Guest post by Mattia Bicchi,
Timelapse & Hyperlapse Atrist

As a timelapse photographer with 10 years of experience, I’ve encountered many challenges that come with creating smooth, visually appealing sequences. One of the most common issues and in my opinion the arch enemy of timelapse is flickering, which can ruin a perfect shot. After experimenting with various tools, I’ve found Neat Video to be an excellent solution for deflickering.

What is Flickering?

Flickering is a visual artifact that appears as inconsistent exposure changes between frames in a timelapse sequence. It’s caused by small discrepancies in the aperture between shots. When these small variations are compounded over hundreds or thousands of frames, they create an unpleasant strobing effect that disrupts the flow of the timelapse and make the timelapse look unprofessional.

Why Flickering is a Problem in Timelapse

Flickering can take away from the immersive experience of a timelapse. A smooth, continuous transition of light and motion is what captivates viewers, and flickering breaks this illusion. For clients who demand high-quality work, nature, or commercial timelapse, flickering can make your output look amateurish, even if the scene and composition are perfect. It’s especially critical in professional projects. Correcting flickering ensures that your timelapse sequences look as fluid as they were intended.

Why Neat Video is the Best Tool for Me

There are several tools out there that can eliminate flicker, but after experimenting with a few, I’ve found that Neat Video offers the most reliable results. While Neat Video is primarily known for its powerful noise reduction capabilities, it also does an excellent job at fixing flicker in timelapse sequences.

One of the main reasons I rely on Neat Video is its flexibility. It allows you to manually fine-tune settings to suit the specific needs of your project. Neat Video’s intelligent algorithms analyze each frame and reduce both noise and flicker in a way that keeps the original detail intact. Plus, it integrates seamlessly with Adobe After Effects, making it part of a familiar workflow if you’re already using AE for post-processing.

My Workflow

Here’s the step-by-step process I use when deflickering timelapse footage with Neat Video in Adobe After Effects:

1. Prepare Your Timelapse Sequence in After Effects

• Import your timelapse image sequence into Adobe After Effects.
• Once the sequence is imported, create a composition from the sequence.

2. Apply Neat Video to Your Composition

• Open your Effects & Presets panel, and find the Neat Video effect.
• Drag and drop the Neat Video plugin onto your timelapse footage layer.

3. Build the Noise and Flicker Profile

• In the Neat Video window, click on Auto Profile, Neat Video will analyze your footage for noise and flicker patterns.

• Once the profile is built, open the Adjust and Preview page, here on the right panel you can adjust the sliders to remove noise, usually the default setting are doing a great job.

4. Fine-Tuning the Flicker Reduction

• In the ‘Temporal Filter’ section, enable ‘Flicker’. If you are using the Beginning Mode, Neat video will automatically de-flickering the timelapse. If you want more options to remove the flickering, choose the Advance mode and here you have more sliders to play with.
• In the Advance Mode, you can also click on “Filter Settings Check” and select the Noise level Chcek and the Local Flicker check to have even more information on how the timelapse looks like and adjust the sliders as you please.

• Preview your footage to see how the changes affect the flicker. Neat Video will compare multiple frames to smooth out the exposure fluctuations.

5. Render and Export

• Once you’re happy with the flicker reduction, click apply and render the composition.

Conclusion

Flicker can be a nightmare for timelapse photographers, but with the right tools and workflow, it’s entirely possible to eliminate it and create flawless, professional sequences. Neat Video has proven itself as a reliable tool in my arsenal for both noise reduction and flicker removal. Its flexibility, coupled with the precise control it offers, makes it an essential plugin for any timelapse photographer working in After Effects. If you’re serious about delivering polished, flicker-free timelapses, Neat Video is definitely worth considering. With it, you can ensure that your work is not only visually appealing but also meets the high standards that clients expect.