Free tool from Tweedia Studio
Time Lapse Calculator
Get the video length, the capture interval, or how long you need to record. It covers a two-hour sunset, a long-term construction build, and driving, and it shows what trimming or pacing the still footage does to the final length.
The math behind it
Everything here comes from three lines. Recording time is however long the camera runs: hours for a single shoot, days times the daily window for a long-term project, distance divided by average speed for a drive.
- Video length
recording time ÷ interval ÷ fps - Interval
recording time ÷ (video length × fps) - Recording time
video length × fps × interval
When you solve for the interval we snap the answer to a stop you can actually dial in (0.5 s, 1 s, 2 s, 5 s and up to 2 hours), picking the one that lands closest to your target length. Ties break toward the longer interval, which means fewer frames and less storage.
Driving works in distance instead of time. Frames per mile = 3600 ÷ (speed × interval), so at 45 mph with a 1 second interval you get 80 frames a mile, one every 20 metres. The bigger that gap, the more the road strobes.
The still-footage share is the part of the recording where nothing visible changes. Cutting it is what MotionTrim does, so that finish is the raw length times what is left. MotionPace keeps it but plays it fast, up to 7× by default, so its length sits between the two. Storage uses your MB per frame.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate time lapse length?
Final video length = recording time ÷ interval ÷ frame rate. Record for 8 hours (28,800 seconds) at one photo every 5 seconds and you capture 5,760 frames; played at 30 fps that is 3 minutes 12 seconds. The calculator above runs the same math with your daily shooting window and downtime included. See the full conversion charts →
How long is a 30-second time lapse in real time?
Multiply the other way: recording time = video length × frame rate × interval. A 30-second clip at 30 fps needs 900 frames, so at one photo every 2 seconds you record for 1,800 seconds, which is 30 minutes. At one photo every 10 seconds the same clip needs 9,000 seconds of recording, which is 2 hours 30 minutes. Set the calculator to "Recording time" to solve it for your own interval. Conversion charts for other lengths →
How do I calculate a driving time lapse?
Start from the drive, not the clock. Distance ÷ average speed gives the driving time, and that drives the frame count the same way a shoot duration does: a 30-mile drive at 45 mph takes 2,400 seconds, so one frame a second is 2,400 frames, which plays for 80 seconds at 30 fps. Pick the Driving scenario above and enter distance and average speed instead of a duration.
What interval should I use for a driving time lapse?
Think in metres of road per frame rather than seconds. At 45 mph you cover about 20 metres every second, so a 1-second interval puts a frame every 20 metres and the road reads as a smooth pull. Doubling the interval doubles that gap and the clip starts to strobe. At motorway speeds try 0.5 seconds; on slow city streets 1 to 2 seconds is plenty. The calculator prints the metres per frame for your numbers.
What is the best interval for a construction timelapse?
For most multi-month construction builds, capturing one frame every 5–15 minutes hits the sweet spot: fast enough to show visible progress each day, slow enough to keep storage sane. Our Construction example uses 10 minutes as a starting point — dial the interval until the final video length matches your goal.
How much storage do I need for a 6-month timelapse?
It depends on interval and image size. Enter your duration, window, and MB-per-frame above and the calculator gives an exact number. As a rough guide: a 6-month build shot 10 hours a day at a 10-minute interval with 5 MB JPEGs uses about 30–40 GB of source footage.
What FPS should I use for a timelapse?
24 FPS gives a cinematic feel, 30 FPS is the safe web default, and 60 FPS is worth it only when there is genuinely fast on-screen motion. For most long-term timelapses, 30 FPS is the right answer.
Does trimming the stillness really matter?
Yes — it is often the difference between a 40-minute unwatchable raw file and a 25-minute video people actually finish. On a construction site, roughly 30–50% of daytime footage is idle (lunch breaks, unmoving weather, off-camera work). Tweedia Studio detects that stillness automatically so you do not have to scrub through it by hand.
Can I change the video speed after I capture it?
Somewhat — you can re-render at a different FPS (48 FPS halves the length of a 24 FPS assemble), but you cannot recover detail that was not captured. Getting the interval right up front is the single biggest lever, which is what this calculator is for.
What interval should I use for a GoPro time lapse?
For a short outdoor scene, 2–5 seconds. For an all-day shoot, 10–30 seconds keeps the finished clip watchable. For anything running days or longer, treat the GoPro like a long-term camera — intervals in minutes, and constant power rather than a battery. Turning GoPro time lapse photos into a video →