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Understanding fps with Grimes music videos
Hello!
I’ve noticed this a lot that with my own footage, movement looks really disjointed, blurry, and not smooth. I warp stabilized the shit out of this short vid, but you can kinda guess how gross it looked before (not that it looks better now, it’s an old vid lol): https://vimeo.com/140547933. I figured it just needs a higher frame rate so that I can do it in slow-motion and then it’ll be fine, but my camera is not that advanced. Then I watched this Grimes music video: https://youtu.be/ADPk5PpkjMg?t=0m17s. In the shot that starts out at 00:19 it seems they are shooting at a slower frame rate with a slight slow motion playback, until she starts singing and it seems like this is happening in real time. If it is happening in real time, I guess I’m just wondering how they can achieve a smooth, not blurry sequence. I’m doubting they had her lip sync the song 2x faster to have it align haha. On the other hand, the movement in the shot of this video at 1:20 looks really disjointed, similar to my footage (as do a lot of the shots in it): https://youtu.be/N9XKLqGqwLA?t=1m17s. Do I and the latter video’s DP just need better stabilizers? Let me know! Thanks!
-Stas
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2 Replies
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Take a look at this: https://youtu.be/pyorWarc-4k
What it looks like to me is you’re tilting too fast for the field of view you have. There’s a general rule in filmmaking called the “7 second rule” which means if you pan through the frame faster than 7 seconds you will get strobing.
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You’re just seeing the difference between handheld and stabilized. The smooth shots you pointed out are all stabilized, either with a gimbal, Steadicam, or jib. It’s not a question of one look being “better” than another–it’s a choice the DP is making in these music videos.
So yes, if you want shots that move this smoothly, you will need to buy a stabilizer of some sort. Or cut off your arms and replace them with ultra-advanced robotic prosthetics. But I’d go with the stabilizers. If you’re shooting a small mirrorless or DSLR, there are some ridiculously inexpensive small gimbals available these days.
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