Slow-motion

J

jghenderson

Well-known member
Hey guys.

So, directing my first music video in a few weeks, and I would really love to get some slow-motion work in there. I am not looking for anything extreme, mostly just subtle slow-mo to set the mood.

I am going for something similar to the slow-mo in this music video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJt7gNi3Nr4


Question is, what is the ideal way to shoot and give yourself the options in post? Do you just shoot at the highest frames per second you can, and adjust in post as you feel necessary? Or do you actually have to judge how slow the action is versus how slow you want the final product and extrapolate a frame speed from that?


Another thing that worries me is the video was going to be shot on the 5D, but it can only shoot 30 frames right? Would 30 frames even be able to approach the kind of slow-mo in that video?


Sorry if this all seems scatterbrained, didn't get much sleep....

Thanks!
 
jghenderson said:
Hey guys.

So, directing my first music video in a few weeks, and I would really love to get some slow-motion work in there. I am not looking for anything extreme, mostly just subtle slow-mo to set the mood.

I am going for something similar to the slow-mo in this music video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJt7gNi3Nr4


Question is, what is the ideal way to shoot and give yourself the options in post? Do you just shoot at the highest frames per second you can, and adjust in post as you feel necessary? Or do you actually have to judge how slow the action is versus how slow you want the final product and extrapolate a frame speed from that?


Another thing that worries me is the video was going to be shot on the 5D, but it can only shoot 30 frames right? Would 30 frames even be able to approach the kind of slow-mo in that video?


Sorry if this all seems scatterbrained, didn't get much sleep....

Thanks!
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Subtle slowmotion? To me, shooting 36fps or 48fps for the 'Armageddon Walk' type of shot is subtle slow motion. The actions being slowed in that example video are quite fast actions. I'd recon you'd need lots of FPS. 30 fps would not be anywhere near where you need to be. I'd say you need at least 10x that.

Every filmmaker (at least the cinematographer) should know (going into a shoot) how fast they need to shoot to get the desired effect. You can get away with slowing things down in post by very small percentages and there are other post solutions like the plug-in Twixtor that can work well if your footage is shot a particular way and has content that works well with the algorithm. Not all videos have equal success with Twixtor. When in doubt, shoot as many FPS as you can, because it's always easier to speed something up, than slow it down... but shooting it at the right speed, in camera, is always the best. You get the result you need without loosing light, wasting card space, and wasting time in post.
 
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The 5D won't give you a high enough framerate to get the effect you want. I'd get a camera that is capable of at least 60p (7D, T3i) if you want decent slow down capabilities.
 
Well that particular music video was shot on three formats. 35mm for the laser sequence, Alexa for main, and Epic for high-speed. Since Alexa can go to 120fps, I'd say they used the Epic at full 300 potential, which is what it looks like... in fact at times it looks slower than 300fps. Even 60 won't cut it, in my opinion. Maybe if your actions are not complicated and the camera is locked off, Twixtor can deliver you a miracle.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Well that particular music video was shot on three formats. 35mm for the laser sequence, Alexa for main, and Epic for high-speed. Since Alexa can go to 120fps, I'd say they used the Epic at full 300 potential, which is what it looks like... in fact at times it looks slower than 300fps. Even 60 won't cut it, in my opinion. Maybe if your actions are not complicated and the camera is locked off, Twixtor can deliver you a miracle.
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I suppose I should have been more specific in what parts of the video I was talking about. Nothing in my video is going to be a high speed action, so I can definitely get the actors to "slow it down". Most of the actions will be similar to the shot at 0:33 with the guy pulling up his bandana. In an instance like that, do you think 30 frames will be enough?

And that's really cool they shot that on so many different formats. I am a huge fan of Romain Gavras. Question though, is there a particular reason the laser sequence was shot at 35mm? Does the Alexa or Epic not have the capability of picking up the laser beams as well?
 
I imagine they could. I have shot tons of laser on the 5D. Local club owner pays me $100 and an open bar tab to come shoot special events at his club for maybe 2 hours from time to time. It's laser city.
 
jghenderson said:
I suppose I should have been more specific in what parts of the video I was talking about. Nothing in my video is going to be a high speed action, so I can definitely get the actors to "slow it down". Most of the actions will be similar to the shot at 0:33 with the guy pulling up his bandana. In an instance like that, do you think 30 frames will be enough?

And that's really cool they shot that on so many different formats. I am a huge fan of Romain Gavras. Question though, is there a particular reason the laser sequence was shot at 35mm? Does the Alexa or Epic not have the capability of picking up the laser beams as well?
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Shooting a laser into a sensor is a bad idea. Google search "5dmii laser kill"... I NEVER let a high-powered laser go into my cameras... ever. I shot a music video with tactical police, and all the actor/real ex-cop wanted to do was swipe the lens with a laser.He was bragging about how it was x-times brighter than civilian lasers, and how he had to drive extra far to get it. I had to tell him before *every* take to please not point the laser into the lens. Those lasers in the Kanye/Jayz video are very high-powered from what I can tell. The digital sensor captures every frame, while on film, every frame is a new sensor. Damage from laser strikes to one frame (on film) does not effect the next unless it's radioactive or physical.

gonzo_entertainment said:
I imagine they could. I have shot tons of laser on the 5D. Local club owner pays me $100 and an open bar tab to come shoot special events at his club for maybe 2 hours from time to time. It's laser city.
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Be careful! $100 and an open bar is not worth it! :)
 
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I imagine they must be pretty low powered because after the first one went right into the lens I freaked for a moment when I realized what happened, but no ill effects. I try to avoid it, but it has happened a couple times (laser sweeping across lens) and nothing so far.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Shooting a laser into a sensor is a bad idea. Google search "5dmii laser kill"... I NEVER let a high-powered laser go into my cameras... ever. I shot a music video with tactical police, and all the actor/real ex-cop wanted to do was swipe the lens with a laser.He was bragging about how it was x-times brighter than civilian lasers, and how he had to drive extra far to get it. I had to tell him before *every* take to please not point the laser into the lens. Those lasers in the Kanye/Jayz video are very high-powered from what I can tell. The digital sensor captures every frame, while on film, every frame is a new sensor. Damage to one frame does not effect the next unless it's radioactive or physical.
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Fascinating. I learned something today, hooray!
 
30 fps in a 24 timeframe is very subtle.

I imagine there exist lots of examples on Vimeo, especially from GH2 owners. Look for tags that say "80% slomo", or such.

As RPO stated, consider much faster frame rates. Would allow lots more options, including ramping, & take the 5D out of the equation.
 
Ryan Patrick O'Hara said:
Shooting a laser into a sensor is a bad idea. Google search "5dmii laser kill"... I NEVER let a high-powered laser go into my cameras... ever. I shot a music video with tactical police, and all the actor/real ex-cop wanted to do was swipe the lens with a laser.He was bragging about how it was x-times brighter than civilian lasers, and how he had to drive extra far to get it. I had to tell him before *every* take to please not point the laser into the lens. Those lasers in the Kanye/Jayz video are very high-powered from what I can tell. The digital sensor captures every frame, while on film, every frame is a new sensor. Damage from laser strikes to one frame (on film) does not effect the next unless it's radioactive or physical.
Click to expand...

I'll add though that hitting a film camera lens with a laser could damage the videotap, and/or your eyeball.
 
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