It wasn’t too long ago that you had to buy expensive camera equipment and software in order to create a high-quality slow-motion video. This meant, that video creation was mainly left to the professionals rather than allowing anyone to take a try at it. But now, it’s completely different. Today, you’re able to take a slow-motion capture at up to 960 frames per second with your smartphone. This means that the video you take it around 32 times slower than real life. Now that’s pretty slow. Isn’t this great? You no longer need the expensive equipment to make slow motion videos, rather technology has advanced to the point where you’re able to make slow motion videos via your smartphone. Though, you may want to know a little bit more about how it works so that you can make better slow motion videos.

Currently, the Galaxy S9+ can shoot slow-motion videos at 240 fps and 960 fps in either 1080p or 720p. Sony’s Xperia XZ2 can also shoot 960 fps videos in 1080p as well. This is just the beginning as more and more companies are manufacturing smartphone with slow motion features.

Resolution

You may not be thinking about it, but the resolution is extremely important as you’ll see the results of it directly on the screen. With slo-mo footage, you’ll have to test out the resolution on your phone. Take a shot and upload it to YouTube, switching it to 720 fps while watching it. You’ll be able to see how it looks on high resolution. From there, you’ll have to decide if 6 seconds of 720p in the middle of FHD is going to do justice to your film. The only way to figure this out is through trial and error.

Keep the Phone Still

Slow motion videos can be a bit blurry, regardless if you’re using a smartphone or expensive camera equipment, slow motion is prone to blurriness. This is because it’s extremely difficult to capture sharp images which you can fine tune into focus. Though, if you want a sharp image you’re going to have to focus on keeping the camera very still. If you’re going to be using the automatic capture feature with the Galaxy 9+, it’ll detect the motion and take the super slo-mo footage when it sees something moving on the screen. Thus, you’ll want to keep your camera perfectly still. To do this, invest in a tripod or gimbal while capturing slo-mo footage. With the right support equipment, you’ll be able to capture amazing footage just with your smartphone.  Of course, some of the support equipment isn’t cheap, however, in comparison to purchasing professional equipment, you save yourself a lot of money.

Lighting Matters

Lighting is extremely important when shooting any footage, regardless if it’s slo-mo or not. You need the right amount of light to properly expose what is in front of your lens. When things are slowed down, we’re able to see more things on the screen, for example, such as blinking lights.

If you’re shooting at high speeds with the idea to use slo-mo then you need to factor in pulse modulation. Pulse modulation is essentially how fluorescent lights and LEDs function. Fluorescent lights and LED lights, though are different, do have one thing in common: they aren’t steady light sources. Now, this may not matter to the audience, however, when you slow down your video, you’ll notice the poor results. Thus, you’ll want to either shoot outside or use old-fashioned filament lighting. If you’re not able to do so and you have to use fluorescent and LED lights, shoot at 240 fps to prevent flickering.

At the end of the day, you have the technical support to provide you with amazing slo-mo footage. Now that you have that out of the way, what you need to focus on is practising and testing out the different types of lighting and resolution, as this is the only way you’ll learn. With time, your slo-mo footage will get better and better.