Time-lapse Gradual Tone Variance

[fairfaxian]

I have a fairly short time lapse sequence. Shot fully manual -Exposure, focus, color temp etc. Camera Raw format. 1 frame per second. (only 715 frames)

It's a mountain summit in rolling fog at dusk, (setting sun - tail end of golden hour into to blue hour). I made my best guess for exposure for the first exposure. The sequence will get slowly more under-x.

I believe there is software that can vary the exposure gradually over time. Is there a way to go this in Camera RAW, PShop, or perhaps Adobe Premiere? It's easy to process frame #1, then apply those settings to all the frames using Adobe Bridge. I typically process raw files in Camera RAW, applying any further adjustments in PShop. Primarily a stills shooter, I have only made a few time-lapse sequences.

I just previewed in Adobe Bridge, holding the right arrow key for a quick animated simulation. Looks good, nice fog movement, etc. Might want to adjust exposure gradually over time towards end of sequence.

I'm pretty bad at math (tired now too) but I believe this should yield about 29sec sequence at 24fps? 29 secs is probably a tad long to hold interest on this, but as each frame is 8192x5464, I can zoom slowly (dolly in) gradually so it's not too static. Also adjust the timing to shorten if necessary.

Suggestions on gradually exposure compensation?

Thanks!

 

[ClintGryke]

I have a fairly short time lapse sequence. Shot fully manual -Exposure, focus, color temp etc. Camera Raw format. 1 frame per second. (only 715 frames)

It's a mountain summit in rolling fog at dusk, (setting sun - tail end of golden hour into to blue hour). I made my best guess for exposure for the first exposure. The sequence will get slowly more under-x.

I believe there is software that can vary the exposure gradually over time. Is there a way to go this in Camera RAW, PShop, or perhaps Adobe Premiere? It's easy to process frame #1, then apply those settings to all the frames using Adobe Bridge. I typically process raw files in Camera RAW, applying any further adjustments in PShop. Primarily a stills shooter, I have only made a few time-lapse sequences.

I just previewed in Adobe Bridge, holding the right arrow key for a quick animated simulation. Looks good, nice fog movement, etc. Might want to adjust exposure gradually over time towards end of sequence.

I'm pretty bad at math (tired now too) but I believe this should yield about 29sec sequence at 24fps? 29 secs is probably a tad long to hold interest on this, but as each frame is 8192x5464, I can zoom slowly (dolly in) gradually so it's not too static. Also adjust the timing to shorten if necessary.

Suggestions on gradually exposure compensation?

Thanks!

For gradual and smooth adjustments, use keyframes in a video NLE. You would import the stills as an image sequence or import the stills and make them one frame long in a video timeline. You would then use keyframes to vary exposure to taste. There is an initial steep learning curve but it's worth the effort if you intend doing more timelapses or video. If you have Premiere already then I am sure this must be possible (I don't use it). Alternatives are DaVinci Resolve (advanced professional NLE and free up to a point) or Final Cut Pro (Mac only, not free but relatively easy to learn).

 

[fairfaxian]

I think this feature might be possible w keyframes in Premiere.
THANKS!

 

[Paul Holman]

Have a look at LRTimelapse https://lrtimelapse.com/

Pretty much the gold standard for turning DSLR still into timelapses. An amazing array of options once you dig into it.
The trial version allows you explore almost all it offers and maybe all you need for very short videos.