Timelapse/Processing

ffmpeg: One of the most useful tools for post-processing video is ffmpeg. There are some notes on ffmpeg on the wiki already: Ffmpeg. Most of the material here will be a variation on that.

xargs: Another useful tool for post-processing video is xargs. Notes on xargs on the wiki already: Xargs. This is a unix command-line utility that forks a single process or single command to multiple inputs. This is extremely useful to streamlining image processing, which can be done in parallel. (It is also useful for mass-renaming files.)

The procedure for post-processing videos looks like this:

• Obtain and wrangle a large number of sequentially numbered jpeg files (xargs)
• Figure out what effects to apply - single jpeg file (lightroom)
• Apply desired effects en-masse - all jpeg files (lightroom)
• Turn mass of jpeg files into video (ffmpeg)

There are also some interesting side topics, such as image averaging using the Python_Imaging_Library. This allows for smoother, more stretched-out timelapse videos.