Gimbal hyperlapse tutorial

In this tutorial I am going to teach you how to shoot a hyperlapse with a gimbal. This is an incredibly easy thing to do and gives you some really impressive visuals.

If you haven't seen the video tutorial yet then make sure to check it out first here:

What you need to shoot the gimbal hyperlapse:

• A camera (DSLR, mirrorless, even a phone will do)
• Wide angle lens (wide angle remark)
• ND filter
• Intervalometer (timelapse remote)
• Gimbal (I use the Zhiyun Tech Crane 2)

Check out all the gear I used in this Kit list.

What you need to edit the hyperlapse:

• Adobe Lightroom (to organise and colour grade your sequences)
• Adobe After Effects (to stabilise and render you video files)

How to shoot the gimbal hyperlapse:

• Install the base plate on your camera
• Install the ND filter on your lens
• Attach the tripod base to the gimbal
• Slide the camera on the gimbal and without powering on balance all three of the axes
• Power on the Zhiyun Crane 2 gimbal by holding down the power button for 3 seconds
• Press the mode button to enter Lock mode
• Use the joystick to frame up your shot
• Attach your intervalometer and take a test shot, aim for a half second exposure, adjust your iso and aperture to get the right exposure
• Set your interval to 2 seconds (one second also works but you need a fast write speed)
• Press start on the remote and slowly, steadily walk the trail towards or from your subject

How to edit gimbal hyperlapse sequences:

• Offload the contents of your memory card on a hard drive (I like the Samsung T5 SSD)
• Import the contents of the hard drive into Lightroom using the ‘Add' method
• Organise and rename your sequences
• Import the JPEG photos (RAW also works, it's just slow) into After Effects as a sequence and create a composition
• Apply the Warp Stabiliser effect and set smoothness to 10%
• Let AE analyse the clip and export as a video file
• Share on instagram and get a few likes and comments

Extra notes:

The reason you want to use a wide angle lens is because they minimise ‘camera move blur'. The longer the lens the faster your shutter speed has to be or your shot will be blurry. The wider your lens the longer the exposure you can use. Paired with a gimbal this means we can shoot 0,5 second long exposures and still get a relatively sharp subject in the middle of the frame.

The difference with shooting long exposure photos as a hyperlapse on a tripod is that only the moving subjects in the frame will be motion blurred. Using the gimbal method everything that is within the frame and close to the camera becomes motion blurred.

Forwards and backwards moves are easy, where it gets more difficult is walking past a subject and panning the camera so that you revolve around the building or object of choice. I have some ideas on how to tackle this, will keep you posted.

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Thanks for reading!