Quicktime Player 7 frame rate- timelapse from stills

I have series of stills shot with an intervalometer for a timelapse sequence, I have figured out everything, except the frame rate will not go any faster that 10 frames a second, I need 30 FPS.

Use the "Open Image Sequence..." file option in QT 7 Pro to import the photos to an MOV file container.

1) Export the photos from aperture at the desired frame dimensions to an empty folder as a file named sequence indicating their frame order.

2) Select the "Open Image Sequence..." option and navigate to the folder where the photos are stored.

3) Select the first photo to be imported and press the "Open" button.

4) When the "Image Sequence Settings" window opens, select the "30 frames per second" pop-up option.

5) Press the "OK" button to load the photos as individual frames at the desired frame rate.

6) Save and edit the resulting file as needed.

I have Quicktime 7.6.6 (1709) -is this the problem? when I hit "Open Image Sequence" I don't see how to import the photos to a MOV file container

It's a problem if it is not keyed for "Pro" use. I.e., as stated above, this requires QT 7 "Pro" to work properly as described above. Alternatives would be to import the photos into MPEG Streamclip, but this approach only results in a frame rate of 15 fps and you would have to use something like the JES Deinterlacer to double the playback speed to achieve 30 fps. However, these two apps are free whereas a QT 7 Pro key runs $29.99.

I bought the key, (twice, actually) and the logo says Q Pro but it says Quick Time Player 7 (version 7.6.6) Is this the same?

Yes. The QT 7 Pro key is good for any version of the QT 7 Player app. As long as the "Pro" is inscribed over the logo and you have access to all of the menu options that were previously grayed out, you should be good to go. Just transferred a folder from my Leopard system to a Snow Leopard system to make sure both OSs are still working as described above. They are for me.

I have folders of these timelapse shoots all over the place, but when I request "open image sequence" I see my hard drives listed

As stated above, you should consolidate all of the images to a single folder named in such a manner that the images are sequenced as you wish them displayed as movie frames. If you have too many frames to create a single clip or you have multiple folder of photos, then create a clip for each folder and them us QT 7 Pro to merge the various clips into a single movie file. As to your seeing all of your hard drives listed when you select the "Open Image Sequence..." option, the term "navigate" means you must select the folder containing the images you want to use to create the current clip. You should not be trying to select images from multiple folders here.

Thanks again Jon, but can you elaborate on..Use the "Open Image Sequence..." file option in QT 7 Pro to import the photos to an MOV file container.

Rather than trying to re-explain what I have already stated, here is a "Quickie" video tutorial I just made to demonstrate the process. As I assume you are in a hurry, I did not add a voiceover with explanations or add titles or effects. Just watch the clip to see how the process works.

QUCKIE TUTORIAL

Thank you so much Jon! Your "quickie tutorial" was a wonderful tool, I'm getting closer. When I play my test at 30FPS however, it jumps, I noticed you used small jpegs, will using large RAW files create this problem?

It certainly can. Just open the "Inspector" window and check the "Average Data Rate" entry. RAW files contain huge amounts of data and are targeted for use as your "master" file from which modified distribution copies are made. As such, the data rate here can be hight enough to cause the QT Player to skip frames (which it is programmed to do when it cannot process the playback frames fast enough) which, in turn, can severe "jumping" when multiple "in-between" frames fail to be displayed.

I see.. QT might not be the right solution..

The frame skipping problem only refers to playback of content—not to any problem with the data in the file. However, the normal approach here would be to select your album or project files in Aperture and export them at the frame size you plan to use for the movie as JPEG with the slider set to the highest possible quality setting. Once the Photo-JPEG movie clips are assemble by QT Pro, they would then be added to you iMovie event folder for processing in your iMovie Project. Frankly, I was not even aware that QT 7 Pro would accept RAW photos in this work flow nor what compression format is used to store them in the MOV file container. (I.e., JPEG photos become a Photo-JPEG movie clip.)

Be advised that oversized frames (e.g., larger than 1080p) can also create problems... up to and including a "black" screen display). In addition, the number of frames that can be process to a single clip at one time is limited. So, yes, this approach may or may not be suited to your needs. I had actually assumed you were just created a special family-level project and wanted to add a unique or personal flair to the content.

I appreciate the time you took to explain this stuff. Looks like Imovie will have to suffice for me, -it is actually ideal, other than lacking the flexibility of changing the frame rates past .1 seconds. Do you happen to know if other versions of Imovie offer more frame-rate choices? I have version 8.0.6 (821)

Actually, you can reduce the photo sequence to a single frame (i.e., approximately 0.03 second), but to do so for thousands of photos would be very tedious, to say the least. The actual work flow is quite simple and covered in one of my earliest iMovie '08 "Quickie' tutorials of three years ago. If interested, here is a link to to the specific tutorial page: TUTORIAL 024

AFAIK, all current versions of iMovie ('08, '09, and '11) have the same limit on the minimum time/number of frames in a photo sequence that can be made using the "Clip Adjustments" option but I also believe this workaround will also work in each version.