Slow motion is a filmmaking technique where footage is captured at a higher frame rate than the playback rate, causing the action to appear slowed down when played at standard speed.
Slow motion is achieved by recording video at a frame rate significantly higher than the standard playback rate. If footage is shot at 120fps and played back at 24fps, the result is 5x slow motion — every second of real-time action takes five seconds to play. Modern cameras can capture at frame rates from 60fps (subtle slow motion) to over 1,000fps (extreme slow motion revealing details invisible to the naked eye).
Slow motion is a powerful storytelling and aesthetic tool. It draws attention to moments that happen too quickly to appreciate at normal speed — the splash of a product in liquid, the expression on an athlete's face at the moment of victory, the delicate movement of fabric in wind. It also creates emotional emphasis, making key moments feel more significant, dramatic, or beautiful by giving the audience more time to absorb them.
Shooting slow motion requires specific technical considerations. Higher frame rates require more light (the shutter speed must be faster, reducing the exposure time per frame), more storage (more frames per second means larger files), and careful planning (actions must be slower and more deliberate than you might expect, since slow motion amplifies every detail). When planning slow-motion shots, communicate clearly with your production team about which specific moments warrant the technique and at what speed.
B-roll is supplementary footage that is intercut with the primary footage (A-roll) to provide visual variety, context, and illustrative imagery that supports the main narrative.
Frame rate is the number of individual frames (images) displayed per second in a video, measured in frames per second (fps), which affects motion smoothness and the overall aesthetic feel.
A time-lapse is a technique where frames are captured at intervals much longer than standard video, then played back at normal speed, dramatically compressing hours, days, or months of change into seconds.