If I Film at 60fps and Want to Edit to Slow mo What Should the fps Be?
Slow motion videos can be created in a variety of ways. But are typically the result of filming an object at a speed that is faster than 30fps. And then later slowing the footage down for playback at 30fps. Understanding frame rate, and what is most useful for filming slow mo is something that many filmmakers struggle with at first. But with a little more background information and some practice? The concept of slow motion videos becomes a bit easier to understand. For example, if I film at 60fps and want to edit to slow mo what should the fps be?
This is a common question that comes up and for good cause. Most prosumer cameras will go down as far as 60 fps. Which is essentially the lowest frame rate that you would want to go with. In order to ensure your slowed down footage is actually visible in true “slow motion.”
We’ve put together this simple guide to help you better understand how it all works and what you should do if you film at 60fps and want to edit to slow motion.
What is FPS?
First, you’ve got to understand fps and what it means for video editing. Fps represents the frames-per-second when filming or editing a video.
Each frame represents a frequency at which an independent still image appears on the screen per second such that if you’re filming at 60fps then it means there are 60 images being shown in a single second of footage produced.
The most popular frame rates to film in are:
- 24p – this is what most Hollywood films are captured at.
- 25p – this is the standard for European TV.
- 30p – this is used in the US and Canada and is common for online videos.
- 60p – this is often used for sporting events or high-speed action films to reduce motion blur.
Recommendations
Not only is 60fps ideal for high-action films, it’s also the lowest frame rate that is recommended for the creation of slow-motion effects.
This is because 60fps can be minimized by 50% to produce a 30fps video which effectively delivers the visuals in slow motion. Anything less than 60fps is not ideal for producing slow motion videos.
Ideally, the production of slow motion films will often use a higher fps such as 120 fps or 300 fps which is sometimes used to create ultra-slow-motion footage.
Even frame rates as high as 2500 have been used for things like special effects and pyrotechnics. Although the use of 2500 frames-per-second is incredibly uncommon.
If I Film at 60fps and Want to Edit to Slow mo What Should the FPS Be?
So, what should the fps be if you’ve already filmed a 60fps and want to edit to slow mo? Ideally, you’ll edit to 30fps in order to create your slow mo video that was captured at double the frame rate using a 60fps camera.
To achieve your slow motion edit, you’ll want to first export your video in the original frame rate. Once you’ve made a copy of your video, you can begin working with your edit to create the slow motion view which is edited down to 30fps from the original 60fps that it was filmed in.