Polaroid timelapse tests

Click here to view Polaroid timelapse test #1: 'Forwards' version

Click here to view Polaroid timelapse test #2: 'Backwards' version

These two short videos were an attempt to create a timelapse video of a polaroid image developing. As I was using modern Impossible film, the development would take 30-40 minutes and I thought it would be visually interesting to try and record the process of an image coming into being, and then potentially alter this 'narrative' digitally.

The tests weren't a complete failure but were not without their problems. my first issue came with taking a still shot of each of the two Polaroids at regular intervals as they developed. My inability to do this led to an uneven series of images, with one of the polaroids coming out so dark in every image that the series was unusable without adjusting the the contrast in for every one in Photoshop.
The next problem presented itself when I took the successful images into Photoshop and tried to create a consistent crop of each image. In the 'forwards' version, with the image cropped to show the Polaroid as an object rather than an image, the frame jumps around a little and detracts from the overall effect.

Following this attempt, I used a closer crop and just focussed on the image itself. This time I reversed the flow of images to make the subject 'disappear' - I think this result is slightly more successful, as with the loss of the white frame, the physical 'shift' created by the inconsistent cropping almost becomes an effect itself. The closer crop, however, only seeks to highlight the differences between each version of the image.

If I was to repeat this experiment, I would try and film the development of the Polaroid rather than capture a progression of still images. This would allow me to capture the entire process and still allow me to edit it down after to create a condensed version, either by speeding up the film, or experimenting with the frame rate. Hopefully this would create a more consistent outcome. The downside of all of the videos shown here to date is that they were created in iMovie, which fine for testing, but I look forward to testing ideas in Premiere.