We can all agree that slow-motion is cold, and you certainly can’t deny that slowing downtime is fascinating and powerful. Slow-motion videos became a trendy way to influence your viewers, convey unique emotion or meaning. But how much do you know about it? Do you know what impact it has on the audience or how to create a stunning video to grab viewers’ attention?
We created an ultimate guide on how to use this technique to your advantage. Now every video that you make can become more dramatic and beautiful.
What is a slow-motion video?
To understand how slow-mo works, we should talk about what a frame rate is. When you watch a video, you watch many images flying by your eyes, which creates the illusion of movement. The standard speed for cinematic pictures is about 24 frames per second. That provides the training for each frame to create the illusion that things are moving, but it’s also slow enough for you to know it isn’t real. The more frames there are, the slower the video is. That’s how it works! Let’s say you shot not 24 but 48 frames per second. It means you are watching it at half the speed you hit it, and now it creates this effect that we need – slow motion.
Why should you use slow-mo, and when is it appropriate?
Usually, when you think about slow motion, what comes to your mind first? Probably, a big-budget movie with its amazing stunts shot in slow-mo. This technique helps make some quick actions seem very powerful or dangerous as the audience can see what’s going on in the scene much better and appreciate those special effects.
Why use slow-mo? First of all, the effect it gives is esthetically pleasing. You can also draw attention to some details, and it helps to capture the prominence of the event shown in the video. However, if you want to make a nice slow-motion video, you have to consider some things, and here’s what we have to share with you.
How to shoot good quality slow-motion videos
Several rules might help you to achieve a more superior quality if you follow them. And we won’t even tell you it’s essential to have the right equipment – it’s a must. The better the equipment, the smoother the quality is. Of course, you can use some low-quality effects online, but it is not the same. So, let’s see what works best for slow-mo these days.
Use the light wisely
Yes, it’s a simple and essential step if you want your video to look great since when you shoot in slow motion, light has the least time to create an image in your camera. If you don’t use plenty of light, your video will be quite gloomy. Of course, if you shoot outside, it’s better to do it during the day time, as the quality gets worse depending on the day’s time.
FPS matters
The slow-motion doesn’t work well on cameras that are not explicitly made for this. And if the quality isn’t good enough, what’s the point? Slow-mo was made to capture what your eyes can’t capture quite quickly, so if it looks terrible, the whole point of showing the beauty of the moment will be lost.
In a nutshell, the higher FPS is, the slower video will be. So, based on that, you can decide on what FPS to use as it gives a different effect. For instance, 120 fps is best to use when you need to slow the video down just a bit. It’s often used for sports replays. And at a rate of 1000 – 1200 fps, you can observe the explosion and see every flame’s curve. You can shoot something even faster at higher FPS, like a gunshot or shards of glass breaking.
Stabilization is not a problem anymore
Yes, you heard, right. The thing is, if you want to create an outstanding video, you usually think about how to stabilize it, so it doesn’t look unclear. But since you are shooting so many frames at once, you can use your imagination and try out something that you always wanted without worrying too much about stabilization. That shot might not work out, but you can certainly try and have fun while doing it. After all, the creativity behind this is what’s important.
Don’t forget about the sound
Everything about slow-mo is excellent. Everything but the fact that it has no sound is why you can see that there’s usually a track on top of it in different videos. You can search for inspirational music on Tunetank to make your video look not like others. You can create something outstanding out of simply beautiful by just adding the powerful sound.
Shooting slow-motion video is relatively easy nowadays if you have the right equipment and the lighting is good. It’s all about confidence, so be sure that what you create out there is fantastic and unique in its way. It will help to challenge yourself more and be more creative.
We are hoping that this article helped you to find inspiration for your next video. Don’t forget to share your thoughts about the impact of slow-motion videos in the comments down below.
Julie Franklin is a creative enthusiast. Subscribe to Tunetank’s blog to get all your questions answered.