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This ultimate guide to frame rates takes you down a super geeky rabbit hole but you need to know this stuff

Taran Van Hemert, formerly a video editor at Linus Tech Tips, doesn’t post all that often on his YouTube channel. But when he does, you know it’s going to be something worth listening to. This time around, he’s talking about video frame rates. Specifically mixing video frame rates on your video editing timeline. With so many cameras out there all shooting different frame rates and nobody able to agree on the “best”, it’s become a bit of a problem.

This video is fairly short by Taran’s standards, coming in at only an hour and a half. Yes, I realise that’s not a short video by any stretch of the imagination, but when you consider that his Premiere Pro Editing tutorial is four hours and twenty minutes long, it’s not that bad at all, really.

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This slow motion Apollo 11 launch footage shot in 1969 still looks absolutely incredible today

This is a video we’ve actually featured before, way back in 2014, but it appears to be making the rounds on social media again and it’s well worth a revisit. It was shot by NASA, obviously, and it’s footage of the Apollo 11 launch, shot on 16mm film at 500 frames per second in 1969. Now, that might not seem like a lot compared to the crazy slow motion cameras available today, but 53 years ago, that was pretty impressive!

When shot at 500 frames per second and played back at 30 frames per second turns that ~30-second real-time clip into an 8-minute and 22-second sequence that you just can’t take your eyes away from. The Saturn V rocket that launched Apollo 11 was an extremely powerful Heavy Lift Vehicle. It was the heaviest rocket ever to ever fly successfully, weighing in at 6.2 million pounds fully loaded.

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This frame rate comparison shows why you shouldn’t just shoot everything at 120fps

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With the influx of new cameras these days capable of shooting 120fps and even faster, it’s natural that many of us acquiring such a camera will want to have a play with it and see just how it performs and how our footage looks. A lot of people complain about certain cameras that can shoot 120fps overheating, but is it really that big a deal? Are you going to be shooting 4K 120fps all day?

Well, no. It’s unlikely. And you probably shouldn’t, either. In this video, Mark Bone takes a look at frame rates and when and why to use them and why shooting 120fps for anything other than slow motion is just a waste. And, well, even shooting 60fps is over the top for a lot of content you might shoot – particularly anything cinematic.

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This video shows the impact of frame rate on bottle shots

As a newbie filmmaker, one of the first things you should master is the frame rate. Different frame rates affect your shots, and you should choose it wisely depending on what you want to achieve. In this video, filmmaker Chris Vanderschaaf shows how four different frame rates affect bottle shots. So if you need to shoot some commercial videos, this can be a great visual guideline.

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5 creative uses of shutter speed in your videos

When shooting a video, a general rule is to set the shutter speed to be the double of the frame rate. However, there are scenarios in which breaking this rule is welcome. In this video, Jordy Vandeput of Cinecom shows you five creative effects you can pull off just by changing the shutter speed while filming.

For example, if your frame rate is 25 fps, the shutter speed should generally be 1/50, which will give you the most natural motion blur. But here are the situations when you don’t want a normal shutter speed, but you want to achieve some creative effects.

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This is when you shouldn’t shoot video at 24fps

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The standard frame rate is 24fps and it’s used for most types of videos. However, there are times when 24fps is not the way to go, but you should use higher or lower frame rate. In only three minutes, Ted Sim of Apurture shares eight scenarios when you shouldn’t use 24fps for shooting videos.

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Learn how to choose the best frame rate for your videos in just 10 minutes

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When you start shooting video, there are plenty of things to learn, and one of the first things to master is definitely the frame rate. If you’re just starting out, filmmaker Brandon Li has made one of the best video tutorials for all the newbies in video shooting.

He explains how and why to choose a certain frame rate, but also – how to determine frame rates for different subjects. So, if you’re new to filming, this video contains a lot of useful knowledge and practical examples that will boost your knowledge in only a couple of minutes.

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The amusing story of how an off-the-cuff compromise made 24fps the standard “film rate”

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We’ve all heard why 29.97fps and 25fps became the standards for TV & video broadcast. It basically boiled down to technical issues based around the electrical supply and the limitations of available airwaves. But those reasons don’t explain one thing. How did 24fps become the standard for film?

In this Home Theater Geeks podcast, host Scott Wilkinson talks with television historian Mark Schubin to find out why. The first “standard” framerate for filming movies was about 16 frames per second, although they didn’t measure it in frames per second back then. The 24fps framerate basically boils down to an off-the-cuff compromise, as Schubin explains.

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Watch a helicopter magically levitates with frozen rotors, and understand why it happens

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Have you ever seen a helicopter magically rise in the air without its motor spinning? If not, you are in for a treat. OK, how can that be?

Here is a little well-known secret, the main rotor of the helicopter is actually spinning pretty fast? Fast enough that it perfectly aligns with the frame rate of the camera.

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How to use shutter speed to your advantage to help you get the film look

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There’s more to getting the “film look” with video than simply shooting your camera at 24 frames per second. It’s not just the colour grading, or the lens used, either. These are, of course, factors, but all components of a much greater whole. Issues other than the framerate are mostly variable. One issue that often gets ignored, though, is the shutter speed.

In this video from Wolfcrow, Sareesh Sudhakaran tells us how shutter speed affects our footage. It explains why we don’t always get the look we desire, and how to correct it. Breaking the 180° shutter rule (which is different to the other 180° rule) can work to great effect when used with a purpose. At other times, it just looks like a mistake. Understanding the principles behind the rule, rather than simply accepting it, helps us to know when and how to break them.

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