Timelapse not working

Report · May 03, 2024

Hello, I am having trouble with a timelapse video I'm working on. It's a simple, two minute video of a timelapse of the recent eclipse. There are three clips and two pictures in the timeline. All three clips are at 29/fps. Two of the clips are in 4k, and one is in 2k. I scaled down the larger clips and kept everything at the same frame rate. There are no error messages when I export, and it happens relatively quickly. However, when I watch the file or upload it to YouTube, the timelapses are converted to stills. I tried exporting in H.264 and QuickTime and both had the same issue. All my footage is at the same frame rate so I'm not sure what the problem is. Any help would be appreciated, thank you!

Report · May 03, 2024

I think some clarification is needed.

By "converted to stills", do you mean that the video holds on frames for extendented periods of time? Or do you mean that you are getting an Image Sequence (one still image per frame)?

Report · May 03, 2024

Sorry for confusion, I mean the video is holding on frames.

Report · May 03, 2024

The file that we upload to YouTube gets encoded another time before it's ready for viewing.

I'm guessing that from source footage setting to editing settings to export settings that your source footage is not holding up to what happens when it goes to YouTube.

I would try exporting using the Apple ProRes 422 LT preset for QuickTime. If you're really tight on drive space, use Apple ProRes 422 Proxy. While this won't add anything back to your footage, it will export compete frames (or all i-frames) without compressing between the frames and YouTube accepts ProRes.

Select your Sequence in Premiere Pro and send it to Adobe Media Encoder (AME). In AME, set the Format to QuickTime and the Preset to Apple ProRes 422 LT or Apple ProRes 422 Proxy. Then click Start Queue.

The file size maybe larger than you are used to. 1080p29.97 ProRes 422 LT can be 700Mb per second while 1080p29.97 ProRes Proxy can be about 300Mb per second.

Once the file has uploaded and you have confirmed that it is playing as expected on YouTube, you can delete the local ProRes clip or archive it.