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Why so much slomo shooting


DigitalEd
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I watch a lot of videos on Vimeo and Youtube on camera tests and small movie projects people are doing.

Its seems that 7 out of 10 videos are all in slomo. Watching TV every day movies, commercials and tv shows you almost never see any slomo in a Tv show or movie only seeing some in a small amount of commercials but only for a few seconds. Some movies have a very small amount but nothing like i see people posting

So many people are posting 5 min or longer videos all in slomo i don't get the point of that when in reality on TV or in movies it is almost never used..Also so many comments on cameras having or not having a slow speed.

How important is show speed for most film or TV projects?

If you are making a short film would you use a few min of slomo in it with no dialog just music.

 

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Never underestimate the "It looks cool" aspect of amateur filmmaking.  Style above substance is easy to do.  After all, if you're making a "real" film does it typically involve a bunch of random urban shots with some music bed?  No, but when you're making something to show off your camera or lenses that's good enough.

And really, what are a majority of vimeo video creators doing other than playing around with their stuff?  Not knocking it, that's what I do too.

Also, a lot of folks (not me) use this DSLR/Mirrorless gear for weddings.  Slowmo is a novelty that works well in that heightened romantic-reality scenario. 

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I really like slowmo for...things that require slowmo ;-) 

 

Eg, tomorrow I should be watching a tennis match, and I'll try to grab some slowmo videos at 120fps and see how it fares.

 

But in general I'm not one that likes watching minutes and minutes of slowmo videos.

 

Much better are those videos in which some parts are slowmo and others are at normal speed. That's why I'm a bit disappointed that nx1 can't record audio at 120fps. In that way I could be record at that speed, then playback some parts in slowmo and others at full speed from the same recording.

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Well you said it there Ed, the slow-mo footage is seen on camera tests on Vimeo and YouTube. It's people just trying out a feature and sharing their results. No big deal. 

I use slow motion on about 95% of my projects. A lot of them are music videos or hyper stylised commercial vids. It's completely necessary and really adds impact to some key moments. That's why any camera I purchase/rent must almost always have a slow motion feature. 

It really depends on your shooting style. For example, news gathering doesn't really need it. Action? Oh yes!!! 

Also don't forget that iPhones can do 240fps and the GoPro Hero 4. Mass market slow motion = mass YouTube/Vimeo slow mo tests! 

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I watch a lot of videos on Vimeo and Youtube on camera tests and small movie projects people are doing.

Its seems that 7 out of 10 videos are all in slomo. Watching TV every day movies, commercials and tv shows you almost never see any slomo in a Tv show or movie only seeing some in a small amount of commercials but only for a few seconds. Some movies have a very small amount but nothing like i see people posting

So many people are posting 5 min or longer videos all in slomo i don't get the point of that when in reality on TV or in movies it is almost never used..Also so many comments on cameras having or not having a slow speed.

How important is show speed for most film or TV projects?

If you are making a short film would you use a few min of slomo in it with no dialog just music.

 

Slo-mo definitely effects the emotional side of us human beings and that is why it's over-used. I see several posts on a FB forum were they all want the NX1 to shoot 240fps, okay, yeah, that would be nice, but that camera needs a lot of other things before it needs that. People are obsessed with slo-mo.

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I felt compelled to reply to this topic. I've been on many sides of the fence on this issue, I've been the guy who, when the fs700 was released, absolutely had to have 120fps for camera work. I was so enamored by the possibilities that I could implement with slow motion, then I actually used it and realized it wasn't too special and I probably overdid it (https://vimeo.com/109775095) but can definitely add value here and there SO AS LONG as you keep the idea/feeling you want to portray in mind.

THEN I became the super jaded guy who was getting irritated with test videos all using slow motion, and tons of videos being uploaded in Vimeo all implementing their respective cameras slow motion. I would say things like "slow mo is cliche" or "slow mo is played out" and basically felt like it wasn't all that special anymore since everyones iPhone could do slow mo.

THEN I realized I was merely projecting my insecurities on others. And just like that I didn't care anymore. It no longer matters to me if people are using slow mo, lifting the shit out of their blacks, the important thing is they're trying to make things. If it's slow mo that captivates someone into doing something creative, so be it. I like that. I like seeing people with cameras, trying to explore a side of themselves that pretty much all modern societies try to surpress. Is it overdone ? Absolutely. Does it *actually* affect me, and my ability to deliver ideas? No, the only thing that could ever affect that is myself.

Overall it's a tool, and I think it's important that ALL camera manufacturers, at this point, include at least 120fps to be there when people need it.

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Slo-mo definitely effects the emotional side of us human beings and that is why it's over-used. I see several posts on a FB forum were they all want the NX1 to shoot 240fps, okay, yeah, that would be nice, but that camera needs a lot of other things before it needs that. People are obsessed with slo-mo.

​It helps a *lot* for a camera to have (at least) one "killer feature" for it to get attention

For instance the GH4 was first (ICL at a non-insane price) with 4K. Killer feature!
A7s has insane low light. Killer feature!
NX1 lacks a similar "key feature" that can instantly sell itself to the average joe out there. 240fps FHD would be that!

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There's something that bothers me when people say stuff like "overused". If you go to 500px.com and look at photos long enough, they will all start to blend into one another and everything will look "overused". Don't spend that much time looking at "overused" stuff. One day its DOF, the other day its slowmo and then its another thing. Forget about that. Would you limit your style because someone has seen something like that ON THE INTERNET? Oh hell no.

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There's something that bothers me when people say stuff like "overused". If you go to 500px.com and look at photos long enough, they will all start to blend into one another and everything will look "overused". Don't spend that much time looking at "overused" stuff. One day its DOF, the other day its slowmo and then its another thing. Forget about that. Would you limit your style because someone has seen something like that ON THE INTERNET? Oh hell no.

Don't just totally steal someone else's video though right? Be original SOMEHOW. I wouldn't be upset at a film that has tons going for it and then uses some slomo. These are all obviously tools, but people seriously use it as the only tool. If you upload something that's more than just a test video with the intention of "hehe, now people will know how talented.. my camera is," maybe you did something wrong

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Another thing that bugs me is to see a video test of a non moving object that nothing movies and it looks like a still image in most of the test video shots like here is a video of a rock for 10 seconds and now the side of a building for 10 seconds with nothing moving and no panning. That kind of stuff should be kept off line but what ever its still a free world for now in most places.

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When used correctly, I think it is great. Of course, it can be abused too...

On a sidenote, I don't know why the GH4 doesn't have a little bit more fps for 1080p, and a lot more for 720p. When GoPro4 and Sony x1000v can do240 fps in 1280*720, I would think the GH4 could pull it off too...

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Same for nx1. With the "super hardware" it has, and the claim that the full sensor is sampled at 240hz, and the h.265 codec (producing great qualitynat low bitrates) I can't really understand why it doesn't do 240fps at 1080 and, even more oddly, at 720. It should w/o a problem.

 

And would sell a lot more, with that feature implemented via a fw update.

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I think one quite important reason of slomo on those small test shots on vimeo and youtube is to stabilize the panning. It is much easier to do a fluid handhold panning when you move a bit faster and then slow it down later in post. Also agree with DigitalEd, people getting their nice new cams and lenses (with stabilization in lens or body) and they shoot a flower without panning or a cup of tea with as shallow depth of field as possible...kind of pointless.... I say go out and swing that cam around....in whatever difficult lighting there is. Dont be afraid it does not look nice...thats kind of the point to see where its strong points are and where not.

 

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