Time-lapse Mining

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Brian Howell

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May 18, 2015, 12:47:33 PM5/18/15
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Time-lapse cinematography and videography provide a means of enabling viewers to readily perceive gradual changes in certain kinds of subjects. Plants, and especially flowers, have long been popular subjects; watchers may see them sprout, bud, flourish, wither, and die, all within a few seconds. (Nearly all the following time-lapse examples benefit from being watched full screen and in high definition. Several of them are outstanding.)


Other popular time-lapse subjects include sunrises and sunsets, skylines, and landscapes (notably seasonal changes).



Time-lapses time-compress experiences, giving viewers a perspective on topics that are beyond direct human experience.


Although many time-lapses are created for entertainment purposes, they can also be of educational or scientific value, contribute important understanding to public policy debates, and promote social programs and ideologies. It is in these utilizations that their essential value is realized.

Through the use of time lapse, we can observe trends, see patterns, and watch systems evolve. They can provide messages that are far more impactful, and therefore communicative, than tables of numbers, charts, or diagrams, especially to the laity. Time lapses can be powerful perceptual tools in arguments for sustainability and fighting climate change.



Until now, creating time-lapses has required time, patience, and often special equipment (and software). Now researchers at the University of Washington have created software tools that can take sets of unrelated images (such as might be collected on the Internet and from multiple photographers) of a particular subject, correct for focal disparities, and integrate them into a time lapse. Though the results will never be as beautiful and clear (sharp) as those I've linked above, many will nonetheless be of great value, especially in relating historical trends and demonstrating otherwise uncapturable changes.


With this post I add another tag to the Ipse Dixit discussion taxonomy, in this context as it relates to this technology: cool.


vince koloski

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May 19, 2015, 1:15:27 AM5/19/15
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Love the time-lapses, however I am uncomfortable with the word laity in the text: Through the use of time lapse, we can observe trends, see patterns, and watch systems evolve. They can provide messages that are far more impactful, and therefore communicative, than tables of numbers, charts, or diagrams,  especially to the laity. Time lapses can be powerful perceptual tools in arguments for sustainability and fighting climate change. The implications of that word (to me) are that scientists are a priesthood and those of us not blessed with the sacred Ph.D after our names are a somewhat lesser breed who need to be led by our betters. 


 
Vince Koloski



From: Brian Howell <bdho...@gmail.com>
To: Ipse-...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Monday, May 18, 2015 9:47 AM
Subject: [Ipse Dixit] Time-lapse Mining

Time-lapse cinematography and videography provide  a means of enabling viewers to readily perceive gradual changes in certain kinds of subjects. Plants, and especially flowers, have long been popular subjects; watchers may see them sprout, bud, flourish, wither, and die, all within a few seconds. (Nearly all the following time-lapse examples benefit from being watched full screen and in high definition. Several of them are outstanding.)


Other popular time-lapse subjects include sunrises and sunsets, skylines, and landscapes (notably seasonal changes).



Time-lapses time-compress experiences, giving viewers a perspective on topics that are beyond direct human experience.


Although many time-lapses are created for entertainment purposes, they can also be of educational or scientific value, contribute important understanding to public policy debates, and promote social programs and ideologies. It is in these utilizations that their essential value is realized.

Through the use of time lapse, we can observe trends, see patterns, and watch systems evolve. They can provide messages that are far more impactful, and therefore communicative, than tables of numbers, charts, or diagrams,  especially to the laity. Time lapses can be powerful perceptual tools in arguments for sustainability and fighting climate change.



Until now, creating time-lapses has required time, patience, and often special equipment (and software). Now researchers at the University of Washington have created software tools that can find take sets of unrelated images of a particular subject, correct for focal disparities, and integrate them into a time lapse. Though the results will never be as beautiful and clear (sharp) as those I've linked above, many will nonetheless be of great value, especially in relating historical trends and demonstrating otherwise uncapturable changes.


With this post I add another tag to the Ipse Dixit discussion taxonomy, in this context as it relates to this technology: cool.


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Craig Good

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May 19, 2015, 1:32:34 AM5/19/15
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On May 18, 2015, at 22:15 PM, 'vince koloski' via Ipse Dixit <Ipse-...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

> The implications of that word (to me) are that scientists are a priesthood and those of us not blessed with the sacred Ph.D after our names are a somewhat lesser breed who need to be led by our betters.


Bless you.



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clg...@me.com http://www.craig-good.com

It's always darkest before dawn. So if you're going to steal your
neighbors' newspaper, that's the time to do it.

Brian Howell

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May 19, 2015, 1:58:25 AM5/19/15
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Vince,

I can see how you perceive the word that way. And one could make that inference, though that is not indicated by the definition I'm using here:


Full Definition of LAITY

1
:  the people of a religious faith as distinguished from its clergy 
2
:  the mass of the people as distinguished from those of a particular profession or those specially skilled
— Merriam Webster


I grew up in the scientific community. Nearly all of my father's friends were Ph.D. scientists from major universities. He and they—and many other scientists besides—routinely used and use the word to describe non-scientists. I've often also come across the word in numerous technology journals to describe the technical illiterate: Wired has used it so many times. Fast Company, too. (Please don't get on my case about "illiterate.") Outside of religions topics, I can recall only in a few cases of the word being used in the sense of sheep needing leadership, and then it was invariably in the context of a pointed argument and obviously meant as a pejorative. Otherwise, the intent has usually been to reflect the communications gulf that exists between subject experts and people in general. (Such as IT and every other division in most businesses.)

Examples:

I will continue using "laity" (herein) in sense 2.

Brian

Craig Good

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May 19, 2015, 3:05:16 PM5/19/15
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Until now, creating time-lapses has required time, patience, and often special equipment (and software). Now researchers at the University of Washington have created software tools that can take sets of unrelated images (such as might be collected on the Internet and from multiple photographers) of a particular subject, correct for focal disparities, and integrate them into a time lapse. Though the results will never be as beautiful and clear (sharp) as those I've linked above, many will nonetheless be of great value, especially in relating historical trends and demonstrating otherwise uncapturable changes.


With this post I add another tag to the Ipse Dixit discussion taxonomy, in this context as it relates to this technology: cool.


Here's the video:


(And a data point in my argument that most scientists should not narrate their own videos.) 

Brian Howell

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May 19, 2015, 6:13:07 PM5/19/15
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Oops! Thanks, Craig. I completely overlooked the actual video!

Brian Howell

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May 19, 2015, 6:14:02 PM5/19/15
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It's worth seeing.

Craig Good

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May 19, 2015, 6:14:38 PM5/19/15
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On May 19, 2015, at 15:13 PM, Brian Howell <bdho...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Oops! Thanks, Craig. I completely overlooked the actual video!

Even people have off-by-one errors.






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Everything you need to know about public transportation is summed
up by one fact: BART police drive cars.


Craig Good

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May 29, 2015, 12:51:15 PM5/29/15
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Not time lapse, but a similar application. Here collections of photos are used to construct a model of a cultural artifact that has been destroyed.

Brian Howell

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May 31, 2015, 9:28:27 PM5/31/15
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Well, at least we'll be able to remember what these irreplaceable artifacts looked like.

Craig Good

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Jun 2, 2015, 11:22:41 AM6/2/15
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And then there's always time lapse the hard way: Editing by hand.

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