need to shoot slo-mo pennies falling. Advice?
 

Hi there,
I have an EX-1, and I've not shot anything slo-mo before. But I need to shoot some pennies falling through the air, and I thought a nice slo-mo shot would be nice.
Would someone mind giving me some parameters? I think I should shoot at a very high shutter speed. Is that right?
Should I be in 60i or 30p (or 24p).
Thanks for any tips,
Malcolm

pennies
 

I would definitely shoot 24p overcranked to 60fps. i would go for a shallow dof which would make it look more interesting(i think), and light it so the pennies pop or glow! you could even use a tempered glass table top and shoot them falling from below in macro.

my 2 cents

thank so much Greg! Yes, I was planning to take the bottom off of one of two tin buckets these pennies are going to be poured into, and set this bucket on a table with a glass top... and shoot from below (I'll leave the other bucket intact, for side and overhead shots). But that's as far as I'd gotten. I love you're suggestions, and will use them. Thanks again,
Malcolm

If you are using Sony SxS cards you could record in Slow Motion. Set the camera for 24P or 30P and then, set the slow speed to 60 fps. If using SDHC cards, record at 720 60P and slow it down in post. You'll probably want to get the shutter speed at 1/120th or higher to reduce blurring.

Even recording 60 fps for a 24P or 30P project isn't that slow. I think the shot you're picturing would require a much faster camera, shooting at 120 fps or higher. But it might work at 60 fps. The only way to know is to do it.

Hi Brett,
Can I shoot in slo-mo, but at 120fp (or even higher)?
I do use SxS cards, by the way.
Cheers, Malcolm

Unfortunately the EX1 can only go down to 60fps.

You can slow it down more in post. Half speed of 60 fps will be as slow as with 120 fps, not as good but maybe OK. The only way to know is to try.

O.K., I'll add a bit of oomph in editing I guess.
Thanks for your help everyone,
Malcolm

FWIW I shot a bunch of change falling and bouncing with a Z1U a few years ago. That was HDV 60i. Dropped it into AE and made it slo-mo and it looked great.

Shurely record in overcrank 60P on the ex1 - I would use some shutter and edit in premiere CS3 or 4 and use the time warp effect that calculates the missing pictures in between. You have to play a little with the settings as the time warp standard setting is a balance between quality and rendering speed. If you could get a really high speed camera - that would be the best but as the rest of us you probably have to use the stuff you already have.....
Bo

Thanks everyone. And yes, given that I spent all MY change on an EX-1, I'll have to use it.
So: 720p at 60fps
Then play with it in editing. I do own AE, though I've not used it yet. I've been given a bit of advice from other Avid users, though, on how to import this footage with the motion adapter speed set at 100%.
Regards,
Malcolm

I'm not sure if this is what you've visualized, but a fish tank filled with clear mineral oil and backed with some black velvet along with an overhead softbox might make for an interesting look, as the viscosity of the fluid will provide a natural slow-motion to the pennies.

I tried shooting falling coins under water a while ago, to simulate slomo.

I had problems with bubbles and the motion did not look right, to much lateral motion as coins rotated, and no bouncing. I imagine oil would be the same.

True HS cam is probably the only way to go. Or stock footage, it may seem expensive, but you know what you get before you spend days trying to get the right look, not to mention rental fees.

I'm going through my settings now, and here's what I don't understand (I'm probably mixing up two different things): in Shutter menu, I can go much higher than 1/60. I can go up to 1/2000.
Wouldn't that be the best for a slo-mo shot?
Regards, Malcolm

Really high shutter speed does nor effecy frames per second, max is 60 with the EXcams.

It will freeze each frame so stills will not be blurry, but that causes the "Private Ryan" effect, sort of strobing, not smooth as motion blur of a 120th second shutter speed (recommended) for 60 fps.