Slow-Mo Confusion/ Software Confusion « Videomaker Community Forums

Sk8EditPro94
Member

The only reason this is such a detailed post, is because i dont want to waste time, or money, and i want my future videos to be exactly like im picturing them. Ok, im just a 14 year old kid and all i've ever used for editing is windows movie maker. The program gave me A LOT of issues so i really need a new software. Dont think im an amatuer or a noob or something just because im a kid. I love videography. I enjoy spending my time directing, filming, and editing skate videos with my friends. My favorite effect is the ramped slow-mo, and the regular slow-mo frequently used in "Lakai: Fully Flared". Could some of the more experienced video editors help me on this one? Which is an overall better software for me to save up for, Sony Vegas Pro 8, or a version of Final Cut Pro? And if Final Cut Pro, which version? Oh, by the way, i've been doing a lot of research and downloaded the free trial of Sony Vegas Pro 8, and went through a YouTube tutorial on ramped slow-mo's but didnt get it quite right. This can be perfected with time and practice but I also heard you need a camera that can record a high rate of frames per second. I've been wanting to buy the Sony VX2000, would this be a good camera for my scenario?

Posted 3 years ago #
Johnboy
Member

NLE software won't make a difference. You want good slo motion, you need a true high speed camera to do it. Vegas is great software. Vegas Pro 9 is available today. I can speak to the abilities of that software. Others will have their opinions on the other packages. The VX2000 is an old camera, i suspect you are looking at a used model. Buyer beware. The 2100 is better, also a few years old. Both are SD. Now, good slow motion also depends on how slow you want to go, and how much the software will need to interpolate frames. Play with the trial versions of the software and see which one you like better.

John

Posted 3 years ago #
Rob Grauert
Post Production Host

Actually, software does make a difference, and this kid isn't gonna buy a high speed camera. I use Final Cut Pro. FCP doesn't handle any kind of time remapping very well. It just blends and duplicates frames. It often results in a choppy look. If I want to slow down a clip I will take the clip into Motion and use the Optical Flow feature. Optical Flow will actually create new frames rather than just blend and duplicate frames. Motion doesn't have a speed ramping feature, but I think Shake does. Shake also uses optical flow technology, so you can't go wrong with that software either. You could also buy a plug-in for FCP (and other programs too) called Twixtor. This creates very nice slow mo as well.

So I would suggest you buy Final Cut. As for the version, you can only buy Final Cut Studio 2, which is a bundle of FCP, Motion, Soundtrack Pro, Color, Compressor, Cinema Tools, and DVD Studio Pro. After uploading you'll have to do a software update through the internet to get the latest versions, ie FCP 6.0.5. Shake wouldn't be a bad idea to get either. Don't buy just Shake though. It's not a video editing program, it's compositing.

As prepping your footage for slow mo, like Johnboy said, you'd want a high speed camera, but you don't have the money for that. The next best thing is to shoot with a camera that shoots 60 frames per second (60p, not 60i. 60i is still 30fps). You then take your footage that was shot as 60p and drop it into a timeline that is 30p. This will automatically make your footage play a 50% speed with no loss of quality. If you want it even slower, you can then take that clip into Motion or Shake and use Optical Flow. So if you made that 50% slower in Motion and brought it back to FCP, it would then be playing at 25% of the speed of the original. Make sense? It also helps to shoot progressive scanning and a higher shutter speed.

Cameras that shoot 60p: Panasonic HVX200, HVX200A, and HPX170. Sony EX1 and EX3.

If you can't afford those cameras, a VX2000 or 2100 will work too. Just shoot at a higher shutter speed - 1/120 or something.

I've done this with a Sony PD170 shooting 60i, so I know it can be done even if you are not in an ideal situation.

Rob Grauert, Jr
http://www.robgrauert.com
http://command-r.tumblr.com

Posted 3 years ago #
Sk8EditPro94
Member

okay cool that makes sense. well i dont care about the price as long as its not too outrageous, and my dad is a big supporter of my videography so he'll chip in. i'll just have to do some work and save for a while.

Posted 3 years ago #
KeithKorchok
Member

I use Vegas Movie Studio Platinum 9.0 This program is really easy to use and alot faster than any apple software. I could not figure out how to use slow mo on this program for the longest time till i watched a tutorial and figured it out. It doesnt create that ramped effect, but you could probably get that from an adobe software. But for real, go with vegas on this one. It is way easier to edit smaller clips such as skateboarding and snowboarding since its timeline is easier to use than final cut pro. You can edit clips much quicker and faster, plus the rendering process is really quick.

Posted 3 years ago #
Rob Grauert
Post Production Host

Whaaat? You think Final Cut's timeline is hard to use?! I always though Apple's software was very intuitive, but that's just me.

Posted 3 years ago #
Johnboy
Member

to append my comments.... NLE software doesn't matter because they all do it the same way by copying or interpolating frames.

Posted 3 years ago #
birdcat
Moderator

I have a Sony DSR-SR11 which has a Super Slo-Mo feature so you need to purchase a professional or prosumer camera - Many other cameras have adjustable frame rates and as a rule, the higher your frame rate, the better your slo-mo will look. Certain NLE's do this better than others but having more frames will always make the slo-mo output look better.

Bruce Paul
7Squared Productions
http://www.7squared.com

Posted 3 years ago #