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Time-lapse Shooting Plan
Plan the photo count and start-to-start interval for an event and a target time-lapse clip.
Event span (minutes): 0.1–10080; Target clip duration (seconds): 0.1–3600; Playback frame rate (fps): 1–120
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Time-lapse Shooting Plan
Event span (minutes): 60 Target clip duration (seconds): 10 Playback frame rate (fps): 25
- Photos to capture
- 250
- Start-to-start interval (seconds)
- 14.457831
Photo count N = max(2, ceil(target seconds × playback fps)); each photo becomes one video frame. Start-to-start interval = event minutes × 60 / (N − 1). The first shot starts at time zero and the last starts at the end of the event span, so there are N − 1 gaps. Rounding up means actual clip duration N / fps can exceed the target; at least two photos are used. The span excludes the final exposure duration. Interval must fit exposure plus camera recovery time; check the actual camera’s timing convention and limits. This plan does not allow for dropped shots, storage, battery, exposure changes or camera scheduling precision.
Methodology
How it works
Photo count N = max(2, ceil(target seconds × playback fps)); each photo becomes one video frame. Start-to-start interval = event minutes × 60 / (N − 1). The first shot starts at time zero and the last starts at the end of the event span, so there are N − 1 gaps. Rounding up means actual clip duration N / fps can exceed the target; at least two photos are used. The span excludes the final exposure duration. Interval must fit exposure plus camera recovery time; check the actual camera’s timing convention and limits. This plan does not allow for dropped shots, storage, battery, exposure changes or camera scheduling precision.
Method and assumptions documented by Techrider.live
2026-11-06
Frequently asked questions
Why divide by N − 1 instead of N?
This plan includes both event endpoints: N photos have N − 1 start-to-start gaps. A timer that stops before the endpoint or defines an interval as a pause after exposure needs different settings.