# Make a Timelapse From Video Turn long footage into a fast timelapse in your browser. Pick a speed and output fps; frames are dropped with ffmpeg locally and audio is removed. ## Run it - **CLI:** `gizza tool video-timelapse 'url=https://example.com/input' 'speed=10' 'fps=30'` - **Web:** https://gizza.ai/tools/video-timelapse/ - **Agents:** machine-readable descriptor (parameters JSON Schema) at https://gizza.ai/tools/video-timelapse/tool.json ## Inputs - `file` — Video _(file; accept: video/*)_ - `speed` — Speed-up factor (2-300×) _(field)_ - `fps` — Output frame rate (fps, 1-60) _(field)_ ## Output - Timelapse video (video) ## Query parameters Open the tool pre-filled and auto-run via URL: - `speed` — Speed-up factor (2-300×) - `fps` — Output frame rate (fps, 1-60) - `url` — fetch the input file from a public URL (CORS-permitting) Example: `https://gizza.ai/tools/video-timelapse/?url=https://example.com/input&speed=10&fps=30` --- ## About this tool Turn long, slow footage — a sunset, a build, a drive, a whiteboard session — into a short, fast **timelapse**, without leaving your browser. Pick a video, choose how many times faster it should play (say **10×**), set an output frame rate, and the clip is compressed in time locally. The file never leaves your device. ## How it works The tool runs two ffmpeg filters compiled to WebAssembly. First [`setpts`](https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#setpts-1) divides each frame's timestamp by your speed factor (`setpts=PTS/10`), so a 60-second clip is squeezed into 6 seconds. That squeeze crams every original frame into a tiny window, so a second [`fps`](https://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg-filters.html#fps-1) filter then **drops the surplus frames** down to your chosen output rate — that frame-drop is exactly what makes a timelapse look smooth and stay small instead of a stuttering all-frames blur. The sped-up video is re-encoded to **H.264** at `-crf 20` (visually near-transparent quality), forced to `yuv420p` with `+faststart` so it plays and scrubs everywhere. **Audio is always removed** — a 10×-fast soundtrack is just noise, and dropping it keeps the output small. An `.mp4`, `.mov`, `.m4v`, or `.mkv` keeps its container; other inputs (`.webm`, `.ogv`, `.avi`, …) come out as **MP4**. ## Example Upload a **2-minute** clip of clouds rolling past, set the speed to **20×** and the output to **30 fps**, and you get a **6-second** timelapse of the same scene — roughly `120s ÷ 20 = 6s` — silent, small, and ready to share. ## Notes - **Output length ≈ input length ÷ speed.** A 10-minute clip at 20× is about 30 seconds. Pick the speed by how short you want the result. - **Audio is dropped by design.** If you want to change playback speed while keeping the audio in sync, use a speed tool instead — this tool is built for the silent, fast timelapse look. - **Frame drop, not interpolation.** The output rate is hit by dropping frames, not by synthesising new in-between frames (no motion smoothing). - **Private by design.** Everything runs in your browser. No upload, no server, no watermark. - Speed is clamped to **2–300×**; output fps to **1–60**. ## FAQ
How do I decide what speed to use? Work backwards from how long you want the result. Output length is roughly the input length divided by the speed, so a **5-minute** clip at **10×** is about 30 seconds, and at **20×** about 15 seconds. For a very long recording (an hour or more) pick a high factor like **60×** or beyond; the default is **10×**. Any value from **2×** to **300×** is accepted and clamped into that range.
Why is there no sound on the result? A timelapse plays many times faster than real time, so the original audio would be an unintelligible high-speed rush. The tool removes the audio track on purpose — this also keeps the output file small. If you actually want to speed up a clip **and** keep its audio pitch-corrected, that's a speed change rather than a timelapse.
What does the output fps control do? After the clip is sped up, it's re-sampled to the frame rate you pick — **30** (web/general), **24** (a cinematic film look), **25** (PAL), or up to **60** for extra-smooth motion. Lowering it drops more frames (smaller file); the default is **30**. It does not add new frames — raising it just repeats existing ones.
Will a timelapse look smooth or choppy? Because frames are dropped rather than blended, very high speed factors on already-jerky footage can look stepped. For the smoothest result, shoot or start from steady, high-frame-rate footage and keep the output fps at 30 or higher. This tool does not do motion interpolation, which is what would smooth out extreme speed-ups.
Does the file get uploaded anywhere? No. The whole re-encode runs on your own CPU via ffmpeg compiled to WebAssembly, so the video stays on your device. That also means encoding time grows with the clip's duration and resolution — a long 4K recording can take a few minutes, while a short phone clip finishes in seconds.
## Related tools - [Change Video Speed](https://gizza.ai/tools/change-speed/): Speed up or slow down a video right in your browser, keeping audio in sync — pick a speed factor (0.25x–4x). Re-encodes locally with ffmpeg, nothing is uploaded, free. - [Remove Black Bars from a Video](https://gizza.ai/tools/video-autocrop-bars/): Auto-detect and crop letterbox or pillarbox black bars from a video. Two-pass ffmpeg cropdetect runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded. - [Blur or Pixelate a Region in a Video](https://gizza.ai/tools/video-blur-region/): Blur or pixelate a fixed rectangle — a license plate, name tag or logo — on every frame of a video, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, runs locally, free. - [Crop a Video](https://gizza.ai/tools/video-crop/): Crop a video to any rectangle in your browser — set width, height, and an optional x/y offset (centered by default). Re-encodes locally with ffmpeg, free. - [Adjust Video Brightness, Contrast & Color](https://gizza.ai/tools/video-eq-adjust/): Free online video color adjuster — tweak brightness, contrast, saturation, and gamma with live sliders. Re-encodes locally with ffmpeg in your browser, nothing uploaded.