How to Make Slow-Motion Videos
Capturing videos that arouse emotions in people is a wonderful act of work that virtually anyone can do. The catch is that it is necessary to ensure that the videos that you do capture have value to them. This is why you might want to look into some of the various ways that you can potentially capture incredible videos in formats that people are not necessarily used to seeing. For example, many people are gravitating toward slow-motion videos these days.
What is a slow-motion video?
Videos that are shot at a frame rate that is slower than live-action are known as slow-motion videos. These videos allow the viewer to see action transpire in a way that they would not be able to if they were merely viewing it with their naked eye. They need to see the action slowed down like this in order to grasp a greater understanding of what specifically happened during the time that the cameras were rolling. Filming like this allows us all to get a more in-depth look at precisely what happened during a short period of time.
There are settings on most cameras these days that allow users to automatically shift over to a slow-motion mode when they are filming. The camera will automatically change the frames per second to adapt to the new setting that the user has created. This is vital because the camera will do the heavy lifting of creating a slow-motion video when one puts it into slow-motion mode.
Common uses of slow-motion video
There is no "right" or "wrong" way to use slow-motion videos. People are more than welcome to use them for everyday experiences that they want to capture on film. However, they are often used on social media and for featured films.
Social media
People love to use slow-motion videos on social media to help emphasize a point that they are trying to make or to show their audience something from a perspective that they might not have noticed before. It is important that social media users understand the magnitude of power that a slow-motion video can have on a viewer. Many social media users are understanding this, and that is why they are posting them more and more to their social media channels.
Featured films
Hollywood has long used slow-motion as a special effect in the movies that it creates. The value of slow-motion is that it can help add extra emphasis to a particular scene or character as they progress through a journey. Many action movies and war movies like to use slow-motion effects as a way to give even more weight to the subject material that they are presenting. It is a means of showing the audience that they ought to pay particular attention to something that is happening in a particular scene.
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Tips for making slow-motion videos
Slow-motion videos can be created with the press of a button on most cameras. That said, you will want to know a little about the settings that you are using when you create these videos. There is nothing worse than trying to create something that will grab an audience's attention only to find out that you have your settings all wrong and have to go back to the drawing board to make things right.
The parameters for a slow-motion video include ensuring that you have the right frames per second (FPS) settings on your camera as you begin to shoot. The number to aim for in this instance is around 60 fps. Anything over 30 fps is generally considered to be a slow-motion video, but 60+ fps will help capture the most detail in the scene.
When filming your slow-motion video, don't forget to check on things like the lighting situation where you are. It is important that you have enough lighting to film something that will shine through to your audience. Failure to get enough lighting into the shot could mean that you don't end up with the results that you are looking for. It would be a shame to lose a piece of film to something as simple as poor lighting. Sadly, many people do exactly that when they are filming. Make sure you take care of the basics like this so you aren't left wondering why you couldn't get the shot you were looking for.
Common slow-motion mistakes to avoid
You don't want to fall into some of the pitfalls that people are prone to fall into when they start shooting slow-motion films. It is quite common for people to make adjustments to how they are shooting a piece of film that ultimately results in lower-quality footage in the end. If you can just learn how to avoid some of the basic mistakes made by beginners, then you can put yourself in a position where you are in better shape to create excellent pieces of work.
Over cranking
It is possible to shoot scenes at a very high frames per second rate if you want to, but that doesn't mean you should jump immediately to the highest settings that you can find. The reality is such that shooting at such a high fps rate may result in mistakes that you might have been able to avoid had you not pushed things too far. You might want to start in the sweet spot of approximately 60 fps as your starting point for how you film slow-motion. Anything beyond that is likely overdoing it when you are first starting out.
Using too much slow-motion in the editing process
You have your finished piece of film and are ready to get it into the editing room to mix it up in just the ways that you need it to. However, there is danger even in this part of the process. People sometimes want to throw in too much slow-motion into their piece of footage once they get it all the way to the editing process. You might be able to imagine why this can backfire tremendously. They are piling in all of this slow-motion at the end of the process, and it can cause the entire video to feel a little off. There may be problems as far as getting people to take the piece of footage seriously after you have put in the time and effort to create a wonderful slow-motion piece if you use this effect too liberally.
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Common uses of slow-motion video on Instagram
Have you been on Instagram lately? If so, you have probably noticed a lot of people are applying slow-motion videos to their accounts all the time. It is one of the most popular things to do on Instagram at this time as people see it as a way of showing off their specific talents as far as how they create videos that are pleasing to their audience.
It is possible to gain a lot of new followers by creating something unique and interesting like this. Is it any wonder that there are a lot of people on Instagram trying to do exactly that? It seems like doing so can create a great way for Instagram users to connect with a broader audience that they wouldn't have been able to reach otherwise.
A few of the ways that people are using slow-motion on Instagram right now include:
- Showing videos of their pets doing tricks or doing something funny
- Slowing down footage of something dramatic
- Slowing down videos for comedic purposes
That is the great thing about Instagram, every user gets to put his or her own spin on how they want to use their account. Some people are doing a great job of amassing new followers by simply being more creative than anything else on the platform. If that is what you want to do with your time as well, then you should consider what you can do to get some slow-motion Instagram videos out there that are fun and interesting.
How audio is affected when video is slowed down
Do not forget the fact that audio can easily become distorted when it is cycled through a slow-motion video. The increased frames per second (fps) that the video has to go through will cause the audio to get out of sync with the video in many cases. This can cause many issues in terms of what a viewer sees and hears as they are watching the video.
The audio editing process could not be more important at a time like this. You have to go over your videos with a fine-toothed comb to make sure the audio does not get out of sync with the video. You need to see that the two can line up just how you need them to, and that means taking your time getting the audio to work with the piece of film that you have created. You will need powerful editing tools for both, and you should expect to invest a fair amount of time and money into making this process just right. It is not going to be easy, but you need the footage to look and sound just right.
Slow-motion video editor
Slow-motion video is not going away any time soon. In fact, it is only going to increase in popularity as people see all that they can use it for. Therefore, you need to get on board with creating slow-motion videos for the audiences that you want to entertain and inform.
To create videos that are appropriate for social media consumption (and beyond), you should make sure you are looking into great slow-motion video editor tools. They are the only way that you can be sure that you will get a video that is edited just right. VideoStudio is the product that can deliver this promise to you.
Other video editors get overly complicated or assume knowledge on the part of the user that may or may not be present. With VideoStudio, there are no assumptions made, and the work that one does on this piece of software is entirely up to them. They can make slow-motion videos that are cut to perfection, and they can work with the various tools offered by VideoStudio to ensure that their video comes out just the way you need it to. Best of all, you can get all of this in a user-friendly software product that helps you create videos that you can be proud of.
Conclusion
There is something special about using video editing software that helps you produce a true masterpiece, and VideoStudio can help you do exactly that. Stop waiting around and get to work on creating slow-motion videos that will enlighten your audience and make them want to hear even more from you. You have the ability to do it, and there should be nothing that holds you back.