From seed to bloom: Unveiling the magic of plant time lapse with Rapid Lapse
July 18, 2023 2 min read
ATLI is dedicated to capturing the very essence of life in our captivating time-lapse videos. No matter if you are a plant enthusiast, a beginner photographer, or a professional photographer, our time-lapse camera holds the potential to transform you into a remarkable video creator.
To enhance your experience with us, we have the pleasure of introducing Rapid Lapse as our esteemed guest. Rapid Lapse has devoted more than two years to creating the growth of plants using ATLI cameras. His YouTube channel has flourished from a modest following to an impressive community of over 80k subscribers.
Through his awe-inspiring work, we are thrilled to witness the burgeoning fascination with time lapse photography and the mesmerizing allure of plant time lapse videos.
ATLI remains committed to supporting individuals who share a passion for capturing the passage of time. Our aim is to inspire and motivate more people to embark on this creative time lapse journey alongside us.
Q1: Tell us about RapidLapse – what is it and why was it started?
RapidLapse is about timelapse. It is primarily a YouTube channel, but I also post on other social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Q2: When did you get the idea to start making plant time-lapse videos?
In March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, everyone was in self-quarantine mode. I could not go outside or hang out with friends for many weeks.
At the time, I had planted some cilantro in a container in my living room and, just for fun, I decided to film a timelapse video of that cilantro. I shared the result with my friends and also posted it on YouTube where many people expressed that they were fascinated by the transformation of plants.
The quarantine did not end so I kept filming and posting more timelapse videos. That’s how it started.
Q3: What keeps you hooked on shooting plant time lapse?
I like plants. I have always had an interest in growing indoor plants as home decor. I also like photography, filming and editing.
Filming timelapse videos of plants and watching the entire end-to-end process of a seed growing into fruit is very fulfilling. Besides, the YouTube channel has also grown quite a bit and that encourages me to continue this hobby further.
Q4: Do you feel any limitations about filming plant time lapse?
I film indoors so one of the main limitations is space. I can only film plants that can be grown in pots.
Also, some of the plants (especially vines) grow quickly and they also move around a lot during the process.
While their movement is interesting to watch in timelapse, the filming process is not so fun because keeping the subject in focus over multiple days without changing camera position can be tricky. If I have to adjust camera height and angle too frequently then the final timelapse isn’t very smooth.
Q5: Do you plan on making other video content besides plant growth time lapse in the future?
I have some other ideas for the future but for now I am happy filming as many plants as I can. Even if I try out other ideas I think I will still continue the plant videos because it is a fulfilling hobby.
Q6: What is the most difficult aspect of creating time-lapse videos or growing your YouTube channel?
Creating plant timelapse videos needs a lot of hard work and patience.
We are talking about multiple months of work just to create one video. Not all videos contribute to the channel’s growth. Some videos do well while others (despite taking more effort to create) are barely noticed.
While starting any filming project, it is difficult to predict which plant would be worth the time and effort. I pick whatever interests me and I just want to focus on creating good quality timelapse videos. The channel will grow at its own pace.
Q7: What do you believe is the most important consideration when shooting time lapse?
I think it has to be lighting. A controlled and even lighting throughout the duration of timelapse is smooth and looks better. But if the light keeps changing (change of color, intensity, or random reflection, etc) then it will be a distraction in the end result.
Q8: Could you describe your basic filming project setup workflow and how it works?
I have been using Atli Eon timelapse camera for almost 2 years now. Most of my videos were filmed with Atli Eon.
My setup is like that of a photography lightbox where the background is a plain, non-reflective surface (either velvet cloth or pvc matte as backdrop) and the lighting is hung from above to illuminate the subject. In my case, the subject is usually a pot and a plant growing in it. I use LED plant grow lights to ensure their optimum growth.
Most recently I have assembled a 3-tier shelf-like setup so I can film more plants without taking much space on the ground. Stay tuned as I will be posting those timelapse videos on my YouTube channel soon!
Q9: What are your thoughts on time lapse photography? Do you think time lapse could be a trend in the future?
We are already seeing a trend of people moving away from photos towards reels/shorts/TikTok i.e moving content.
Timelapse photography is more dynamic and interesting than regular photos and given how quickly people are adopting video content creation, I think timelapse photography has good prospects.
