Slow Motion is a great filming technique which, if shot properly with the GoPro Hero 8, looks extremely appealing and magnificent. Slow Motion refers to the act of playing back the footage much slower than it was recorded. Therefore, the action appears much slower in slow motion than in real life. Slower playback helps to highlight important actions and details in your film.
Does GoPro Hero 8 Black do Slow Motion?
In order to be able to successfully record slow motion footage, a camera should be capable of shooting videos at higher frame rates (preferably higher than 60 frames per second). The GoPro Hero 8 Black can shoot 4K videos at 60fps and 1080p HD videos at frame rates as high as 240fps. So, if you’re looking to shoot quality Slow Motion shots, the GoPro Hero 8 Black is a great choice!
If you just start your filmmaker’s path and unwrapped Hero 8 read: 8 GoPro Hero 8 Tips and Tricks for Beginners.
However, if you want to actually play the videos in slow motion, you need an editor that allows you to reduce the playback speed of your videos. Alternatively, you can also use the GoPro app to do this. Just select the speed option and choose Slow.
Best GoPro Hero 8 Settings for Slow Motion Shots
Here are the best settings to capture quality Slow Motion shots with the GoPro Hero 8:
Frame Rate
As discussed earlier, the main thing that you have to look at while recording slow motion videos is the frame rate of your shots. The higher the frame rate, the more you can slow down the video.
To help you better understand the concept of frame rates, you need to know what the industry standard frame rate of videos is. Today, the film industry standard for cinematic shots is 30fps because it is quite close to how the human eye perceives a fluid motion – 24fps.
So, if you shoot footage with the Hero 8 Black camera at 60fps, you can slow it down by up to 2x (to achieve 30fps), and it will still look appealing to the eye. Similarly, footage recorded at 120fps can be slowed down by up to 4x. If you want super-slow motion footage, the speed of which is reduced by as much as up to 8x, go for 240fps.
Resolution
For slow motion shots to look appealing to the eye, they must be shot in a good enough resolution. You must go for at least 1080p HD resolution for quality slow motion footage.
The GoPro Hero 8 Black is capable of shooting 4K videos at 60fps max. However, even 2.7K or 1440p resolutions provide pretty decent results at 120fps frame rates.
Here’s the rundown of frame rates provided by GoPro Hero 8 Black at different resolutions:
- 4K: 60, 30, 24 fps
- 2.7K: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
- 1440p: 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
- 1080p: 240, 120, 60, 30, 24 fps
Light
There’s one drawback with using high frame rates too. Choosing higher frame rates means that the camera’s shutter will be opened for a shorter period of time. As a result, less light enters the sensor of the camera which may lead to darker and grainy looking footage.
So, don’t go overboard with increasing the frame rates in low-light scenarios! It may mean compromising on the quality of your footage because Slow-motion and poor lighting don’t go well together.
Recommended Settings for Slow Motion Shots with Hero 8
- For Fast action activities like surfing, rafting or skiing in broad daylight, choose 1080p/240 fps for best quality slow motion shots of your action.
- For Slow Motion shots of activities like biking, motorcycling and driving, 2.7K/120 fps would provide great footage with the Hero 8 camera.
- If you’re shooting in low light but still want high quality slow motion shots, go for 4K/60fps to avoid the graininess or noise in the resulting footage shot by the GoPro Hero 8 Black camera.
Editing: How to Create Slow Motion Footage?
It’s quite simple to edit GoPro videos shot at high frame rates and create great looking slow motion footage. While a high frame rate video looks absolutely normal, you’ll notice how different it is once you select a timeline speed. The timeline is basically your clip laid out at the bottom of the GoPro app. When you stretch the timeline, the footage will become longer, or in other words, it will be played back at a slower rate giving you a slow motion effect. Save the footage with your desired speed, and you’re done.
You can also edit GoPro footage for Slow Motion shots on your phone. Here are the steps to edit videos and create slow motion footage on phone using the GoPro app:
- Launch the GoPro app and create a new edit (or open an existing one).
- From the preview screen click on the clips button at the bottom of the screen.
- Now select the clip that you would like to add the slow motion effect to.
- A larger preview of the clip will appear. Now click on the scissor icon that is labelled trim (at bottom).
- On the next screen, set the toggle labelled Slow Motion to ON. When you’re done click OK.
- Now you should be able to preview the slow motion clip. Save, export and share!
What Are The Best Setting for GoPro Hero 8 Slow Motion?
If you followed the steps above then be sure to create amazing slow motion shots with your GoPro Hero 8 Black! Remember to film in slow motion (120fps/240fps) only when you need it. Otherwise you’ll run out on sd card space very quickly as these files are heavier.
Last but not the least, when shooting slow-motion videos, make sure that the lighting is good. This is because high frame rates will let less light hit the sensor. So, you might end up with dark and noisy looking videos. That’s why is better to use led lights if you have low light conditions.
Have a great time shooting Slow motion videos with your GoPro Hero 8 Black!
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