Recording for slo mo at DVinfo.net

Harry Settle · March 8th, 2004, 10:49 PM

I have a shot of a team running onto the floor that I want to run in slow motion, but, when I slow it down the players are out of focus.

What is the best way to record the event to get the best results for doing slow motion?

Frank Granovski · March 8th, 2004, 11:26 PM

MiniDV cams don't come with a slow motion option. For slow motion capturing, the frame/field rate would have to be increased (during shooting). My old DVL9500's have a slow motion feature, but they play back with only part of the screen size, so it's pretty useless.

Mike Rehmus · March 8th, 2004, 11:46 PM

You can only do it in post. Most NLEs have a slow motion feature.

Ken Tanaka · March 9th, 2004, 12:23 AM

See this thread.

Andreas Fernbrant · March 9th, 2004, 07:15 AM

I do quite alot of slomo work, what I've noticed so far with vegas is that I can get pretty decent results. (Vegas has a sample function)

But the main camera part that I've noticed is that I generally don't want to shoot at a too high sutter setting (I did this and the slowmo got stuttery) So keep it around 1/60 (1/50) never under that but if you can keep it around 1/60 to 1/120 (1/100).

If you are going to use any tool that uses samples. Do not shoot in progressive or frame-mode. (if you have that option.) This is the most damageing you can do.. Use interlaced video (this gives the program more material to do the sampleing)

Harry Settle · March 9th, 2004, 05:54 PM

I'm shooting normal video with my VX2, and editing slo-mo with Vegas. No problem slowing it down, but there is a lot of blur, probably due to the amount of player motion. I will try playing with the shutter speeds a little.

Thanks for the link Ken.

Boyd Ostroff · March 9th, 2004, 06:08 PM

I've also done some slow motion and think Andreas is right on point. Unless you're out of focus I think you're seeing motion blur. That's usually a good thing because, as Andreas points out, at faster shutter speeds you'll get a choppy effect like a "fip book". The motion blur helps with the transition between frames.

I don't use Vegas so can't help there, but in Final Cut Pro there's an option called "frame blending" which helps. It tries to construct additional frames using the data from each 60i video field. Again, as Andreas says, you want to feed it as much temporal data as possible so don't shoot any longer exposure than 1/60 sec (NTSC). I've found that 25% of original speed still looked pretty good for my purposes. Then after processing the slow-mo sequence I deinterlaced with DVFilm Maker which seemed to help reconstruct some of the missing data and give the appearance of more sharpness.

Also, is the camera tripod mounted or hand held? Adding shaky camera movement to the mix could be part of the blurring problem.

March 8th, 2004, 10:49 PM	#1
Harry Settle Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bemidji, MN Posts: 276	Recording for slo mo I have a shot of a team running onto the floor that I want to run in slow motion, but, when I slow it down the players are out of focus. What is the best way to record the event to get the best results for doing slow motion? __________________ "DOH"!!!

March 8th, 2004, 11:46 PM	#3
Mike Rehmus Wrangler Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vallejo, California Posts: 4,049	You can only do it in post. Most NLEs have a slow motion feature. __________________ Mike Rehmus Hey, I can see the carrot at the end of the tunnel!

March 9th, 2004, 12:23 AM	#4
Ken Tanaka Retired DV Info Net Almunus Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 6,943	See this thread. __________________ Lady X Films: A lady with a boring wardrobe...and a global mission. Hey, you don't have enough stuff! Buy with confidence from our sponsors. Hand-picked as the best in the business...Really! See some of my work one frame at a time: www.KenTanaka.com

March 9th, 2004, 05:54 PM	#6
Harry Settle Major Player Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Bemidji, MN Posts: 276	I'm shooting normal video with my VX2, and editing slo-mo with Vegas. No problem slowing it down, but there is a lot of blur, probably due to the amount of player motion. I will try playing with the shutter speeds a little. Thanks for the link Ken. __________________ "DOH"!!!

March 8th, 2004, 11:26 PM	#2
Frank Granovski Outer Circle Join Date: May 2002 Location: Hope, BC Posts: 7,524	MiniDV cams don't come with a slow motion option. For slow motion capturing, the frame/field rate would have to be increased (during shooting). My old DVL9500's have a slow motion feature, but they play back with only part of the screen size, so it's pretty useless.

March 9th, 2004, 07:15 AM	#5
Andreas Fernbrant Major Player Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sweden - Helsingborg Posts: 283	I do quite alot of slomo work, what I've noticed so far with vegas is that I can get pretty decent results. (Vegas has a sample function) But the main camera part that I've noticed is that I generally don't want to shoot at a too high sutter setting (I did this and the slowmo got stuttery) So keep it around 1/60 (1/50) never under that but if you can keep it around 1/60 to 1/120 (1/100). If you are going to use any tool that uses samples. Do not shoot in progressive or frame-mode. (if you have that option.) This is the most damageing you can do.. Use interlaced video (this gives the program more material to do the sampleing)

March 9th, 2004, 06:08 PM	#7
Boyd Ostroff Wrangler Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Mays Landing, NJ Posts: 11,787	I've also done some slow motion and think Andreas is right on point. Unless you're out of focus I think you're seeing motion blur. That's usually a good thing because, as Andreas points out, at faster shutter speeds you'll get a choppy effect like a "fip book". The motion blur helps with the transition between frames. I don't use Vegas so can't help there, but in Final Cut Pro there's an option called "frame blending" which helps. It tries to construct additional frames using the data from each 60i video field. Again, as Andreas says, you want to feed it as much temporal data as possible so don't shoot any longer exposure than 1/60 sec (NTSC). I've found that 25% of original speed still looked pretty good for my purposes. Then after processing the slow-mo sequence I deinterlaced with DVFilm Maker which seemed to help reconstruct some of the missing data and give the appearance of more sharpness. Also, is the camera tripod mounted or hand held? Adding shaky camera movement to the mix could be part of the blurring problem.