OUTLAW NEWS: Slow motion video craze shakes up industry at record speeds
By Brian Niles Explore Big Sky Video Director
A heart-stopping thump of music followed by an electronic scream drew me in, as the royal blue Subaru BRZ hot rod exploded through a plume of smoke at 70 mph.
It wasn’t the speed of the car that caught my attention in this commercial, nor the fact that it was staged in a warehouse building. It was the immediate follow-up shot of the car skidding sideways to powerful dubstep music at a nearly frozen pace – you could see every dust particle coming off the tires on the warehouse floor.
The shots in this commercial were not that complex, but the way they delivered them, composed the music and created the scene intensity added value. The super slow motion content played a big part and made me wonder what it would be like to drive that royal blue BRZ, if only for a millisecond. Kudos, Subaru!
I’m kind of a geek and admittedly love watching commercials for their production value, whether they’re advertising cleaning supplies or cat food. And I find that slowing down a scene can add emotion to a project. Who doesn’t like an up-close shot of a human face getting slapped at 1,000 frames per second?
Slow motion imagery has been around since the early 1900s, and the concept of capturing high frame rates and playing them back at normal speeds hasn’t changed much. However, technology has made leaps and bounds in the digital era making slo-mo-capable cameras more accessible on the pricing front to consumers. From a GoPro at $399, to a Phantom ranging from $50,000 – $150,000, there’s something for everyone interested in slowing down time.
The slow motion craze is here to stay, and you’re going to see more and more of it in Hollywood blockbusters and national ads.
Outlaw Partners has added a couple high frame rate cameras to its arsenal and can provide our clients with this technology. Oh, and we’ve had a little fun to. Check out this sample video of the Outlaw team testing our equipment at 240 and 480 frames per second.
Outlaw Partners: Slow Motion Test Sony FS700 from Outlaw Partners on Vimeo.
For more information, contact Brian at the Outlaw Partners – brian@theoutlawpartners.com.
