Slow Motion Video: Tips And Tricks!

I love slow motion video! Those who I have shot for know that as well and that I am always look for opportunities to shoot 60 fps on our XDCAM HD cameras. I love watching the show Time Warp. It's cool the things that the show likes to slow down, but they also take it to the extreme.

Here's some tip and tricks for shooting slow motion video:

1) Let There Be Light - When you are shooting slow motion, there are a ton of frames of video flying through the image sensor. That being the case, the camera has very little time to let light in. So, pump up the lighting. If you the scenes that Time Warp sets up in their studio, you'll usually see a lot 10K or 30K lights blasting the object that they are warping. Usually because they are shooting them at 1000 fps or higher, which brings us to...

2) FPS, More Doesn't Mean Better - Not all standard video cameras can shoot at higher (F)rames (P)er (S)econd. Only a few out there can do it really good then, say, on an editing system. But, what you are shooting also dictates at what FPS you should be shooting at. Examples:

120 FPS -This is your classic sports replay mode. Any time EPSN, FOX Sports, CBS Sports, etc. throws the replay on your screen, you are usually seeing it at 120 fps or 1/4 real life speed. Unless, the commentary guys/girls stop the video to point something out.

300 FPS - This is the narrative slow motion. The guy passing the girl in the hall, shooting guns at people, or my favorite classic, the opening credits to Reservoir Dogs. Basically, the movie standard for Hollywood. Click above to see what I am taking about.

600 FPS - This is getting into the realm of showing exactly how things move. You'll see this common on showing how an athlete moves. Not showing the touchdown they just made, but more of the how did the muscles move, the foot land, the arm extend, etc.

1000 FPS to 1200 FPS - This is close to the Time Warp stuff. This is your classic fireball exploding or balloon popping.

10,000 FPS and BEYOND! - This is the Time Warp extreme. They use 10,000 FPS a lot in their studio where they can control the settings and the light. This is also the usual way to get lightening! Or bullets!

3) Tripod Is Nice, But Don't Get Locked In - Tripod will give you great stable images for a lot of those higher frame rates. But, it doesn't mean that you should lock yourself into that tripod. I've shot some SWAT team stuff off the shoulder and ran around with them. Did all of it look great? Not really, but there were seconds here and there that made the video better. Like everything, the tripod is a tool in your toolbox and so is slow motion.

4) The Higher We Go, The Lower The Resolution - Most prosumer cameras on the market as you go up in FPS, you lose quality of video. This is true to some degree with professional video cameras. With our XDCAM HD cameras, to change the FPS you need to switch the video from 60i to 30p, which drops the quality down some*. This is why Time Warp has the Photron SA1 camera. It runs about $5,000 to $10,000 for the camera. But, you tack on computer support, lenses, lighting, etc. you could be looking at over $100,000 before you pop your first soap bubble. Here's a list of what's available to the consumer or even prosumer:

Today's Slow-Motion Cameras, Camcorders and Cameraphones
• Casio Exilim EX-F1
• Casio Exilim EX-FH20
• Casio Exilim FC-100 and FS-10
• JVC Everio X
• Samsung HMX20
• Ricoh CX1
• LG Viewty

*I won't get into comment debates on the numbers on this statement. This entry on slow motion was to explain, not fight.