-axis moves during a day to night "holy grail" timelapse.
TimelapseWorkshops.com
This fast paced film showcases a variety of multi-axis motion control shots. Footage was captured using various 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis, and 4-axis rigs from Kessler Crane, eMotimo, Dynamic Perception, and Rhino Camera Gear. Some of the shots were controlled using the Timelapse+ VIEW exposure ramper with motion control interface for Dynamic Perception NMX controller.
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Camera Motion for Timelapse Cinematography
For years cinematographers have been using camera movement to help drawer the viewer in to the emotion of a scene. A slow dolly in (push in) toward an actor can help draw the viewer into the emotion they are feeling, while a dolly out helps to distance the viewer from the scene or make you feel the emptiness of a situation or the loneliness of an actor. Just those two camera moves alone illustrate how directors use camera language to help with emotion. A running shaky hand held shot following a character(s) as they flee from a situation helps to allow the viewer feel the tenseness and gravity of the situation.
Camera movement is also used to add perspective and depth to a scene, to hide or reveal a part of a scene, to track a subject, to help control the story from the camera's perspective, or just to add an element of movement to an otherwise static scene in order to keep the viewer interested (think sit down interviews).
When I first experienced real-time camera movement in a time-lapse I was blown away. I just couldn't imagine how the camera was moving in real time, yet the scene unfolded over a period of hours. As someone who used to do magic as a kid, this was magic to me. I credit Cinematographer Tom Lowe for introducing me to motion control time lapse.
Since then I have been shooting with and teaching motion control time lapse to photographers and cinematographers from all around the world at my workshops. I don't just teach the technical side of setup and settings (how to), but also the why, when, and where. Some scenes don't benefit from camera movement, but in many cases just a small adjustment to camera position and composition can make a motion control shot a far superior option. I am by no means an expert cinematographer and I'm always looking for ways to learn and improve, but motion control is worth the extra effort. It can be as simple as a pan & tilt head that sits on top of your tripod that is moved by it's own motor or as complex as you want to make it with long rails (slider), pan & tilt, and motors for focus and zoom.
After years of shooting and teaching I have decided to dedicate a film to the use of Camera Motion in Timelapse Cinematography. If you have an interest in learning to use camera movement in your cinematography or time lapses I highly recommend signing up for my motion control workshop. You'll have a blast, will learn a lot, and will walk away with the skills and confidence to use motion control on your future shoots.
I want to thank the companies below for helping to put motion-control in the hands of more and more photographers. These companies have helped to make it more affordable and portable than ever before.
Dynamic Perception
eMotimo
Kessler Crane®
Rhino Camera Gear
Timelapse+ (exposure ramping and controller)
This film contains a wide variety of motion control moves (slides, pans, pan & tilt, pan, tilt, slide and zoom, and more. Please feel free to share this film.
Raise your game and increase your production value by learning to capture time lapses with real-time camera movement at one of our Motion Control Timelapse & Cinematography workshops. You'll learn how to get the most from the latest motion control gear, including how to combine multi-axis moves during a day to night "holy grail" timelapse.
TimelapseWorkshops.com
This fast paced film showcases a variety of multi-axis motion control shots. Footage was captured using various 1-axis, 2-axis, 3-axis, and 4-axis rigs from Kessler Crane, eMotimo, Dynamic Perception, and Rhino Camera Gear. Some of the shots were controlled using the Timelapse+ VIEW exposure ramper with motion control interface for Dynamic Perception NMX controller.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Camera Motion for Timelapse Cinematography
For years cinematographers have been using camera movement to help drawer the viewer in to the emotion of a scene. A slow dolly in (push in) toward an actor can help draw the viewer into the emotion they are feeling, while a dolly out helps to distance the viewer from the scene or make you feel the emptiness of a situation or the loneliness of an actor. Just those two camera moves alone illustrate how directors use camera language to help with emotion. A running shaky hand held shot following a character(s) as they flee from a situation helps to allow the viewer feel the tenseness and gravity of the situation.
Camera movement is also used to add perspective and depth to a scene, to hide or reveal a part of a scene, to track a subject, to help control the story from the camera's perspective, or just to add an element of movement to an otherwise static scene in order to keep the viewer interested (think sit down interviews).
When I first experienced real-time camera movement in a time-lapse I was blown away. I just couldn't imagine how the camera was moving in real time, yet the scene unfolded over a period of hours. As someone who used to do magic as a kid, this was magic to me. I credit Cinematographer Tom Lowe for introducing me to motion control time lapse.
Since then I have been shooting with and teaching motion control time lapse to photographers and cinematographers from all around the world at my workshops. I don't just teach the technical side of setup and settings (how to), but also the why, when, and where. Some scenes don't benefit from camera movement, but in many cases just a small adjustment to camera position and composition can make a motion control shot a far superior option. I am by no means an expert cinematographer and I'm always looking for ways to learn and improve, but motion control is worth the extra effort. It can be as simple as a pan & tilt head that sits on top of your tripod that is moved by it's own motor or as complex as you want to make it with long rails (slider), pan & tilt, and motors for focus and zoom.
After years of shooting and teaching I have decided to dedicate a film to the use of Camera Motion in Timelapse Cinematography. If you have an interest in learning to use camera movement in your cinematography or time lapses I highly recommend signing up for my motion control workshop. You'll have a blast, will learn a lot, and will walk away with the skills and confidence to use motion control on your future shoots.
I want to thank the companies below for helping to put motion-control in the hands of more and more photographers. These companies have helped to make it more affordable and portable than ever before.
Dynamic Perception
eMotimo
Kessler Crane®
Rhino Camera Gear
Timelapse+ (exposure ramping and controller)
This film contains a wide variety of motion control moves (slides, pans, pan & tilt, pan, tilt, slide and zoom, and more. Please feel free to share this film.
