home / skills / dkyazzentwatwa / chatgpt-skills / timelapse-creator

timelapse-creator skill

This skill creates timelapse videos from image sequences with adjustable FPS, transitions, and quality options to produce polished clips.

npx playbooks add skill dkyazzentwatwa/chatgpt-skills --skill timelapse-creator

Review the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.

Files (3)

SKILL.md

687 B

---
name: timelapse-creator
description: Create timelapse videos from image sequences with frame rate control, transitions, and quality optimization.
---

# Timelapse Creator

Create timelapse videos from image sequences.

## Features

- **Image Sequence**: Combine images into video
- **Frame Rate Control**: Custom FPS settings
- **Transitions**: Crossfade between frames
- **Sorting**: Auto-sort by timestamp/filename
- **Quality Control**: Resolution and codec options
- **Text Overlays**: Add timestamps/labels

## CLI Usage

```bash
python timelapse_creator.py --input images/ --output timelapse.mp4 --fps 30
```

## Dependencies

- moviepy>=1.0.3
- pillow>=10.0.0
- numpy>=1.24.0

Overview

This skill creates timelapse videos from sequences of images with flexible frame rate, transition, and quality controls. It focuses on producing smooth, high-quality videos while offering options for sorting, overlays, and codec/resolution settings. The tool is implemented in Python and integrates common imaging and video libraries for reliable results.

How this skill works

The skill reads an input folder of images, optionally sorts them by timestamp or filename, then constructs a video timeline at the specified frames-per-second. It can apply crossfade transitions, add text overlays such as timestamps or labels, and export using chosen codecs and resolution settings. Under the hood it leverages image processing and video composition libraries to optimize quality and encoding.

When to use it

Converting hourly or daily photo sequences into a condensed timelapse
Documenting construction, landscaping, or experiment progress over time
Creating social media-ready clips from large photo sets
Producing smooth motion from time-lapse photography with manual frame control
Adding consistent timestamps or labels to a sequence for review or archiving

Best practices

Sort images by timestamp when capture order is important to avoid jumps
Choose FPS based on desired playback speed—lower FPS for dramatic slow movement, higher for smooth motion
Use lossless or high-quality source images and set an appropriate export bitrate to preserve detail
Apply subtle crossfades only when frames vary widely to avoid motion blur artifacts
Batch process large sets and test export settings on a short sample before full render

Example use cases

Combine a year of garden photos into a 60-second video with daily timestamps
Turn hourly construction site snapshots into a progress video with crossfade transitions
Generate a 30 FPS landscape timelapse from DSLR images, exporting in H.264 for web
Create annotated timelapses for lab experiments with automatic filename-based sorting

FAQ

What input formats are supported?

Common image formats such as JPEG, PNG, and TIFF are supported; ensure consistent dimensions for best results.

How do I control playback speed?

Set the frames-per-second (FPS) option when creating the timelapse; lower FPS slows playback, higher FPS speeds it up.

Can I add timestamps automatically?

Yes. The skill can overlay EXIF timestamps or derive labels from filenames and render them as text overlays.