Frames: Create Wonderful Time-Lapse Videos

There’s something moody and wonderful about time-lapses we can’t get enough of. They’re simple, beautiful and transfixing. Now there’s an app that allows you to easily create both time-lapses and stop-motion videos without the chore of stringing together images in iMovie. You pick the content, it deals with the rest.

What does it do?

Frames automates the laborious part of stitching together still-frame iPhone images into a video — whether it’s a timelapse or a stop-motion video is up to you. Open Frames up, start a new project, and hit the familiar-looking camera button to start recording. Here, you’ll be presented with a slider on the bottom left similar to the video-photo selector you see in the iPhone’s camera app. In Frames, this slider allows you to select between taking an individual photo (for a stop-motion video) or to setting the app for timed exposures (for a timelapse). If you choose the time-lapse option, you’ll be able to set the app to take a picture between every second and every 10 minutes as well as to select the number of frames you want it to take before it stops taking pictures. Once you’re done with you masterpiece, the app prompts you to export it to your iPhone’s camera roll — from there what you do with it is up to you.

Why do we like it?

There’s nothing complicated about time-lapse videos — that’s part of what makes them so beautiful. It’s just a series of photos taken from the same perspective over a particular period of time. But this app takes care of all the dirty work. As the infomercial goes — just set it an forget it. Warning: do not forget it too long without plugging in power because your phone will die.