Why you should capture more than 1 photo per day

We get tons of emails each day asking how to program our line of cameras to capture just one photo per day of a jobsite in hopes of showing a spectacular start-to-finish video. There is a lot more than goes in to time-lapse photography than some people imagine. Any video created is essentially made up of photos played back as at specific speed, the same goes for our videos captured with any Brinno camera.

The standard AVI Frame Rate of a time-lapse video is 30 Frames Per Second (FPS); therefore, with the standard play back rate assigned, one would need at least 30 photos to create one second worth of video time. If one photo were to be captured over the course of 365 days, that would generate 365 photos. If you divide 365 photos by 30 frames to acquire the video length in seconds, you would see those settings would leave you with a 12 second video for the entire year. Now the playback speed is a preference, which ultimately is up to the owner of the camera, but we tend to see the most intriguing footages captured at 30 FPS. Instances where the playback speed is lower that 30FPS  are usually for drive-lapses, surveillance, and sometimes art projects.

Most people wish to have more than a 12 second video, so instead here are our recommendations for projects that take up to or more than 1 year.

Timer function - Using the timer helps you save battery power and save only the good stuff! Early morning shots and overnight footage is usually removed before a video is posted, so might as well save yourself the time in the long run. Recommended settings for a timer feature are roughly 8 hours a day. Try to aim for a start time where the lighting is not too different from the middle of the day or your video will look more choppy and not flow as well.

E.g - 9am-5pm

AVI Frame Rate - 30 FPS
     As earlier stated, the standard play back rate for any time-lapse video is 30 FPS.

This video was captured with the BCC100 construction camera. It is an example of both the standard speed of playback (30FPS) and also with the timer on 8 hours/day. Note the consistency with the lighting throughout the video.

Image Quality should always be set to best. This setting affects the file size.

The capture interval will vary depending on the total length of the project.

For projects lasting 3/4 months - 5-10 minute interval
6 month projects - 10-12 minute intervals
8 month projects - 15 minute intervals
12 month projects - 30-45 minute intervals

Another factor to think about when choosing your capture interval is whether or not you will include the data that is gathered on the weekends. The timer feature conveniently saves each day's footage as it's own separate files. At the end of the first week there will be 7 individual .AVI files in number sequence. The timer cannot recognize days of the week so instead will replicate the same settings each day until manually altered.

To get exact numbers on file sizes and video length you can plug in your numbers on the time settings calculator found here : http://www.brinno.com/support/time_setting_calculator

 

Mounting

Mounting is possibly the most tricky and difficult part of capturing your project from start to finish - construction projects being the most troublesome. Rarely is there an easy option for a mounting solution that is
A. Not in the way of the actual construction
B. Will be there for the entirety of the project
C. Easily accessible for battery swaps/SD card downloads

At the end of the day every job site is different. making it hard to give generalizations on how to, and where to mount. The purpose of this blog is to give you examples in hopes that one will apply to your site.

 

 

 

TLC200Pro mount 1

TLC200Pro mount 1

The subject in this photo is the construction of a Holiday Inn Express, soon to be four stories tall. There were three cameras set to film this job, unfortunately no camera with a head on shot. This first camera is ~50ft away from the subject, and mounted ~10ft high on a light post. Although bungee cord mounting is not ideal in the rainy season of south Florida, it held better than expected with little to no movement throughout the 4/5 days of driving rain storms. Light posts always present the problem of no ability to drill into them. The bungee cords that come in the BCC200 bundle made it possible to work around this.

TLC120A-BK Mount 1

TLC120A-BK Mount 1

The second mount on this site was one of our Wi-Fi/BLE enabled cameras -the TLC120A-BK. Although not ideal for outdoor, long-term construction, the 120 held up better than expected. Also utilized in this mount was the bungee cords that come in the BCC200 bundle. This camera was mounted closer than the lifted pro (~20 yards) on a chain link fence. I wanted to have a camera on each side of the building to focus on crane activity.

Having two cameras on a job gives you piece of mind that if one falls victim to the elements, batteries reach full depletion, or an theft gets their hands on it, you have another camera's footage to fall back on. In the likely event you complete your project, both cameras in tact, you can use both sets of footage to add complexity to your end video.

Get Creative! If you have the means to complete short clips of videos on important days (like crane day) a short one hour clip with a short interval capture can add more complexity and make for a more riveting video. The above picture is from a pro mounted on the boom of a crane when the walls were being pulled up on a new motorcycle factory.

This Pro was deployed on the Holiday Inn Express job on top of an electrical unit. I was lucky enough to have one secure structure to work with for the remainder of the project. The finished video is published below.

“Indoor Mounting”

This pro was deployed on a jobsite dedicated to documenting a floor renovation. Although not pictured, it is recommended to keep the Pro in it's housing unit to protect from dust, dirt and debris. This camera stand about ~3ft from the floor as to capture as close to the ground as possible.

Another example of temporary creative mounting. A short clip was taken on top of the floor grinder with the TLC120A-BK. Finished clip featured below.

Aerial Views are great and whenever possible are recommended. Indoor recordings are much easier to fabricate mounting positions in order to achieve this. With the Pro's 112 degree field of view, it was simple to gain a good overview of the main living room of this floor restoration.

This video uses a lot of mixed media, as well as various mounting placements, distances and structures. Having a Pro placed close to the ground and also an aerial view helps show the entire area throughout the renovation.

Brinno Camera Hacks: For Newbies!

We all need a little help sometimes which is why these videos are crucial for new users of Brinno time-lapse cameras. 

