Best Way to Time-Lapse Your Puzzling - Pro Tips, Tricks and Secrets
Hello from Michaela & Sarah!
It was a busy summer and we have been doing our research to bring you some fun blogs as we head into the fall and winter!
Timelapses let us share our puzzles, our styles of sorting and placing pieces, as well as can have fun with the actual completion process. This blog is highlighting some of the timelapse set-ups different puzzlers are using!
Our first set up comes from Nathan (@puzzlesbynathan) who is an avid mathematician from the UK. He is known for his timelapses, and providing us with the stats of completion time. He was eager to give us information about his setup: An iPhone XR with a clip-on wide angle lens on a GorrilaPod Tripod he has attached to a curtain rod. This specific type of tripod has flexible legs, and can be attached to just about any solid surface. If your puzzle surface is near a window like Nathan’s, or has a chandelier style light over it, a gorilla tripod might be perfect. Additionally, the clip-on wide angle lens allows you to shoot larger puzzles while still using your phone. These can be bought from a range of prices online, and obviously work to widen the photo window.
Next up is Diane’s (@BizzlesPuzzles) DIY PVC Pipe set up. She recently posted on both Instagram and her Youtube Channel showing off how to make your own arm to use your cell phone to timelapse puzzles. It’s a cheap, fun way to make a personal arm depending on your own table or surface set up. You could even paint the PVC different colors.
If you are interested in getting crafty, or becoming stir crazy during the pandemic, go check out Diane’s video here for some inspiration! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6s5AGxdWic
Sarah uses a gooseneck phone mount that she found online. These are easy to attach to a table or chair and can adjust to all phone sizes. To get a good overhead angle, she uses a small children’s chair on top of her puzzle table to give more height to the phone mount.
The flexible neck allows her to create the ideal puzzle filming angle. You can also use this method to shine light on your puzzle with a phone light!
Michaela’s latest setup uses a windshield suction cup phone holder. This setup requires putting the plastic disc that would normally go on the windshield on the ceiling above your puzzle surface. All though goo-be-gone should take this off in the future when it’s time to move, this makes this the most permanent set up that needs to be thought out more if using.
The pros of this set up include having a larger area covered without any other materials for a stand. Additionally, similar to Nathan’s set-up with the curtain rod, there is no small movement caused by bumping the table that the stand or chair-stand is set on.
Most of us either use our phone camera’s time lapse feature, or TimeSpirit, which is a free app.
A few little tips, remember to plug your phone in, turn it on Do Not Disturb or Airplane mode if you are using an app, and make sure to have enough storage. The biggest thing to remember is this is technology and there are always snafus or glitches, so make sure to test out your set up and the method you are recording it with!
Until next time!
Stay Safe and Puzzle On!
