The use of time-lapses photography in movies is new (Ce qui nous lie from Cedric Klapisch for example, where you can follow the seasons and vine vegetation growth through time time-lapse). But TV shows already uses this technique for a long time. We took this opportunity to review TV shows that use time-lapse.

 

1. House of Cards

When we are talking about time lapse in TV shows we think about House of Cards. The opening credits of this famous TV show is made of various time lapses of Washington DC. It is a quite long credits produced by Andrew Geraci. More than a hundred different points of view and 6 months of filming were needed to realize it. For this opening credits 37 different points of view of the capital were selected which allows to contextualize the action of the TV serie. Although the series is not filmed in Washington, the credits persuade us otherwise.

House of Cards is available on Netflix.

 

2. Breaking Bad

 

 

The director of Breaking Bad Vince Gilligan really likes time lapses. The proof is that his two TV series use it! For exemple Breaking Bad is full of time lapse sequences that punctuate the series over the time. Incorporating time lapses within Breaking Bad’s narrative is a risky bet. But finally the blend of style and techniques is well suited to become iconic in the TV show. The video above compiles all time lapses used in Breaking Bad.

Breaking Bad is available on Netflix.

 

3. Better Call Saul

The time lapses in Better Call Saul follows the framework of Breaking Bad. Time lapses create the same atmosphere by sculpting time and space. The episode 5 of season 1 of Better Call Saul shows time lapses of the city of Albuquerque.

Better Call Saul is available on Netflix.

 

4. American Gods

American Gods is a 2017 TV show about living Gods in the United States. In the scene where the main character has to deal with his wife’s death., the apparition of a timelapse makes it possible to subtly express how he frees himself from what surrounds him.

American Gods Season 1 is available on Amazon Prime Video.

Some articles around the uses of time-lapse