Timelapse tutorial: The gear you need and tips and tricks for making terrific timelapses

posted Monday, May 9, 2016 at 2:00 PM EDT

Chase Kubasiak from Zacuto has put together a time-lapse tutorial video for B&H's YouTube channel.

In the video below, Chase covers four things you need to consider when you're creating a timelapse. The first thing you need to get sorted out is your gear. You're going to need a camera, of course, but Chase uses a DSLR for the video (in this case, a Canon 5D Mark III). In addition to a camera, you're going to need an intervalometer, although some cameras do include a built-in timelapse function, so check out the user manual for your own camera to see if you will really need an intervalometer.

Additional gear you will need is a stable shooting platform, such as a tripod or slider. A high-capacity memory card is a must-have and you may even want to shoot with a neutral density filter depending on what effect you're after.

Once you've got all the necessary gear, you need to determine what you want the interval to be for your timelapse. When selecting an interval, you should consider how long you want your timelapse to last and the playback speed you want. Chase's video offers handy tips and equations for selecting the best interval for the particular situation. He also offers information on the reasons for including motion blur in your timelapse videos, and some techniques for capturing the holy grail of timelapse photography -- a good, smoothly-transitioned day-to-night timelapse. Check out the video above for all this and more!