Screen Timelapse

A screen timelapse is a video made from screenshots taken at a regular interval and played back at a normal frame rate. Because frames are taken seconds apart, playback compresses a long session into a short clip. The speed-up equals the capture interval in seconds multiplied by the playback frame rate.

For example, one hour of capture at one frame every 3 seconds yields 1,200 frames. Played at 30 frames per second, that becomes a 40-second video, a 90x speed-up. At 24 frames per second the same frames last 50 seconds.

Screen timelapse vs screen recording

A screen recording captures continuous video, often at 30 or 60 frames per second, and grows large quickly over hours. A timelapse stores only the sampled frames. Each frame remains a usable still image, so the same capture can produce a video, a GIF and a PDF. A timelapse cannot show fast actions that happen between frames.

Where screen timelapses are used

• Showing how a design, illustration or 3D scene was built.
• Summarizing a coding or writing session.
• Watching a dashboard, queue or build status over a working day.
• Recording a long render or data import to see when it slowed down.

How screen timelapses work

1. Pick the source: a display, a window or a fixed area.
2. Set the interval and the stop condition: a frame count, a duration or an end time.
3. Run the capture while you work.
4. Assemble the frames into a video at a chosen frame rate.

Temposhot Auto Capture has a Timelapse preset: 1 hour duration, 3 second interval, no key press and a 5 second countdown. The MP4 export offers 5, 10, 15, 24, 30 or 60 fps.

Common mistakes with screen timelapses

• Choosing an interval so short that the video is too long to watch.
• Capturing the full screen when notifications or private windows appear.
• Letting the Mac sleep during the run.
• Picking a low frame rate that makes the video look choppy.

Taking the same screenshots again and again?

Apply the Timelapse preset, adjust the duration, and save it with Save Preset for the next session. See capture presets.

Common questions

How long will my timelapse video be?

Divide the capture duration by the interval to get the frame count, then divide by the frame rate.

Can I make a GIF instead of a video?

Yes. Temposhot Export settings… offers GIF with frame delays from 0.04 to 1 second.

Sources

• Time-lapse photography on Wikipedia

Related resources

• Automated capture: interval and stop conditions.
• Export formats: MP4 and GIF settings.
• Images to MP4: build a video from image files in the browser.