Here are two videos created by our CTIO (Chief Tech In Office) Lisa Defranza that will help you navigate your way through our menu settings. 

We hope this helps make your use of Brinno Cameras an easy one!

 

The Brinno TLC120A-BK Has Landed In America!

Brinno is known for making innovative time-lapse video cameras! 

BrinnoUSA is proud to offer the TLC120A-BK in the U.S.A through our preferred distributor 17th Street Photo.

This small action camera is great for those traveling, wanting to capture their adventures easily and inexpensively. Time-lapse video is hot and if you could shoot a video, with no stitching, upload via WiFi connection and have it on your social media accounts ASAP wouldn't that be a perfect gadget for you? 

We won't bore you with the specs you can click on this link and read all about what it can do.

We will SHOW YOU what this tiny camera can do for your time-lapse creativity. 

This fun, MUST-HAVE gadget is currently available HERE

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The Most Innovative Brinno Camera YET Has Arrived! The TLC120A-BK

You all know... Brinno is the leading manufacturer of Time-lapse Cameras in the world. Constantly striving for better battery life, innovative design and to bring you the latest technological innovations  you've come to expect from Brinno Cameras!

The latest addition to the time-lapse camera line is the TLC120A-BK! 

The TLC120A-BK Available in North America!

The new Brinno TLC120A-BK takes the best features from our proven line of time-lapse cameras, packs these features into a small pocketable cube and adds wi-fi, app control, weather resistance, instant sharing, a rechargeable battery and more. The TLC120 is the first in an exciting new generation of Brinno cameras. Perfect for travel, education, research, remodeling projects and daily fun.

If you want more info or to purchase on this camera please visit Adorama.Com currently offering a GREAT DEAL on this MUST HAVE gadget! 

 

 

 

 

Exciting things happening at BrinnoUSA!!

Just a quick note to let you all know what has been happening at BrinnoUSA!

The President of BrinnoUSA Chris Adams was recently interviewed by the website Home Security List about Brinno Time-Lapse Cameras and the various ways you can incorporate them into your life. We offer Home Security Cameras, PeepHole Viewers Construction Cameras and have now introduced Camera accessories. 

Get some insider tips from the interview HERE.

Need Info on the BCC200 Construction Camera Bundle?

The Brinno BCC200 Construction Bundle Pro HD is a 720p HD time-lapse camera kit for long-term project recording. It allows owners to keep an eye on construction projects for months at a time and gives them the ability to quickly review the footage in the end. It works very easily—just assign the desired time lapse interval, and set it to record. When you come back weeks or months later, you can watch the recording right away, without having to perform any processing. This kit consists of the TLC200 Pro time-lapse camera, weather-resistant housing, and a wall mount. The wall mount features a mini ball-head that allows you to angle the camera as you need.

 

We save the BEST FOR LAST! 

One of our favorite content creators Michael Lohr was offered an opportunity to go Storm Chasing with the Weather Network and their on-air talent! He took a whole lot of our TLC200PRO Timelapse Cameras and chased tornadoes across the midwest for two weeks. That footage is forthcoming but here is a photo outtake. 

 

Image by Michael Lohr

That's all for today! We have a lot to share in the near future! Until then keep lapsing!

#TimeCaptured

DIY: Why Brinno Camera's Are Your Timelapse Solution!

People always ask what makes Brinno Timelapse Cameras special. There are several answers: Battery Life, Ease, Cost and did we mention battery life? 

The TLC200 Pro HDR Time Lapse Video Camera from Brinno performs time-lapse photography and instantly creates HD videos at 1280 x 720 resolution from the captured still images. No stitching or other post-processing is required. Choose any time interval or select one of many intervals from 1 sec - 24 hr to see change over time, whether you're recording events, projects or the natural world. There's also an ASAP setting for shooting 3-5 photos in 1 sec. Videos are compressed into smaller files for easy playback on smart devices. 

This easy to use camera can capture a moment, an event and long-term projects with ease. Available at Amazon, B&H Photo Video or any of these retailers near you, SHOP.

What is happening in the world of Construction Time-lapse Video?

Time Inc.’s This Old House magazine named the Brinno BCC100 Construction Camera to its fifth annual “This Old House Top 100,” a list of the 100 best new home products of the year. Each year, the editors spend months scouting, testing, and culling countless new products for the home to identify the most distinctive, useful, and innovative in seven categories: Kitchen, Bath, Tools, Home Tech, Building Products, Outdoor Living, and Finishing Touches.

“We’re very excited to be featured by This Old House for our construction time-lapse camera,” says Chris Adams, President of BrinnoUSA. “Brinno's BCC100 construction camera is a low cost tool to document your construction project from start to finish. With an included weatherproof housing and powered by four AA batteries you can record six months of construction activity, indoors or out, without attending to the camera.” 

You can find the BCC100 at Home Depot, Adorama and BH Photo Video. 

In addition to that honor we are proud to introduce our latest camera for the Construction Industry: The BCC200, for professionals looking to take their videos to the next level.

The Brinno BCC200 is our higher-end construction camera bundle with 80-day battery life, utilizing a HDR-sensor and special night-modes perfect for documenting construction projects, analyzing environmental changes, and an amazing variety of other long-term outdoor photographic tasks. The BCC200 delivers exceptional time-lapse videos even under the most challenging backlit and/or dark conditions.

The BCC200 was recently featured at the International Builders Show 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada and at the Builder/Remodeler Expo in Atlanta, Georgia. The BCC200 is available exclusively at B&H Photo Video in the USA. 

We have so much going on and will share a ton next month! If you have any questions please reach out to us anytime we are on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.