Time-Lapse Motion Control Using a BBQ Rotisserie Motor

While adding movement to time-lapse videos is cool, the special equipment (e.g. dollies, cranes, etc…) you need can be pricey. Derek Mellott couldn’t afford to shell out hundreds of bucks for a dolly, so he decided to make his own using things found in his garage. His resulting setup included tripods, a cable management tray, a TI-calculator as an intervalometer, and a BBQ rotisserie motor to slowly pull the camera along.

As another experiment, Mellott decided to add a stick to the tripod head. When the stick came in contact with the tree nearby, it began rotating the camera, adding additional motion to the resulting time-lapse video:

If simple movement is what you’re after, a simple DIY project like this can save you hundreds of bucks while providing similar results.

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