Time-lapse webcam recording test

[Jeff]

Ever seen those time-lapse videos that capture a whole day in just minutes? Well, I'm going to be creating one today, just for fun and "because I can!"

The subject? Me.

Yes, for all of you out there who have wondered what-in-the-world Jeff does on his off-Fridays (thanks Mom!), I'm going to be taking BigBlueBall webcam #2 into the great outdoors today. It'll be pointing at the pine tree that's taller than my 2-story house, and which I'll be hacking away at in a feeble attempt to reduce it to a stump.

I'll also be capturing the series of images, which will be compiled into (you guessed it) a time-lapsed video. While my muscles recover from the shock of physical activity, I'll be writing up a how-to article to be posted here at BigBlueBall.

For the record, I really like this pine tree. If I could get away without cutting it down, believe me, I would. But it's lifted my driveway and my wife is convinced the house is next in line.

So tune into the the webcam page here and watch the progress. I'll even open up the chat room in case someone wants to make snide comments about how slow I am, or offer encouragement, or maybe (hopefully NOT) medical advice.

Ciao!

Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[Jeff]

Ok, I'm taking a break! My arms are tired and starting to cramp up.. now I remember why I work at a computer!

When my sons get home from school, and after it cools down a bit, I'll resume the cutting, sawing, hacking and general thrashing about.

Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[LADYJ]

You go Jeff.........I think its a great idea, but dont work to hard on your day off............<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>....everyone(even you) needs a bit of rest and relaxation, or as elmer fudd puts "west and we waxation"...LOL






LadyJ<img src=icon_smile_kisses.gif border=0 align=middle>

[Jeff]

Ok... break is over (a day later...)... I'm back at it! My sons will be (hopefully) helping... we'll see.

Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[Hotmop]

Well, either I missed the big event, or the way you grow pine trees in your neck of the woods, you trim them to look like basketball hoops. Can't wait to see the "video". Oh, and if your muscle cramps up, try using Windex !

[Jeff]

The impressive part is over. The tree is down to about an 18" stump. Now we just have branches to chop up and clean up (as you can kinda see in the webcam... branches and pine needles all over the driveway).

The video is coming.... check back later today!

Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[Jeff]

The branches are in a pile, and we're done for now. My back aches, and I'm sweating like you would not believe. It's hot! <img src=icon_smile_evil.gif border=0 align=middle>

Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[LADYJ]

Have to tell you, nothing like watching men hard at work....(..hey did i happen to see that ladder fall once?)...nice job Jeff
<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>






LadyJ<img src=icon_smile_kisses.gif border=0 align=middle>

[Jeff]

No ladders fell. The only damage done was when a large branch fell into some bushes and broke a few branches of the bush. I'll still got all fingers and other limbs. My sons are still talking to me (amazing what money will do). And after showering, even the tree sap cleaned up.

Now for the fun stuff!
First, I used Coffeecup WebCam to capture images to the BigBlueBall Webcam page every 30 seconds. While that was running, WebCam Watcher from Beau Software was capturing a series of images. WebCam Watcher allows you to skip frames with no movement to speed things up. I could've used CoffeeCup WebCam to capture all the images locally, but I wanted to demonstrate how you could do the same with any of the webcams out there on the web.

WebCam Watcher lets me then convert a selection of saved images to an AVI file. I used the Radius Cinepak codec. Not the smallest or newest, but the most common and does a fairly decent job at compressing.

The Results
The tree-trimming took me two days. I created a seperate video file for each day.

Friday, September 21
Click picture to view video (1.3 MB)


Saturday, September 22
Click picture to view video (2.6 MB)


Jeff Hester aka "Mister BigBlueBall.com"

[LADYJ]

Well Jeff, I just watched your Time-lapse webcam recording test, and it came out very cool..<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
BTW(your right there was no falling ladder, was a visual error on my part.sorry).<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>





LadyJ<img src=icon_smile_kisses.gif border=0 align=middle>