Microsoft Hyperlapse
It’s not often that I recommend Microsoft products. Don’t get me wrong: I got no beef with Microsoft; I just don’t think they make powerful or stable enough computers. And I’m not Windows illiterate. I used to build PCs. That is, until I realized that was a waste of time and I needed to get back to Macs. Anyway, that was 15 years ago. Fast forward to today… Apple still hasn’t nailed down productivity by a long shot. Do I use programs like Pages? Of course not, I use Microsoft Word. Do I use Apple Numbers? I don’t even know what that Apple Numbers is. Does anyone?
It’s safe to say Microsoft has staked a claim on certain functions; namely, most everyday business Apps. And they work just fine. Of course, when they don’t work just fine (or when you need better sharing capability) there’s always Google. The bottom line is: Apple has nothing on MS when it comes to many programs people use on a day-to-day basis. So, yay Microsoft!
But this app is intriguing to me… When you’re looking for the coolest creative solutions in photography or filmmaking, Microsoft is not where you’d go first. But Microsoft Research has developed—very quietly—a time-lapse app that is nothing short of amazing. It’s called Hyperlapse. Not to be confused with the Hyperlapse iOS app that Instagram recently released, and which was quickly made pointless by iOS itself—this is a standalone app for Android mobile and Mac/PC desktops. Unlike those other apps, this program will take your shaky GoPro or iPhone/Android time-lapses or action videos and actually make them look good.
It’s a brilliant use of image analyzation and stabilization which, as far as I know, Apple and Adobe, have nothing equivalent to. Click here to see the 20 years of back-end tech development. What matters to you and me: you load your raw action footage into Hyperlapse, set in- and out-points, adjust a few settings and wait for it to process something way smoother than what you shot.You can see examples on the MS Hyperlapse website:
Here’s an example of what I shot yesterday:
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And here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of the two takes: On the right is the original GoPro footage. On the left you see the MS Hyperlapse result running at roughly the same speed. This is from the same clip (shot on a GoPro Hero 4 Silver, 60fps, ProTune and colored in FCPX). Check out the difference in stability:
Keep in mind: I’m using the paid ($50) version of the app, which allows you to remove the watermark and export in full HD. And do you lose a little bit of resolution? Of course you do. But there’s no warpy, digital stabilization effect. And comparatively, it looks pretty darn good. I honestly think this app could save thousands of unwatchable GoPro and iPhone action videos.
I just got back from Week Without Walls with the Middle School, and I can’t wait to see what this app does for my my multiple helmet-mounted GoPro shots—from ziplines to white water rafting, to rock wall climbing.
It’s more than laudable that Microsoft has come up with a creative tool as robust as Hyperlapse, while Apple, Adobe, and (arguably) GoPro seem to be sitting—though perhaps not so stably—on the sidelines.
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