What is slow mo? Slow motion-effect (or rapid) is a special technique of time dilation, which is used in cinema. “Slow mo” has been used in cinema for a long time to give the picture an entertainment. The following article will tell about the meaning, history and features of the use of rapid in films.
What is slow mo?
Rapid is the effect of time dilation in the visual part, which is achieved using accelerated shooting (the frame rate in this case exceeds the standard). After projection of the captured film with a standard frequency, an effect of imaginary slowdown is achieved. Many directors use this technique to improve the quality of their film and add more entertainment to it. But this is not always possible.
Story
Who discovered the effect of "slow mo" is still the subject of debate. But the first one to patent his own slow-motion method was the Austrian physicist and priest August Müssger.
Soon after this, rapid became not only widespread, but also comprehended. In the 1920s, French avant-garde artists (among whom were Jean Epstein and Dmitry Kirsanov) and Russian film revolutionaries Sergei Eisenstein and Vsevolod Pudovkin thought about its capabilities. All of them attached very great importance to this technique. Therefore, when asked what “slow mo” is, they would answer that this is a great opportunity to allow the viewer to peer over the time of the picture how a person looks at a portrait image.
Rapid fastened in Soviet cinema thanks to the paintings “The Battleship“ Potemkin ”” by Eisenstein (most clearly displayed in the final scene) and “Deserter” by Vsevolod Pudovkin.
In Western cinema, the following paintings influenced the development and popularization of the Slow motion effect most of all:
- "Beauty and the Beast" (1946) - in the film with the help of this they emphasized the romantic atmosphere of what is happening.
- "Seven Samurai" - Kurosawa demonstrated the dramatic effect of rapid.
- “Bonnie and Clyde” - during the execution of two criminals in the final of the picture, the effect of “slow mo” was used.
- The Matrix trilogy has launched a real cult using Slow motion.
The main goals of rapid
What is slow mo and what is it used for? The main goals that directors want to achieve when using rapid:
- Entertainment - “slow mo” always allows you to captivate the viewer, showing what is happening in slow motion. So for the moviegoer opens up a much greater perception, which allows you to plunge even deeper into the picture.
- Epic - with the help of rapid, as an effective tool, you can always show the weight of a certain event or the importance of a specific hero.
- Drama - tragic moments can seem even stronger if you stretch them in time, which causes an emotional outburst and is reflected in the viewer.
- Comic - in some cases, rapid can be used for a comic effect. This is not always intentional. One example of such a movie where the author did not plan to make the audience laugh, but he did, is the classic of the Turkish trash-cinema "Girl-karate".
- Subjective vision - “slow mo” not only shows all the horror or entertainment of the moment, but also reflects the feelings of a person who is going through nightmarish events to even more impress and feel the viewer, to allow him to personally visit the scene.
- Romance - rapid is able to convey the romantic and intimate side of what is happening.
- Suspence - “slow mo” violates the picture of the world customary for a person, which causes additional tension during battle and action scenes. For example, in the Matrix.
- Importance - Rapid adds added value to a particular scene of the picture.
Thus, the goals of the “slow mo” effect can be completely different, but all of them, with good processing and script, will affect the viewer and leave their imprint on his mind.
What to consider when shooting in Slow motion?
When shooting with rapid speed, it should be borne in mind that the light behaves differently than at the usual frame rate. For example, in poor lighting conditions glare or flicker may occur. Especially if you work in a large pavilion or on a chromakey. In normal shooting, the use of slow mo instruments does not particularly affect image quality.
But it should be remembered that the transition from 25 to 100 frames / sec requires a fourfold increase in light. This can be difficult, especially when the director tries to imitate cloudy weather or later in the day. Creating a directional scattered light source is not a problem, but it will require more power from lighting, which is sometimes difficult to achieve.
Programs for adding "slow mo"
When editing a video, you can add not only stickers, emotions, filters, but also the rapid effect. Moreover, in Slow motion you can even shoot videos. All this is achieved using certain programs.
VivaVideo
A free application in which there are many useful features, including the effect of slow time. To edit your video in Slow motion, you need to go to the "Clip editing" tab and find the "slow motion" option there.
Using the slider, you can choose how slow the video should be. In the same program you can add music for "slow mo".
Slow motion fx
Unfortunately, rapid is the only function of this application.
Before using the slow-motion effect, you can use the slider to select unnecessary fragments and trim them from the video. This ends the program parameters.
Action director
A multifunctional editor provides basic functions for editing videos. Here you can add stickers, sound, filters and trim the unnecessary part of the recording.
In the Action tab, you can change the playback speed or repeat the same moment several times. It is even possible to play back a single piece of video backwards. You can also add songs for "slow mo".
Videoshop
The program allows you to edit not only video, but also images that can be found by searching on the device. It does not have unique functions, but there is a basic set of tools for changing the video here.
Slow Motion Frame Video Player
This application does not allow you to save video, in everything else it is not inferior to the presented programs. The editor is very useful for speeding up or slowing down a movie. For all, you need only two buttons - plus and minus.
Musical.ly
This application is not only a program for creating videos and their processing, but also for conducting live broadcasts, as well as messaging.
Users in the application can record videos from 15 seconds to 1 minute in length. You can combine video with sound and various effects like rapid. There are a lot of songs for "slow mo" in "music". Finding music on the site is easy, but you can add your own. Platform users can exchange personal messages via direct or interact with each other using the functions "duet" and "ask a question."
There are a lot of users on the resource, so many videos became viral not only on the "music", but also beyond. There is a “trends” section that allows you to distribute video on the platform. The most active users receive a "crown", which gives a certain status to its owner.
Like
Another platform that allows, in addition to creating and editing videos, share them with friends, recruit subscribers and distribute their videos to other people. For “slow mo” in “likes” music can be added separately or found on the resource itself.
The application is used by a huge number of people, so like-minded people in creating videos are pretty easy to find. Today, becoming a blogger is very easy, especially if you create interesting videos using rapid. By the way, the Slow motion effect on the platform is not implemented as well as we would like, therefore it is better to use a third-party application to create time-lapse videos. This will provide higher quality video, and filters can be processed already in Like itself. And it is worth remembering that the best "slow mo" - this is made by yourself.
Thus, Slow motion is an effect that has been used in films for a very long time. The first patent for slow motion came back in 1904. Later, Soviet and foreign cinema popularized rapid, and today it is used in the creation of many films to display drama, entertainment, epic, comic and suspense. Technologies have leaped far ahead, and now everyone can create their own slow-motion video. It’s enough to learn how to work in the presented programs, and the platforms will help to distribute the video among other fans of “slow mo”.